OUCH: See how Facebook, Twitter effect Your Life

New York, Aug 1: Have you ever thought of the negative effects of social networking sites on your life? If you're a Facebook or Twitter addict, beware - you may face identity crisis or short attention span!

According to Baroness Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have created a generation obsessed with themselves, having short attention spans and a child-like desire for constant feedback on their lives.

The researcher opinionated that social networking sites and greater use of computer games could 'rewire" the brain of the users. Importantly, those who are obsessed with social networking could lead to poor non-verbal skills, like maintaining eye contact during a face-to-face conversation.

"What concerns me is the banality of so much that goes out on Twitter. Why should someone be interested in what someone else has had for breakfast? It reminds me of a small child (saying): "Look at me Mummy, I'm doing this", "Look at me Mummy I'm doing that"," said Baroness Greenfield.

According to her, some Facebook users feel the need to become 'mini celebrities' who are watched and admired by others on a daily basis.

"It's almost as if people are living in a world that's not a real world, but a world where what counts is what people think of you or (if they) can click on you," the Daily Mail reported the scientist as saying.

OneIndia News