Facebook Makes You Smarter, Twitter Makes You Dumber

Twitter and Facebook are very different beasts when it comes to improving your “working memory“, which relates to “the structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating information in short-term memory.”

Scottish researchers have developed a working memory training programme for slow-learning children aged 11 to 14 and found out that Facebook did wonders for working memory, improving the kids’ IQ scores, while YouTube and Twitters steady stream of information was not healthy for working memory. Also, playing video games, especially those that involve planning and strategy, can also be beneficial

Mashable suggests that as with any such study, one needs to take the results with a grain of salt. Without going into the benefits of training working memory for improving your IQ results, it’s obvious that Facebook and Twitter are hard to compare. Facebook is extremely versatile: you can play games there, chat with your friends, view photos and videos; you can even take IQ tests.

Twitter is a much simpler, more streamlined service. Does that fact alone makes it detrimental to your working memory? The research claims: “On Twitter you receive an endless stream of information, but it’s also very succinct. You don’t have to process that information. Your attention span is being reduced and you’re not engaging your brain and improving nerve connections.”

This may well be the case, and while looking religiously at Twitter all day is probably bad for you, if you mix it up with other online activities – such as Facebook – I'm not so sure that there would be any negative effects

Further reading: The social brain