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0EPII1
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http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/mentalhealth/04/14/twitter.study/index.html

Quote :
"Scientists warn of Twitter dangers

Story Highlights

* USC study says rapid-fire Twitter and news updates are too fast for brain
* Scans show humans respond rapidly to pain, but not compassion, admiration
* Scientists say reliance in Twitter or news snippets could harm moral compass

(CNN) -- Rapid-fire TV news bulletins or updates on Twitter or Facebook could numb our sense of morality and make us indifferent to human suffering, scientists say.

New findings show that the streams of information provided by social networking sites are too fast for the brain's "moral compass" to process and could harm young people's emotional development.

Before the brain can fully digest the anguish and suffering of a story, it is being bombarded by the next news bulletin or the latest Twitter update, according to a University of Southern California study.

"If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people's psychological states and that would have implications for your morality," said researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang.

The report, published next week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online Early Edition, studied how volunteers responded to real-life stories chosen to stimulate admiration for virtue or skill, or compassion for physical or social pain. iReport.com: Growing pains for Twitter, Facebook?

Brain scans showed humans can process and respond very quickly to signs of physical pain in others, but took longer to show admiration of compassion.

"For some kinds of thought, especially moral decision-making about other people's social and psychological situations, we need to allow for adequate time and refection," said Immordio-Yang.

She said the study raises questions about the emotional cost, particularly for young people, of heavy reliance on a torrent of news snippets delivered via TV and online feeds such as Twitter.

She said: "We need to understand how social experience shapes interactions between the body and mind, to produce citizens with a strong moral compass."

USC sociologist Manuel Castells said the study raised more concerns over fast-moving TV than the online environment.

"In a media culture in which violence and suffering becomes an endless show, be it in fiction or in infotainment, indifference to the vision of human suffering gradually sets in."

Research leader Antonio Damasio, director of USC's Brain and Creativity Institute, said the findings stressed the need for slower delivery of the news, and highlighted the importance of slow-burn emotions like admiration.

Damasio cited the example of U.S. President Barack Obama, who says he was inspired by his father, to show how admiration can be key to cultural success.

"We actually separate the good from the bad in great part thanks to the feeling of admiration. It's a deep physiological reaction that's very important to define our humanity." "


Humanity has come to another low. (creation of Twitter was the earlier implied low)

4/14/2009 9:46:27 AM

hershculez
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One day eggs are good for you and the next day they aren't. What the hell is it already?

4/14/2009 9:47:28 AM

GGMon
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I thought facebook was the shit form the devils ass.

Social networking is for douche bags.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w

4/14/2009 9:49:56 AM

se7entythree
YOSHIYOSHI
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am i the only one who doesn't pay a bit of attention to twitter?

4/14/2009 9:50:49 AM

seedless
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Well Twitter helps me efficiently keep up with technology news. If I want to know whats new with Palm, or Windows Mobile for example, I just click their Twitter and follow links to new stuff without have to find it myself. People hate on Twitter but its does have practical uses.

4/14/2009 9:53:39 AM

se7entythree
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i don't hate twitter, i just haven't found it useful [yet].

4/14/2009 10:15:48 AM

TreeTwista10
Les Dewdisdog
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Quote :
"Scientists say Twitter is gay as fuck, and only arrogant douchebags use it"

4/14/2009 10:20:28 AM

wdprice3
BinaryBuffonary
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Quote :
"Scientists say Twitter is gay as fuck, and only arrogant douchebags use it"

4/14/2009 10:21:43 AM

Ronny
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Quote :
"am i the only one who doesn't pay a bit of attention to twitter?"


Nope. I, too, think it is unnecessary and dumb.

4/14/2009 10:24:40 AM

qntmfred
retired
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finally, some decent criticism of twitter

but this trend has been going on for years and is clearly not limited to twitter. rss feeds, and most professional news sources have emphasized headline news and shorter articles for years

4/14/2009 10:24:50 AM

miska
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tl:dr

4/14/2009 10:29:11 AM

BIGcementpon
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I really expected this to be a fake article.

4/14/2009 10:30:33 AM

ambrosia1231
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Quote :
"USC study says rapid-fire Twitter and news updates are too fast for brain"




Quote :
"Rapid-fire TV news bulletins or updates on Twitter or Facebook could numb our sense of morality and make us indifferent to human suffering, scientists say."

Lots of things could have [X undesirable effect]

I was about to get snarky and take the article line-by-line and then I noticed it was a CNN article
Never mind.

[Edited on April 14, 2009 at 10:31 AM. Reason : seriously, why the fuck would you post this?]

4/14/2009 10:30:56 AM

lopezlisa
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I don't use Twitter, and I don't think I'd want to. It seems that updates that would be that close together means they have to think of something to say purely for an update, so what's the point? it cheapens the source for me at least.

I have a hard time anyway trying to find a collection of news that I'm okay with. BBC and NPR aren't bad, and a few things like NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press, NewsHour with Brooks and Shields...
But damn, Twittering would destroy my brain if I tried to follow of those guys and their updates.

^^I didn't even read past the first bullets and assumed it was fake. Wow.

[Edited on April 14, 2009 at 10:35 AM. Reason : lol.]

4/14/2009 10:33:40 AM

0EPII1
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Quote :
"seriously, why the fuck would you post this?"


umm... you accuse me of being uptight/reactionary and in need of a chill pill. what about you?

take a chill pill.

4/14/2009 10:43:29 AM

Bob Dylan
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LOL AT PPL WHO USE TWITTER FOR NEWS UPDATES

4/14/2009 10:46:45 AM

ambrosia1231
eeeeeeeeeevil
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^^No...really - why did you post this?

4/14/2009 10:47:06 AM

se7entythree
YOSHIYOSHI
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i'm not really sure i understand the connection b/w rapid fire news updates and the straying of our moral compass.

is hearing about a killing or bomb or whatever somewhere going to make me want to do that too (anymore so than the regular news)? wtf

4/14/2009 10:49:15 AM

puppy
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Quote :
"am i the only one who doesn't pay a bit of attention to twitter?"

Nope. I don't care for it either.

4/14/2009 11:09:28 AM

JCASHFAN
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fucking singularity.

4/14/2009 2:51:29 PM

BigHitSunday
Dick Danger
51059 Posts
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do they have nothin better to do at USC than research crap like this?


work on finding solutions for your brownouts and smog assholes

4/14/2009 2:52:40 PM

BJCaudill21
Not an alcoholic
8016 Posts
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i've never been to any twitter page. am i too late to start?

4/14/2009 3:50:21 PM

seedless
All American
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Twitter aight man. Follow Major Nelson he gives out free codes for shit like its candy.

4/14/2009 3:55:56 PM

JBaz
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I too am dumbfounded how they can create a whole social interactive website/forum based on 140 character status reports... Its just facebook status and seriously? do we really need to know what people are doing in between blogs, live journals, emails, social forums and networks? I think the stupidest thing is being able to be alerted by cell phone text when your grandma poops... wtf?

4/14/2009 4:54:34 PM

0EPII1
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Quote :
"alerted by cell phone text when your grandma poops"


shit's (pun intended) important yo... she might have swallowed some jewellery and shit.

4/14/2009 5:30:56 PM

supercat329
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I don't use twitter, nor do I have any interest in using it.

I do use facebook; however, I don't check it continuously and when I do check it, there aren't that many updates that I actually read.

4/14/2009 7:16:54 PM

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