Does Social Networking Expand Your Brain ? Facebook and Grey Matter

[C. Flower]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...ook-brain.html

It's a small study - 125 people - but it appears that there may be a correlation between the amount of "grey matter" a person has and the number of Face Book friends they have.

[Sam Lord]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...ook-brain.html

It's a small study - 125 people - but it appears that there may be a correlation between the amount of "grey matter" a person has and the number of Face Book friends they have.

Inverse I'm guessing.

[Griska]

I loath Facebook.
I was delighted to hear that a bunch of kids who I know from their time in care had tracked down their father through it though.

I'm not sure how the father feels, mind.

[Sam Lord]

I decline several friend requests daily. Does that make me dumb?

[C. Flower]

Inverse I'm guessing.

"The relative contributions of 'nature' and 'nurture' therefore remain to be determined," the study's authors concluded.

In a series of experiments, the researchers found the volume of grey matter in the amygdala, a region associated with processing memory and emotional responses, was larger in people with a larger network of friends in the real world.

The size of three other regions were also tied with online social networks, but did not appear to be related with real-world networks:

Right superior temporal sulcus, which plays a role in our ability to perceive a moving object as biological. Structural defects in this region have been identified in some children with autism.

Left middle temporal gyrus, which has been shown to activate in response to the gaze of others and so is implicated in perception of social cues.
Right entorhinal cortex, which has been linked to memory and navigation — including navigating through online social networks.

When it comes to memory and navigation skills, use it, or lose it, maybe.

[fluffybiscuits]

Did you hear the Data Protection commissioner is looking into issues here with facebook data? As the HQ for facebook outside the US/Canada is here we have regulation of the data outside US/Canada!

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...305819740.html

[tomasocarthaigh]

To partake in social networking, one must have an ability to understand computers. To enjoy it, using computers ust not be a hassle, so you must understand them well to use them effortlessly.

Impossible if your thick.

So... the study proves grass is green!!!

Whether people spending so much time online is good or not for society is another matter... lol

[fluffybiscuits]

To partake in social networking, one must have an ability to understand computers. To enjoy it, using computers ust not be a hassle, so you must understand them well to use them effortlessly.

Impossible if your thick.

So... the study proves grass is green!!!

Whether people spending so much time online is good or not for society is another matter... lol

I have been known to while away hours on this site! Social networking though in all seriousness is an excellent tool and has lead to me forming new and lasting friendships with people I met online. I have already been lucky enough to meet two people off here and I have one good friend whom posts the very odd time on here! Other sites such as facebook, twitter etc have all lead to me meeting like minded people in real life like my other half! In saying that its no substitute for real life, my closest friends are ones I have not met on the net but who knows !...A stranger is a friend you have not met yet .....

[Count Bobulescu]

According to soon-to-be-published research from professors at Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh, browsing Facebook lowers our self control. The effect is most pronounced with people whose Facebook networks were made up of close friends, the researchers say.

Most of us present an enhanced image of ourselves on Facebook. This positive image—and the encouragement we get, in the form of "likes"—boosts our self-esteem. And when we have an inflated sense of self, we tend to exhibit poor self-control.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...jemLifeStyle_h

[C. Flower]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...jemLifeStyle_h

I recall studies that said inflated self-esteem was good for people