Facebook and Twitter have created a generation of youngsters obsessed with themselves who need constant and childish appreciation from others, says a researcher.
Repeated exposure to social networks lead to a crisis of identity of users who will need constant feedback as children do, reports dailymail.co.uk.
A professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, Baroness Greenfield believes that friendships on the internet, like via computer games, could harm brain. This can result in low level of concentration, a need for immediate satisfaction and it may affect non-verbal skills such as maintaining eye contact during a conversation.
Over 750 million people worldwide use Facebook to share pictures and videos and posting regular messages about what they do and think. Twitter, a social network that allows members to post short messages and images about themselves, has millions of users.
“What worries me is the banality of many messages that are posted on Twitter. Why would anyone be interested in what someone else ate for breakfast? Reminds me of a child telling his mother: “Look what I’m doing!” Baroness Greenfield says.
Experts say that these people behave as if they have an identity crisis. According to the same source, some Facebook users feel the need to become mini-celebrities who are seen and admired daily by others.
These people do things “worthy of Facebook” because the only way that they could define themselves is to be known by other people.
“It’s almost as if people would live in an unreal world, where what matters is what others think. Think of the implications for society if people do more than worry about other people’s opinions than how they view themselves”, said the expert.