I’m sure we can all agree on the fact that social media has made our lives so much easier by bringing development in different fields such as business, communications, educational aspects, etc. But does all of that come for free? What prices do we have to pay for all of these benefits?
The truth is that hidden Beneath the surface of these viral trends, deep inside the heart of our smartphones, these neon Gods, lies a complex relationship between social media and one’s IQ. Let’s dive into an intellectual adventure, and figure out in what ways social media might influence one’s IQ. To talk about the less-mentioned impacts, and the untold stories that revolve around the question of how social media is shaping our IQ.
So prepare yourselves to face the truth, and keep on reading.
Social Media And IQ: Insights From A Study
These days social media offers us a universe of information at our fingertips, with just a single click, you find yourself mesmerized by all the fantastic possibilities social media provides you.
But there’s an important question we must ask ourselves: Does this virtual wonderland cause irreversible damage to our intellect? Does it steal our creativity away and leave nothing but absolute emptiness?
Let me stop you right there. It is important to remember that everything has a bright side and a dark side, and social media is no exception. Learning about both sides would help you realize the best way you could benefit from it. Together, we are going to explore new ideas and look at this matter from both perspectives.
Social Media Vs IQ: Bright Side Of The Story
Educational prospects: Have you ever thought about how social media provides Intellectual development possibilities? With the help of social media, you can have access to a variety of online courses from all over the world. Social media gives you a chance to talk to professors and incredibly talented students. You can connect with millions of other students and learn new things while sitting in your room. This contributes to the enhancement of your intellectual capabilities.
Enhancement of creativity: Witnessing the wide-ranging content that social media exposes you to, promotes an environment for expanded creativity. For example, platforms such as Pinterest can stimulate creativity by exposing users to a graphic backdrop that encourages the exploration of new ideas.
Global involvement and participation: This promotes improved reflective thinking, helps you with the consideration of varied perspectives, and encourages an open-minded manner when solving a problem, which eventually leads to contributing to intellectual growth.
Social media vs IQ: Dark side of the story
Overwhelming inundation of data: Although having access to a lot of information could help you to increase your knowledge and IQ, sometimes having too much unfiltered information is hard to process and makes you forget what information matters.
Shortened capacity for concentration: Endless scrolling through Instagram pages and constant interruption by notifications lead to a massive lack of concentration which lowers your IQ in a way you can’t possibly imagine.
Filter bubble effect: This is when social media algorithms suggest the kind of content you like, based on what you have followed before. So basically forces you to see more of the opinion you already believe in and less of other perspectives. This way you won’t get a chance to know about different viewpoints, therefore you won’t learn anything new.
Do Highly Intelligent People Engage With Social Media?
So many bright minds, such as Elon Musk -who owns a social media platform himself- do engage with social media for various reasons such as global engagement and staying updated. Matt Damon, the famous Hollywood star who is well-known for his role in “Good Will Hunting” with an IQ of 160, uses social media platforms and seems to enjoy it a lot. On the other hand, so many knowledgeable people would rather not step into the virtual world. So there is no definite answer to this question. It depends on one’s personal decision.
Do All Social Media Platforms Influence Your IQ Level In The Same Way?
It is challenging to respond to this question. Every platform provides different content and each influences your IQ level in its unique way.
Which Social Media Has People With The Highest IQ?
We can’t choose which platform has the lowest or highest average IQ of active users. No extensive research directly measures and compares the intelligence levels of users across various social media platforms.
But we can’t neglect the fact that the type of content that is shared on each platform could reflect the IQ level of its users.
For example, in Goodreads, people exchange opinions about their favorite books and novels. It is clear that reading and sharing your opinion and always being exposed to this kind of content could lead to users having higher IQs than other social media platforms.
On the other hand, a platform such as Instagram which is more about sharing your daily life in pictures, does not contribute to improving your intelligence.
So by taking a look at the kind of content each platform provides, you could guess the average IQ levels of its active users.
Recap
It is clear that social media can influence your IQ positively or negatively. On the positive side, social media can provide you access to an incredibly massive amount of information that could lead to educational growth and intellectual improvement. It also allows you to communicate with people from all over the world and improve your social skills.
However, the negative side of this virtual wonderland can’t be neglected. Being exposed to this amount of information can cause distraction. Staring at your screen all the time can lead to serious health problems such as dry eyes or backache, which eventually influences your brain’s functioning in a way.
Therefore, it’s important to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages that social media offers. This way, we can learn how to strike a balance between our social media usage and our intellectual abilities.
