Or to be more precise, Dr. Tracy Alloway of the University of Stirling in Scotland says that in a study, Facebook users showed increased working memory, whereas Twitter users showed decreased working memory. She concluded that Facebook has more mentally intensive activities, but Twitter's communications are too brief to require substantial brain activity:
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Image: U.S. Department of Energy
Dr. Alloway has developed a working memory training programme for slow-learning children aged 11 to 14 at a school in Durham, and she found out that Facebook did wonders for working memory, improving the kids’ IQ scores, while YouTube and Twitter’s steady stream of information was not healthy for working memory. Also, playing video games, especially those that involve planning and strategy, can also be beneficial.
Link via The Presurfer
Image: U.S. Department of Energy
I assume it's safe to say I have a facebook but not a twitter.
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Stirling has been mis-spelled as Sterling.
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And reading Neatorama makes you a genius, natch.
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Thanks, Jess. Fixed now.
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@neatorama Nuh uh!
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Agreed.
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I am always looking for ways to become less intelligent. I can't stand drugs and alcohol only does so much. I will try Twittering and let you know how it works.
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Of course, she has no actual evidence and is extrapolating from a fairly sketchy study done on text messaging which isn't the same thing at all, but let's keep spreading this around.
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What about myspace???
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I feel smarter already!
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This study brought to you by the fine people at FaceBook.
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Video games are probably the most memory enhancing activity from the above mentioned.
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I use mindbook I chat with friends using mental telepathy....
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