According to a interview published last week in the UK's Daily Mail, Oxford neurologist Lady Susan Greenfield is seriously suggesting that too much time spent interacting by texting on the computer can actually cause autism. I can only assume that the Baroness Greenfield is not aware that most cases of autism are diagnosed long, long before a child can actually read or write - and in many cases before developing the ability to even maneuver a computer mouse. Here's what she has to say:
'I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitised and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf,' she said. ...The site GNews.com recently published an articles called Too Much Facebook Could Cause Autism in Children, commenting on the theory:'Of course, we do not know whether the current increase in autism is due more to increased awareness and diagnosis of autism, or whether it can - if there is a true increase - be in any way linked to an increased prevalence among people of spending time in screen relationships. Surely it is a point worth considering,' she added.
In the latest health scare regarding the internet, scientists at Oxford University have warned that children who spend too much time on social networks online could suffer from personality and brain disorders.What concerns me about theories like this one is that, first, they're presented by individuals whose credentials really do suggest they know what they're talking about. Second, they hold a tiny grain of truth. Indeed, there is research to suggest that too much television at too young an age can have a negative impact on a child's ability to focus for long periods. But Greenfield isn't talking about focus - or television. She's talking about social interaction on computers, using the written word. And she's suggesting that such interaction can actually CAUSE autism.Susan Greenfield, a neurologist at Oxford University has claimed that social network sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter can physically “rewire” children’s brains to change their personality.
Ms Greenfield said that too much time spent online would cause children to become more selfish and would severely reduce their attention spans.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Ms Greenfield said: “My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment.”
Ms Greenfield went on to suggest that the recent rise in child autism could be a direct result of children spending too much time online on popular social networks such as Bebo.
For the record, by the time a child is old enough to have and intelligently use a Facebook account, she is too old to be appropriately diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. To be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a child must show symptoms PRIOR TO AGE 3.
OH MY GOD ARE THESE PEOPLE SERIOUS. INSANE I SWERE
Hmm… the last paragraph puzzles me. Asperger’s is considered an autism spectrum disorder. I was first professionally diagnosed at age 53, which is about 50 years older than the age limit in the last paragraph.
Please, PLEASE tell me this is not serious. It’s still weeks until April Fool’s Day.
“Buzzing noises and bright lights …” — does this alleged expert know the difference between a computer and a pinball game?
Actually, Bill, though people obviously ARE diagnosed with AS as adults, signs of AS should have been present prior to age 3. Here’s how the NIH describes dx of aspergers:
Most doctors rely on the presence of a core group of behaviors to alert them to the possibility of a diagnosis of AS. These are:
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abnormal eye contact
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aloofness
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the failure to turn when called by name
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the failure to use gestures to point or show
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a lack of interactive play
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a lack of interest in peers
Some of these behaviors may be apparent in the first few months of a child’s life, or they may appear later. Problems in at least one of the areas of communication and socialization or repetitive, restricted behavior must be present before the age of 3.
Lisa (autism guide)
Asperger’s wasn’t added to the DSM until 1994, so at age 3, so the person diagnosed at age 53 would had been 38 in 1994.
The facebook thing is sort of funny. Many people with an autism disorder do very well communicating online since it’s void of emotions and eye contact and body language. There are many things that can cause behaviors in children, desensitize the child and give them a false sense of the real world, but that would not be autism.
Funny, this suggestion of the higher rates of autism of course didn’t correlate the age of facebook use to the age of diagnosis. That would be a pretty important factor.
Historically, every new technology has been met by doomsday types that arbitrarily declare that it will cause the end of social society as we know it. Truth is, things will change. How we habitually communicate… will change. Will such changes be really a bad thing or just another adaptation in a long string of human adaptations? Well, we’ve come a long ways from grunting in front of an open fire and throwing sticks in the air to get attention and only time will tell. Comptuer social networds and their effects, whatever they are, have absolutely nothing to do with autism. Ms. Greenspan really just made a fool of herself and I bet she wishes her comments were not so well covered (thanks in part to the same social networks she condemns).
My wife is a former teacher of gifted kids. She noticed that those introduced to computers too early failed to be as creative or capable of complex problem solving. they seemed to expect “yes” or “no” or multiple choice answers to everything. She spoke with mental health professionals that agreed. Autism? Maybe not, but further study could prevent a lifelong learning handicap.
I landed on your blog because I had the same thought about online social interactions actually inducing autistic behaviors in adults. Facebook by nature is to live in your world and post tidbits about what you are doing. I notice that even though it is meant to be an interactive site, most people spend time posting about themselves with very minimal interaction with each other, often even ignoring what others are doing or saying. I do not know the medical science behind the naturally occuring autism, but it certainly makes me wonder if online interaction induces autistic behavior.
A key point to consider is this: autism by definition must develop in a child before the age of 3. Facebook by definition can only be used by a person who can read, write and use the internet independently. Basically, there’s no way that Facebook could cause autism.
Lisa
Austism has several known causes, such as defects on genes 6,7,9,10,11,13 and 17. Individuals living with autism have a narrow corpus collossum, the bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain, they also have a low production of serotonin which leads to a lesser production of new brain cells. Pr Gauthier of VanderBild has drawn a map of the brain of individuals living with autism and found areas, such as the connections needed to recognize faces to be absent. Autism is a spectrum of a wide variety of symptoms and demonstration and the use of the computer cannot be one of the causes for Autism. The children need to relate, need to have an impact and often it is only via the mouse of the computer. As anyone, I will aggree that excess is bad, but parents don’t need to have one more reason to worry. Claudie Gordon-Pomares, founder of the Multi-Sensory Brain therapy.