Is Social Media Making You Lazy?

Twitter is making us lazy. I counted at least ten different Tweets this evening where people asked their followers to answer a question that they could easily have looked up themselves. In the time it takes to Tweet something out and wait for replies, we could have found the answer on Google. One example would be someone asking what specific side effects a particular medication may have. The trouble with this is not only that it makes us lazier, it can also be dangerous. What if you ask something important – such as “do these two drugs interact badly with each other?” – and your faithful followers assure you that it’s okay. You could end up dead if they don’t know for sure what they’re talking about.

In my opinion, social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook are great places to ask for opinions and recommendations. We need to remember, though, that they may not always be the best method of finding out important information that could affect our health and our lives. Not everyone who follows you is a trained medical professional – but they may just be trying to play one online.

• A burglary suspect logged into his MySpace account while allegedly robbing someone – and never logged out.
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• Windows Phone 7 now has a local Outlook sync solution.
• Do you know how to troubleshoot Windows 7 from the inside out?
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• What is the best website you’ve ever been to?
• Airfoil has opened Pandora’s Box on television.
• What external microphone works best for you?
• Do you consume music online?
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• Making your own bread costs less, tastes better and is better FOR you than store-bought alternatives.
• Do you shoot video to tape?
• What portable programs do you take along when cleaning up an infected computer?
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• What is needed to make communication networks of the future more viable?
• A Creative Commons license was respected in a Belgian court.
• Are you ready for 3D Internet?
• What’s the difference between dark matter and anti-matter?
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• How is the Enterprise going mobile?
• Do you map out a plan for a new computer?
• When will warp drives become a reality?
• Google is releasing Instant Previews.
• Applebee’s could just be an all-American business.
• Chocolate consumption is outstripping production!
• How can you record your game while playing on the Xbox 360?
• Is having Wi-Fi on airplanes safe?
• The newest Opera build adds features and stability.
• The perfect netbook OS awaits – but where?

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