feature // 14

This 1s your brain
on social media

» The good, the bad, and the ugly of constant

: like an addict whose highlight
: of the day is scoring a bag of

: crystal meth, all of the positive
: reinforcement one gets from

: Facebook develops into a habit
: of logging in and checking

: multiple times a day—which

: at least 40 per cent of accounts
: in the United States do—and

: the user is less able to accept

: the idea of disconnecting from
: electronics.

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

or better or worse, the
Internet—and, consequently,

social media—has spent the
past 15 or so years establishing
itself no longer as a luxury, but
a utility. A complete and utter
necessity for governments and
citizens of the first world.

It’s widely used by young
people—the first generation
of kids to grow up witha
computer—for myriad purposes.
The most common of these
purposes, unsurprisingly, is
having an easy and efficient way
to stay in touch with friends
and family; it’s also useful for
letting everyone know what is
going on and taking pictures for
Instagram likes and a nice little
ego boost. This is all fantastic;
it’s precisely what the Internet
was built for: connecting with
the world around you; people
who you wouldn't otherwise stay
in touch with, or even end up
being friends with. In a world
where most people pad out
their friend lists with as many as
1,000 former classmates, work
buddies, fleeting acquaintances,
and twice removed third
cousins, it’s ironic that many
users of social media end up
feeling more alienated and
alone than they did before they
created an account.

Unless your parents forgot

to true happiness” pep talk when
you were a kid, it’s not that hard
to comprehend the fact that too
much of a good thing can be
really bad. When people think
of the word “addiction,” the first
thing that comes to mind are
drugs, gambling, or any other
sort of vices. But addiction to
social media is very real because
people spend countless hours
connected to their phones
for the same reasons other
people spend countless hours
connected to a one armed
bandit—they need a way to
relieve their boredom and their
itch for the occasional ego boost.
Dr. Shannon M. Rauch,
a researcher at Benedictine
University in Arizona and one
of the many scientists exploring
this new phenomenon, stated
that the likely cause of this
is the consistent positive
reinforcement many users
receive through accumulating
likes and comments on their
statWus updates, pictures,
and other posts. Of course,

Dar Meshi, a German

: scientist who spearheaded a
: research team dedicated to

: this very topic, found that

: people who received likes

: and comments (positive :
: reinforcement) had much more :
: noticeable activity in a part of

: the brain associated with the

: production of chemicals linked
: to the human reward system,

: called the nucleus accumbens.

: The general consensus among

: experts on this particular note

: is that addiction to Facebook is
: avery practical thing stemming :
: from an unprecedented need for !
: attention and acceptance among :
: their peers. That’scommonly —:
: how Facebook addiction—or

: any form of addiction—begins;
: it’s a long, slow ride down the

: slippery slope.

Many people living in the

: information age feel more

: comfortable communicating

: over the Internet as opposed to
: in person. On paper, it appears
: like social media scratches

the whole “moderation is the key :

your interpersonal itch in every

: way but, as author Stephen
: Marche pointed out in his essay :
: titled Is Facebook Making us

: Lonely?, social media gives

: you the access and the means

: to start communicating with,

: well, basically anyone who

: also uses the same networks.

: However, rarely will you

: achieve the deep, interpersonal
: closeness that comes

: with building a friendship

: face-to-face. Obviously,

: focussing on the quality of

: your close friendships—and

: not the quantity of your

: acquaintances—is a much

: healthier way of going about

: social interactions.

Excessive social media use

: can obviously lead to mental
: and emotional health issues Ina :
: poll by Anxiety UK, 53 per cent
: of those polled stated that social :
: media platforms have altered
: the way they act in general. Out :
: of that group, half clarified that
: the change had been negative.

Those that answered negatively

connectivity

Of course, like
an addict whose
highlight of the
day is scoring

a bag of crystal
meth, all of

the positive
reinforcement
one gets from
Facebook
develops into a
habit of logging
in and checking
multiple times

a day—which at
least 40 per cent
of accounts in
the United States
do—and the user
is less able to
accept the idea
of disconnecting
from electronics.

: were also asked what exactly

: they felt had become worse.

: Anxiety, depression, and low

: self-esteem were the most

: common responses. According

: to Dr. Rauch, the three main

: reasons for this phenomenon

: are users comparing themselves
: asa whole to people on their

: friends list, who may appear

: to the user to be doing better

: than them; social anxiety and

: loneliness due to avoidance of

: face-to-face interaction; and

: cyberbullying which, with the

: advent of social media, has

: become a society-wide issue.

: Of course, this isn’t to

: say that social media is the

: devil's work. There are many

: benefits like fast, efficient

: communication with people,

: but they are obviously much

: more pronounced and

: widespread than the effect

: it may have on people with

: mental health issues—the

: people who don’ really have

: a voice as it is. Social media

: is here to stay, and like with

: everything else mankind has

: encountered, we’ve done a great
: job of adapting to it. Remember,
: though, too much of anything

: is bad. Want to find out if you're
: hooked on to networking? Turn
: off your phone for 24 hours

: straight and see for yourself. I

: dare you.

theotherpress.ca

 

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