Last but not least: Facebook enhances working memory, Twitter makes you stupid

Facebook, Twitter, Couchsurfing, YouTube; social network platforms are not only growing in terms of users, the target group is also expanding. Now they are even said to have a strong influence on the intelligence of their users. The social network Facebook is said to make its users smarter, while the microblogging service Twitter makes them dumber. This is the theory put forward by psychologist Tracy Alloway from the University of Stirling in Scotland. According to a report in the Telegraph, she has studied working memory, which is responsible for the temporary storage or use of information, in detail. In this context, she also investigated the influence of social media on working memory and came to the conclusion that individual platforms tend to promote development, while others inhibit it. So while Facebook, in Alloway's opinion, enhances working memory, Twitter is said to have the exact opposite effect. But it's not just Twitter that comes under Alloway's knife. She also criticizes all forms of communication that function in any way "directly", such as YouTube or texting. Facebook has a positive influence because it challenges the brain to a greater extent through a higher or more diverse range of functions. Twitter is worse due to its scarcity because it "reduces attention span and does not stimulate the brain or strengthen neural connections", Alloway claims. In an interview with pressetext.de, media psychologist Jo Groebel, Director of the German Digital Institute, says that it is precisely the predetermined scarcity that is positive about it. He even sees Twitter as a medium that makes people smart, as it forces them to express themselves precisely, which in turn is an intellectual exercise.

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