Can Twitter Impact our Emotional Compass?

Yesterday the Daily Mail reported that the volume of online content, driven by social media, could have long-term damaging effects on the emotional development of young people’s brains. The author, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a researcher at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, said:

“For some thoughts, especially moral decision-making about other people’s social and psychological situations, we need to allow for adequate time and reflection”.

It seems the constant flow of real time information from Twitter, FriendFeed and Facebook is too fast for people to process effectively. According to Mary Helen, this means that we’re never able to fully experience emotions about other people’s psychological states.

So, we’re able to sort through constant information streams incredibly quickly (a new skill in many respects), but there are concerns that we are not developing the deeper analytical skills needed for us to engage meaningfully. I guess the question is whether the good (broader social engagement, information flows and access to true communities of interest) balance the downside (rapid response ‘skimming’). That’s where the real debate should be.