Social media and its effects on the intellect

The advance of social media discourse could be harshly described as a continual

distraction, containing noisy encumbrances of rapidly-sampled psychotic diatribe
s from multiple silos. This, it is said, is one of the profound questions about
the narcissism of the modern psyche.
In Nick Carr's recent book, "The Shallows", he explains how the printed book ser
ved to focus our attention, "promoting deep and creative thought", while the eth
ic of the internet is a post-industrialist mentality of "speed and efficiency" a
nd "optimised production and consumption". He argues we have become ever more ad
ept at "scanning and skimming, but what we are losing is our capacity for concen
tration, contemplation, and reflection".
The cultural criticism of this book sparkles with vignettes about how Friedrich
Nietzsche wrestled with a typewriter and how Sigmund Freud dissected the brains
of sea creatures. But in "The Stuff of Thought", Steven Pinker, a Harvard profes
sor of psychology, believes human beings are more than capable of adapting to th
e current flow of constant digital information and stimulus, just as they adapte
d to other forms of media.
So, which is it? Do we control the amount of information that we absorb and, if
so, what benefits do we actually derive from social media discourse?
This is taken at random on a Saturday afternoon from The Nation's website, one o
f Thailand's English-based national newspapers. And we find the following: veen_
NT: @lickmymango your typo is terrible but LMAO. veen_NT: @babyfishie I hope not
but will be on alert;-) veen_NT: @qandrew lol- me bad. need more chillax;-) bab
yfishie: @veen_NT Are you going to be a designated driver again tonight?
Breaking news at its most profound. And contemplative and reflective? Take this
from Stephen Fry: "V touching article about what it means to play football with
your father. Not that I ever did!"
New forms of media, Pinker says, "have always caused moral panics: the printing
press, newspapers, paperbacks and television were all once denounced as threats
to their consumers' brainpower and moral fibre". And he takes issue with Carr th
at Twitter and the internet are making people dumber by literally rewiring their
brains, so that we can no longer think deep thoughts."
If you have an issue with not playing football with your father in your mid-fift
ies, Carr seems to have the upper hand at this stage.
But, on the other hand, Pinker sees the internet and social media such as Twitte
r as digital distractions that are not necessarily making society dumber. In fac
t, he concludes by saying: "far from making us stupid, these technologies are th
e only things that will keep us smart".
A Microsoft tweet alludes to agree with him: "Want to personalize your Win 7 des
ktop? Make a rotating slide show of your favorite images."
Slideshow, by the way, is one word and judging from the way teenagers write thei
r tweets, you would think none of them, even university graduates, have spent mo
re than an hour or so on spelling and grammar.
Then there's an article by Peggy Orenstein in the New York Times, "Twitter is ch
anging how we interact with the world", in which The Guardian writes: "She descr
ibes sharing a beautiful moment with her daughter, but how her experience became
split between enjoying the moment and the impulse to split off and tweet about
it."
Now you have to admit that's a sad indictment about the compulsiveness, a psycho
sis almost, of social media interaction.
Further, it goes on: "Back in the 1950s, the sociologist Erving Goffman famously
argued that all of life is performance: we act out a role in every interaction,
adapting it based on the nature of the relationship or context at hand.
"Twitter has extended that metaphor to include aspects of our experience that us
ed to be considered off-set: eating pizza in bed, reading a book in the tub, thi
nking a thought anywhere, flossing.
"Effectively, it makes the greasepaint permanent, blurring the lines not only be
tween public and private but also between the authentic and contrived self. If a
ll the world was once a stage, it has now become a reality TV show: we mere play
ers are not just aware of the camera; we mug for it."
Shakespeare would be surely moved by the metaphor. And reality shows are an abho
rrence tantamount to warbling Thai karaoke at three o'clock in the morning.
So I suspect she's referring to narcissism when The Guardian continues with: "Ea
ch of us chooses what we present to the outside world, crafting a public identit
y - a identity that we want other people to see. Every tweet, every Facebook pos
ting, every Flickr upload is part of reinforcing the image we want people to see
. While she says she can't give Twitter up, she questions the expense of that co
mpulsion to post: 'When every thought is externalised, what becomes of insight?
When we reflexively post each feeling, what becomes of reflection? When friends
become fans, what happens to intimacy?'"
And then, into the arena comes the businesss bully. Let's be honest, the real re
ason I'm writing about this is not to internally elucidate personal identity or
provide members of my own race with any kind of insight and knowledge but, cynic
ally, to keep pace with my competitors on Google. So when I read about the meani
ngful business merits attributed to its cause I tend to skirm, as some might be
doing already.
For my next trick, stage left comes Brian Solis, author of the book "Engage! The
Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Succe
ss in the New Web", in which he states that social media has "democratised influ
ence, forever changing the way businesses communicate with customers and the way
customers affect the decisions of their peers.
"With platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, anyone can now find and con
nect with others who share similar interests, challenges, and beliefs-creating c
ommunities that shape and steer the perception of brands. Without engagement in
these communities, we miss major opportunities to shape our marketing messages."
Belief-creating? Sounds alarmingly evangelical.
Personally, I don't really know what to think. I use Twitter because I understan
d that Google likes websites that tweet. Because of Facebook I'm meeting an old
friend next weekt I haven't seen in past 30 years. So neither platform can be co
mpletely discounted.
And I can still just about digest an Ian McEwan novel during a tropical rainstor
m, so my input into the social media scene has not "dumbed me down" as Mr Carr a
nd his peers would like to have us believe.
V9 Design and Build (http://www.v9designbuild.com) produce tasteful web design i
n Bangkok, Thailand, including ecommerce shopping cart solutions, with functiona
lity that allows owners to set up and maintain their online stores.