Just been reading this post by Maureen Scarpelli on the Wall Street Journal blogs, which explains that researchers are figuring out how the interaction social media spurs can stimulate brain activity.
She quotes Patricia Kuhl, a University of Washington professor, who states “we did not evolve to lie in front of a flat screen and just watch it, even if what it’s spewing at us is informative or entertaining"- something I'd wholeheartedly agree with!
Maureen then summarises a couple of studies:
One how social interaction plays into learning language, and that the Japanes students in the study were successful English language learners because "they interacted with language tools in the same way they might in a social-media environment — by their own free will and with high interaction, instead of just reading, watching or listening".
She also reports on studies on infant brains that "have shown that knowledge retention is only possible when accompanied with personal interaction or activity, but this becomes even more important as people get older".
This posting is all too short, will need to find out more ... Does anyone know of any similar studies studies with conclusions like this?
