Scientists say getting updates too frequently and too fast may “numb our sense of morality”
Is there such a thing as too much Twitter? Scientists at the University of Southern California seem to think so. They say that the speed at which we get news updates that are sent through Twitter may make us bypass the full anguish of the story all together. Now I’ve heard lots of bad news via the web. Most recently, I heard one of my fave TV character actors, Andy Hallett, passed away from heart failure and I found out this news through Twitter. I immediately started Googling to find out more information and though I didn’t know this guy personally, I did feel a sense of sadness and loss. I think I would have felt this way had I heard it through any outlet.
But maybe I picked an example too close to home for me. That was someone I had heard of and someone I enjoyed. What if it was something more tragic like a plane crash or a Tsunami half way around the world? Would I react the same way if I heard this news via Twitter? I can admit that I am a bit desensitized for sure, but to say that if I found it out through a quick news update via Twitter over seeing it on the nightly news that my reaction would be less seems to be a stretch. What do you think?