Boffins at Sussex University are researching the avalanche of tweets unleashed by the General Election.

A fiendishly ingenious piece of software is being pressed into use to scour the collective wisdom of voters and politicians across the county.

Not since the search for the Beast of Bevendean or the attempt to unmask the Albion’s rocketman at Withdean Stadium has so much brain power been deployed to so trivial a pursuit.

Without resorting to brain-frying algorithms, I predict that the politicians’ Twitter feeds will be summed up with the phrase: “Great day on the doorstep! Bags of support! #winning”.

Their obsession with social media underlines a more worrying trend, highlighted by the stage-managed appearances of Ed Balls, Nick Clegg and Justine Miliband in the area this week. Politicians would far rather tap on their smartphones than talk to real people.

The visit by the wife of the labour leader caused the most head scratching. What was she here for? This is not a presidential campaign and she is not bidding to become First Lady. The ambivalence of her position was underlined when she refused to speak to The Argus. Normally politicians almost have to be handed a restraining order to keep them away from Argus reporters. But this time the Labour Party minder insisted: “She doesn’t really want to do the politics”.

Back on Twitter an excited Labour Party candidate was undaunted: “Brilliant day with Justine Miliband @edballsmp & my @bhlabour team”

But voters not glued to a computer, phone or tablet remain none the wise as to what was so brilliant about it.

Another victory for anti-social media.

John Keenan is a journalist