Are Twitter and Facebook Bad for You?

membership ticker

Autocratic forces are ascendant.

Truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against an autocrat’s unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to political leaders, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought, bent, or broken. Depend on it, and please stand with us.

Autocratic forces are ascendant in America. But truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against the unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to political leaders, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought or broken. Please stand with us.

Photo used under a Creative Commons license by flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfilej/" target="_blank">mfilej</a>

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Obsessed with Twitter and Facebook? Then you’re probably immoral and stupid.

At least, that’s what two new studies claim. USC researchers allege that speed-tweeting leaves no time for compassion. I wonder if this applies to recent-Twitter convert Jesus. (Apparently, Twitter may also have jumped the shark. Poor Biz Stone.)

Meanwhile, a survey by Ohio doctoral students reveals that Facebook users get inferior grades in school. Because stalking ex-boyfriends online totally cuts into study time.

Somehow, I doubt these studies will stop anybody from social networking. Which reminds me: Did you know MoJo has its own Twitter feed and Facebook page? Check them out!