Cut off your nose; or spite your Facebook?

I read with great interest about a qualitative study which indicates that given a hypothetical choice; over half of today’s youth would prefer to give up their sense of smell, rather than their social networks.

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I’m curious as to how this poll was conducted; because instead of giving an instant answer to such a significant dilemma, this strikes me as the type of quandary –albeit theoretical, that one should mull over wisely for a few days, before giving a final answer.

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Take for instance, the importance of being able to smell a fire or a gas leak before it builds up into an explosive nature. And what about spoiled food, with our keen noses ready to save us from sickness or worse? If we went nose- less, wouldn’t most of us miss the simple pleasures and familiarity of distinctive aromas from friends and beloved ones?

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Smell is the sense most closely connected with our memories. When we walk through the woods on a snowy evening feeling powerfully connected to nature, it’s a great nostalgic joy to sniff somebody’s fireplace burning in the distance.

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Would today’s youth really rather give up smell, preferring to paint rosier Facebook pictures?