04 May 2011

Going through newsfeeds a while back, I came across a teaser headline about how Facebook makes you stupid. As usual, there's a lot more to it further in. A small college volunteer sample group was tested, and heavy Facebook use correlated with low NFC, Need For Cognition.

And that's the main takeaway for me, shrinks have tests to measure NFC. I looked at one test where you agree or disagree with statements, some of which could be problematic: "I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat important but does not require much thought"

Well, that depends. We need to distinguish intellectual laziness from cognitive efficiency. For instance the common nerd contempt for clothing and fashion is a net win. Likewise the typical disdain for social conventions of politeness, euphemisms, considering feelings etc. So considering wardrobe and smalltalk at a fancy dress company dinner might be mentally effortful, but it's awful, to be avoided, and shrivels the soul.

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