The researchers are equivocal on the pro-social implications but nod toward our protean techno-culture as the culprit. The study noted: "A variety of sociodemographic shifts, manifest in census data, could be causing these changes; however, because social change in the U.S. between 1997 and 2007 centered on the expansion of communication technologies, we hypothesize that the sudden value shift in this period is technology driven." More research is needed, as usual. But one might ask whether that swelling in the temporal sulcus results not from the motivation to do missionary work in Gabon, but rather from a pulsing desire to procure the proverbial 15 minutes of fame that is so endemic to the ethos of today's wired youth culture.

4 Comments

1. 1. jagaines 05:34 PM 11/3/11

   An interesting and timely follow-up to the Kanai study that I also questioned. Now that we've got a connection between Facebook/brain and socializing/brain, do we need to make a connection between Facebook and real-life socializing for all this to be meaningful?

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2. 2. Rationallylogicalanimalskeptic 08:20 PM 11/3/11

   sounds like psuedoscience to me

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3. 3. Postulator 05:20 AM 11/4/11

   So what you need to do is take one group of people - all of whom are extremely socially active. Measure brain connections, then split the group in two. One group is banned from social media, while the other is encouraged to use it.
   
   (Good luck getting volunteers, or meaningful results).

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4. 4. gmperkins 03:17 PM 11/4/11

   I'll take the blue pill.

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