Study: How Twitter is hurting students
October 1, 2009 by Carin FordPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Tech News
Are social networks hurting or helping your students? You might be surprised at the results of a recent study.
Turns out not all social networks are created equal when it comes to their effect on our brains.
Dr. Tracy Alloway of Scotland’s University of Stirling, says her study shows using Facebook stretches our “working memory” (our short-term or recent memory), while Twitter, YouTube and text messages tend to weaken it.
Alloway studies working memory and has developed a training program to increase the performance of children – ages 11 to 14 – who are slow learners. She found:
- Keeping up-to-date with Facebook improved the children’s IQ scores
- Playing video games – especially those that require planning and strategy – and Sudoku also were beneficial
- Using Twitter, YouTube and text messaging does not engage enough of the brain to be helpful, and actually reduce attention span. (Click here for the full story on Alloway’s study.)
“On Twitter, you receive an endless stream of information, but it’s also very succinct,” Alloway said. “You don’t have to process that information.”
She noted that Facebook requires you to keep track of past actions and then plan future actions, which stretches the working memory.
They might not be doing it to improve their memory, but prospective college students are increasingly using Facebook for more than just social interaction. According to a new Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions study, more than 70% of college admissions officials have received “friend requests” from students using Facebook and MySpace.
While it’s debatable whether “friending” an admissions official gives a student an edge when applying to a given college, it’s reasonable to suggest students are using social network sites to help their chances of getting into the school of their choice.
Do you interact with students on Facebook? Let us know in the comments section below.
Tags: Dr. Tracy Alloway, facebook, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, myspace, twitter, University of Stirling
Loading ...
September 30th, 2009 at 9:43 am
You need to take another look at Twitter. At least among adults it’s main value lies in providing links to really useful sites/info. Examples: following NY Times, Wash Post, indie film makers, writing instructors, specialists on the middle east. None written for kids, but some out there could be.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Since my students typically pay more attention to their Facebook pages than to email, I have often used the FB Inbox function to contact a student from whom I needed a quick response.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:21 am
No. Nor do I use their myspace pages, or any other place they might hang out.
Most workplace settings have an official communications channel (company email) in order to minimize the costs associated with communicating to the workforce. Workplace info is not “voluntary” and customizable, though it is frequently trivial. Employers don’t need to “seek you” out to get your attention–they just threaten your paycheck. Students need to learn to check communication channels as an everyday info literacy skill. If they want to direct all communication to some other proxy that is there responsibility–till they do so they need to check the course website just like they would their work email.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I’d like to see how twitter was used in the study. I guess I’ll have to click the link. If you are adding everybody, rather than trying to keep up with specific conversations and refer to past comments, then I could see how it would be harmful.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I “friend” only FORMER students.
September 30th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
The main issue with these social networking sites is privacy. The content is available for all to see and it is archived (cached). You might say you have nothing to hide, but some of your comments could be used against you in the future. Employers can check these sites and often do. I can see maybe Admissions offices incorporating this into the admissions process. It is a bit scary if you ask me.
I for one do not subscribe to these sites.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
As near as I can determine from the original article and a literature search, Dr. Alloway is simply offering her personal opinions. Unable to find any research she’s actually published on new media
use and working memory.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
As Blackwell said, I’ve only had former teachers “friend” me. I would not “friend” a current teacher or potential employer, it seems a bit too underhanded.
Carter has a point, however it’s completely possible to block any accounts, Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter from allowing strangers to view more than a very basic front page. I’ve started changing my name (which is far more unique than what I’m posting here) on sites too, so that I stop popping up on Google.
I completely agree with McGrath’s comment, while Twitter can be harmful, I’ve also found an amazing wealth of information and links on there about current events, such as things happening in Iran.. that I never would have researched on my own. It’s brief tastes of information that help so you can spend time researching things that actually matter, rather than spending a lot of time reading a lot of stuff that doesn’t matter just to find a few useful sources.
Lastly, I don’t believe that Facebook should be used as a way to quickly communicate with students, they should be taking responsibility and not contacting teacher casually on a social site like Facebook. I think it’s unprofessional, and it gives them am unfair ‘edge’ that other students who don’t wish to participate in those things, don’t have.
September 30th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Nein!
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:47 am
This “study” is a joke. Twitter was never intended to strengthen anyone’s brain. This is just another example of a pseudo-academic trying to get some publicity by jumping on the social networking bandwagon.
October 5th, 2009 at 11:56 pm
I believe that using social networking sites as college students for academic purposes or formal communication between university staff/faculty and students is fine in todays socioty. Technology has allowed us to increase our form of communication with others on a daily basis. Wether is twitter or facebook, these new sites allow us to communicate with people all over the world regardless of there lcoation. It also allows personal to see a diffrent side of you, one that can’t be seen through the phone.
These sites have been introduced to the world and should be used to the fullest. In the academic department it should help alot, since these sites give you a better way to see the persons taste and personality before u meet them officially. This also opens the doors to get to know them trew online chatting since most of the time of colloge students is spend on the computer.
In conclusion, Technology has allowed us to increase our form of communication with others on a daily basis. Wether is twitter or facebook, these new sites allow us to communicate with people all over the world regardless of there lcoation. These should be used tot eh fullest since technology has given us a better way to communicate.
October 6th, 2009 at 11:30 am
It’s how you use the technology. I use twitter with my nursing students. Photos, audio, video, and resource all available to them quickly.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I use Facebook to contact graduates of a technical program. I like to see what and where these graduates are in the industry. I will *NOT* ever use Facebook to contact current students. I think using these social network sites are fine for personal use and very limited work related. I believe that it is inappropriate to communicate with students through these social networking sites.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Well, thank you Cesar Galindo! You have proven my point. Sometimes it is not what you communicate, but how you communicate. Feel free to blame it on the fact that your response was entered at 11:56pm. You obviously did not have access to spell check because your communication was laden with typo’s and grammatical errors! Did you, God forbid, do this on purpose? I could not get past the spelling errors enough to discern the actual content of your communication.
What happened to putting your best foot forward? I got the impression that you were an uncaring, sloppy person and that you are unaware of the need to present the best of you when communicating using the written word. “Formal communication?” Let’s hear from some other real communicators on this topic!
October 8th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Please pardon the repetition, but I have used Twitter to find an excellent blog about the Mideast; conveniently have articles sent to me by a variety of media (mainly US and UK); discover some great books; “hear” the voices/idioms/obsessions of a wide variety of people in different countries; keep up with French in delightfully short bursts; discover some excellent indie film festivals; track relatives leading interesting lives and posting quality blogs. I also use it to send short notes to myself. For me Twitter is not a “social medium,” it is a convenient thinking tool.
December 30th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Here we are several months after the original story and still nothing from Alloway to back up her speculation. I tried contacting her personal a couple of times to see if there was a paper in the works– no response. Let’s be good scholars here and demand data for claims such as these. Disappointing to see this mutt make the “Top 10 Stories” list on this site.