Social networking site Twitter has exploded in popularity since its launch, but new research suggests that it may be a case of too much of a good thing.
A University of Southern California study has shown that reading rapid updates from social networking tools can make us indifferent to human suffering.
“If things are happening too fast, you may not ever fully experience emotions about other people’s psychological states and that would have implications for your morality,” researcher Mary Helen Immordino-Yang told CNN.
An experiment conducted by researchers showed that humans process and respond very quickly to signs of physical pain in others via messages, but take longer to show compassion.
“For some kinds of thought, especially moral decision-making about other people’s social and psychological situations, we need to allow for adequate time and refection,” says Immordio-Yang.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
