We received the following message from our son’s youth minister via email that was apparently sent to youth across the country:
“Facebook, the most popular social-networking site, users make and keep in touch with friends, post pictures, and update their online “profiles.” Other social-networking sites include MySpace, Friendster, and Xanga. Twitter, another fast-growing network, combines interconnectivity with “microblogging.”
Users write frequent, short bursts of information (also known as “tweets”) to keep up-to-the minute
current with one another. All this online friend-forming is affecting teenagers’ development, according to
experts. Researchers say social-networking sites are shortening attention spans, encouraging instant gratification, and making young people more self-focused. A British neurologist warns that extended use of the sites actually rewires the brain, causing teenagers to require constant reassurance that they exist.
Is xanga making you doubt your existence?