Some Books Like the Vampire Books Could be Affecting Teens' Minds

Vampire books like 'Twilight' could be changing the way teens think,scientists have revealed.

"We don't know exactly how literature affects the brain, but we know that it does," Live Science quoted Maria Nikolajeva of Cambridge University as saying.

Majority of Kids Own Mobile Phones Than Books
A new study by the National Literacy Trust has found that kids as young as seven years are more likely to own a mobile phone rather than a book.

"Some new findings have identified spots in the brain that respond to literature and art," she said.

Previously, scientists, authors and educators met in Cambridge for a conference organized by Nikolajeva to discuss how young-adult books and movies affect teenagers' minds.

"For young people, everything is so strange, and you cannot really say why you react to things - it's a difficult period to be a human being," said Nikolajeva.

Boys Like Less Challenging Books
A new study has found than boys read as much as girls, but prefer far less challenging books.

The conference brought together "people from different disciplines to share what we know about this turbulent period we call adolescence," she said.

"What we have learned over the past decade is that the teenage brain processes information differently than a more mature brain," said conference presenter Karen Coats.

Books Better Than Having Sex Say Aussies
Most Aussies prefer reading a good book than making love with their partner, finds a new survey.

"Brain imaging shows that teens are more likely to respond to situations emotionally, and they are less likely to consider consequences through rational forethought," said Coats.

Linguistic anthropologist Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University said by e-mail: "What neuroscience opens for us is what happens within the brain during specific activities that take place within identifiable emotional or motivational states."

Tablets and Netbooks to be Electronics Show Stars
The stars at next week's premier Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, will be sleeker, smarter mobile phones, tablets, and netbooks as firms bring out their latest gadgets,

Nikolajeva said: "If you look very, very clearly at what kind of values the 'Twilight' books propagate, these are very conservative values that do not in any way endorse independent thinking or personal development or a woman's position as an independent creature. That's quite depressing."

Nikolajeva argued that authors have a moral responsibility to include some positivity and hope in works aimed at teens.

"If young people read books where there is no hope at all, it's really damaging. We need to be aware of young people being influenced by what they read or watch, the games they play. It all plays a very important role," she added.

Source-ANI