By Anna Gueldenhaupt, Europe
Yesterday the Daily Mail reported that the volume of online content, driven by social media, could have long-term damaging effects on the emotional development of young people’s brains. The author, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a researcher at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, said: “For some thoughts, especially moral decision-making about other people’s social and psychological situations, we need to allow for adequate time and reflection”. It seems the constant flow of real time information from Twitter, FriendFeed, and Facebook is too fast for people to process effectively. According to Mary Helen, this means that we’re never able to fully experience emotions about other people’s psychological states.
So, we’re able to sort through constant information streams incredibly quickly (a new skill in many respects), but we are not developing the deeper analytical skills needed for us to engage meaningfully. I guess the question is whether the good (broader social engagement, information flows and access to true communities of interest) balance the downside (rapid response ‘skimming’). That’s where the real debate should be.
April 15th, 2009
By Rachel
The role that pharma companies and communications agencies acting on their behalf play in medical education has been much debated. I agree we need to look at the level of influence pharma companies have over physician education and prescribing decisions. However, as long as pharma companies are transparent in their communications and provide resources that are balanced and fair, it seems to be that their role is a crucial one, especially in an environment where funding for education is limited.
One advance in communications that plays out well for balanced, un-biased information sharing is the Social Web (i.e. the application of the World Wide Web that facilitate many-to-many conversations, debate and information sharing). We are already seeing websites springing up where physicians can share their experiences, ask colleagues questions about clinical decisions, take part in educational webinars, and read peer-reviewed articles rated by fellow medical professionals. Perhaps this is the way forward and pharma companies should be investing their resources in developing online platforms for these two-way dialogues. Anything that is clearly promotional, with little educational content, will be quickly shunned. I know this is a challenging area for pharma companies due to the lack of guidance from regulatory bodies. However, with careful consideration and strict operating protocols, there can be clear advantages for those willing to launch in.
October 28th, 2008
