Twitter, Facebook Turn Users Into Immoral People

If reports published by a group of scientists from the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California (USC) are to be believed, social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook can affect our moral values and can make us apathetic to human suffering.  

The scientists from USC claim that today’s quick paced media which is represented by social networking and micro-blogging sites, do not give us the time to reflect on stories related to human pain and anguish owing to the fact that a new news update comes up within a very short time. 

They further claimed that such media may adversely affect the moral compass in children as their brains are in the process of gradual development.  

It is interesting to note that our brains can actually respond within fractions of seconds to any apparent signs of physical pain but it takes us considerable longer period of time to develop feelings of compassion or admiration for others; incidentally feeling like compassion and admiration are the primary emotions that are used to define humanity.  

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Elaborating on the results of their research, Mary Helen one the researchers at USC mentioned that “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”. 

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Our Comments

There is no denying that the apparition of social networking services like Facebook or Twitter have had a profound influence on a global scale, from India to America. Whether they make people less sensitive to the plight of others is debatable. Twitter and Facebook have been used as tools when it comes to broadcasting little known humanitarian causes.

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