How Social Media Addiction Destroys Your Brain

The rise of social media has changed our day to day lives. But more and more reports show that social media and especially social media can impact our brain. Social media addiction might also to a decline in mental health. How does social media changes us? And are the effects by social media addiction reversal?

Social media has been developed to connect people. However, quite early, scientists found that social media (and social media addiction) can lead to changes in the brain such an enlarged amygdala. First reports surfaced showing that people compare their lives to lives they see on social media and report a decline of mental health upon heavy social media use. It seems like our brains cannot distinguish between social media and the real world. Social media also led to an attention span crisis meaning that we have a harder time to focus if we spend much time on social media. Moreover, social media is able to feed into the reward system of our brains. Everytime we perceive something good dopamine producing cells in the brain release dopamine which leads to a good feeling. Social media has used this mechanism to provide us with a constant stream of good feelings. Social media algorithms have been optimize to show more social media content in a shorter period of time leading to more dopamine. As a result, some argue that social media addiction should be recognized as a mental disorder.
Besides negatively impacting our brains on an individual level social media and social media addiction also impacts society. Last year, a sharp rise in tic symptoms have been reported among teenagers in the US. It seems like that tic-related content on tiktok together with anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to this rise in tic-like symptoms. So what should we do about social media? And how can we ensure that our brains are not negatively impacted by the constant stream of dopamine? Well, sometimes the best thing is just to avoid social media for a while.

References:
Images:

Jack Dorsey by cellanr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Youtube Founders by Ianmacm, CC BY-SA 3.0
Steve Jobs by Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Jeff Bezos by Seattle City Council, CC BY-SA 2.0
Emo by jezebel parker, CC BY-SA 2.0
Tokio hotel by Pascal Parvex, CC BY-SA 3.0
Nucleus Accumbens by Leevanjackson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Trumpet by PJ, CC BY-SA 2.0

00:00-00.59 Intro
00:59-3:22 How Social Media Changed our Brain
3:22- 6:00 Social Media Hijacks our Reward System
6:00-9:14 The Rise Of Social Media Addiction
9:14-11:01 What to do about Social Media Addiction

Music:
Title: Black heat by Ross Budgen (CC BY 4.0)
Title: Filaments by Scott Buckley d (CC BY 3.0)
Light Sting by Kevin MacLeod (CC By 4.0)
Title: Buddha by Kontekst
Genre and Mood: Hip Hop & Rap + Bright
About Clemens Steinek:

About Clemens Steinek:
CLEMENS STEINEK is a PhD student/youtuber (LifeLabLearner) who is currently conducting stem cell research in Germany.

[JohnJohnson-viev]

I started noticing that pattern of behavior in 2020 and I got off of all social media(besides YouTube) it was definitely making me feel depressed at times. I started educating myself about the world instead. Best move I've ever made

[CT-pvgu]

There’s something not right with social media. It drains me. And if you’re not on it, you feel like you’re missing out. This can’t be good for the brain. It’s like these companies are playing around with our deepest needs as a human. Nothing beats face to face human contact, nothing.

[melissaalfaro]

I used to be a model. I started modeling the same time social media was invented, so my skills were a hybrid of old-school and IG. I stopped using social media on 2020 and unfortunately I couldn’t continue with my modeling career. It’s like if I don’t have social media I don’t exist…
But my mental health is better without social media

[josephjoestar]

I avoid social media like the plague since I'm already addicted to YouTube, good thing the addiction spreads to informative videos so at least I can learn.

[Andrea-ujeu]

As someone with adhd diagnosed since childhood my attention span and focus always been a problem. But it got so much worse after TikTok. Became an addiction. “Just one more video and I’ll do the dishes” “just one more video no get out of bed” I felt like a slave to it with hours of my day being robbed. I deleted the app and am starting to be Abel to focus on simple tasks again. Really messed me up.

[Cobra-glor]

I never have social media in my life. As a man born in the 90s I'm still stuck in my old ways.

[omri]

It's just sad man. Can't imagine how life is going to be like for the kids growing up right now and down the line.

[opronwin-fa]

I think social media does far more bad than good atm.

Non-verbal communication as in simply texting makes you emotionally disconnected. I think online debates tend to be so abusive because we are unable to emotionally connect with the person on the other side. Debating or talking in real life is far more complex because there are so many "layers" to it. From an emotional perspective, to the fact that you simply cannot avoid the consequences etc.

The creep for validation is also very concerning. Social media validation runs into two very unhealthy extremes. Either you feel so unwelcome, unappreciated and disliked that it causes and increases feelings of depression or on the other side you get so much attention that you feel like you are above others increasing narcissistic and egocentric tendencies.

Overall it took a huge toll on peoples self perception with increased interest in plastic surgical interventions which I find concerning on many levels.
Especially considering that the human body is not a commodity you buy to please anyone but the very thing you are and a very complex system that easily gets damaged by such vain and possibly dangerous interventions.

[eml]

I used to avoid TikTok and Instagram before. But now even non toxic platforms like YouTube or Pinterest have become rly overwhelming as well. So now i have to not use my phone all together:')

[lillienicholas]

I feel like a total addict. Social media, especially TikTok, takes up so much of my time and energy. I've lost so many days and nights to endless scrolling. I know it sounds dramatic, but I don't have control anymore. I've tried so many timers, focus modes, harm reduction, replacements, breaks etc, but it always comes back worse. At my worst I was spending an average of 4-5 hours a day on TikTok and yes I work full time and go to college classes. Today I uninstalled all my social media apps except YouTube. I come here to learn and don't usually end up doom scrolling, but if it happens here too I'll delete YouTube as well. My attention span, memory, anxiety, depression, energy levels, motivation, and cognitive function are so bad right now. The least I can do is take a big break from something that I know I can't handle. It's kind of like how some people can have two drinks and go home and other people can't stop. If I open TikTok, there's a good chance my day is over. It's humiliating, but it's time to be honest with myself that my ADHD is too severe for me to trust myself with a dopamine machine like that.

Please be kind if you respond to this comment. I'm being more vulnerable than I typically do on the internet so that if anyone else is struggling similarly, they don't feel so alone.

[CeruleanChurch]

I think the thing that a lot of us are missing in our lives is just being ok with being bored. Sometimes you just need to let your brain settle, be a little uncomfortable and maybe wander a bit. So many people I know are so addicted to the quick dopamine hits that it feels like they're deathly afraid of being bored.
I just replaced the social media I was obsessed over with ones that I can get something productive out of but get bored of quicker, just as a way to wane myself off of heavier usage. I get bored a little easier, but I sure enjoy music a lot more

[georgeharrisonOK]

I deleted all my social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) a couple years ago. It was great at the beginning but slowly I started to waste more time on YouTube and reddit.
So I'm practically in the same spot again

[elizabethwilliams]

Psychedelics are just an exceptional mental health breakthrough. It's quite fascinating how effective they are against depression and anxiety. Saved my life.

[damian]

It’s funny to remember back to health class, when the teacher stressed the fact that drugs hijacked our dopamine award system so we feel good..we feel happy. Who knew social media would work that same way??

[kanujvs]

reduced attention span is a such a real and massive issue

[lrod]

I’ve stopped using all other social media apps except Youtube since the pandemic because of this very reason. The only reason I still keep YT other than because it’s my oldest online account, is because I actually learn a lot from it. I learned new skills especially from DIY videos. I’ve never been happier. After using social media for a while I’ve learned that for the most part nobody (other than probably your own family or your real friends) really cares what you’re doing or what your thoughts are anyway so why post it when you can meet up with them and chill out and talk about it? As a millennial, I really do miss that part of the mid-90s and early ‘00s

[Melissa-klli]

The sad thing is people are more lonely than ever before. Social media has isolated everyone. People also compare themselves to others and there fake happy lives. People cheat more easier because of social media. People are losing connection. Also all the media profiles they collect on all our texts, tweets, and things we watch. Big brother. I feel very sorry for young people today. They never knew a life without it

[staei]

I don’t consider YouTube to be in the same category of others like Facebook, insta, Tik tok. I use youtube for guides or help enhancing my other hobbies(guitar, gaming, running, etc). The others ARE the hobby. I took myself off Facebook, never used the others. It has been 4 years away and I’m very happy with my decision - running a marathon tomorrow!!

[Ironheart]

I remember back in highschool, the internet was becoming more and more available. In school we debated on all the positive and negative of the internet. Among the negative is that we would lose now privacy. Every bit of information about us will be made available to just anyone. Fast forward to now, I see that this is the least of our problem.

[Enjoymentboy]

I think we also need to address that so many people who already have mental health issues are so attracted to social media. It's not only social media that causes the issues but often that the issues are there and social media feeds them... just like narcotics. I've never been good on social media and left fb on Feb 14 2010 and i haven't looked back. Oddly enough it was the director of the fb movie who helped me make my decision. He did an interview on "the daily show" where he said that people need to remember that social media is to socializing what reality tv is to reality. Salty most people are just incapable of distinguishing the difference.