From reducing our attention spans to lowering our self-esteem—here’s how social media might be changing our brains for the worse.
Imagine being stranded on a deserted island without your phone. Terrifying, isn’t it? Many of us are glued to our phones for the better part of the day, constantly refreshing our Instagram feeds, texting our friends and so on. In fact, if we did have our phones on the island, we might film an Instagram reel before calling for help.
The obsession with social media is getting out of hand and can have dire consequences for users. Sources have linked heavy social media use to an increased risk of depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns stemming from the neurological changes it triggers in our brains.
This article explores how social media might be affecting our brains, shrinking our attention spans, memory and self-esteem.
Manipulating the brain into lowering our self-esteem
Do you constantly check your social media feed after posting a photo to see if the “like” count has increased? You’re not alone. Neuroscientists have found that social media triggers chemical reactions in the brain similar to those caused by gambling or drug use. Positive feedback, like receiving likes or comments on posts, releases dopamine—a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, satisfaction and motivation. This joy from getting likes and positive comments makes us crave more virtual interaction, potentially leading to compulsive social media use.
Relying on social media for happiness can make us overly concerned with others’ opinions of us. As a result, it could affect our reasoning and judgment abilities. Excessive social media has been shown to target specific brain regions, like the amygdala, which processes emotions like fear, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for judgment and decision-making.
So if we don’t receive an expected number of likes and a certain form of comments, we could enter a cycle of depression and loneliness. Therefore, moderation in social media use is a necessary antidote to keep our brains in check.
The goldfish effect: Reducing attention span due to overuse of social media
Often, while reading a book or doing an assignment, it’s easy to get distracted by our phones. This dwindling attention span is turning out to be a universal experience. Findings from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information highlighted a drop in the average human attention span from 12 seconds in 2000 to about eight seconds in 2013, less than that of a goldfish (nine seconds).
This decline is largely due to our heavy use of social media. Platforms like YouTube, Instagram and TikTok are brimming with bite-sized content such as shorts and quick infographics. According to an Oxford professor of synaptic pharmacology, Lady Greenfield, this short-form content conditions our brains to handle large amounts of information rapidly but without deep understanding or thorough comprehension.
As a result, we struggle to engage deeply with longer content like podcasts or newspapers.
In recent years, children’s habit of reading for pleasure has plummeted from 35% to just 17% due to the increased use of electronic devices. Students are suffering, too, with excessive social media use leading to poor grades. One study found that juggling multiple social media platforms lowered scores, specifically in Math and English.
These findings emphasize the importance of setting boundaries around social media use for all ages, including designated no-screen times for children, phone-free family times for teenagers and limits on aimless scrolling and binge-watching for adults.
Digital amnesia: Social media’s impact on memory
Gone are the days when we would memorize the phone numbers and addresses of our loved ones. Today, we depend on multiple gadgets and numerous reminders for simple daily tasks. Welcome to the era of digital amnesia, a phenomenon of forgetfulness as we become over-reliant on computers and gadgets to remember things for us.
A survey by Kaspersky Lab revealed that 71% of mobile phone users who are parents can’t recall their children’s phone numbers, and 87% forget the numbers of their kids’ schools.
Moreover, the selfies you take in aesthetic cafés might be stored in your phone’s memory but might not etch themselves in your own. Researchers have found that documenting experiences digitally can weaken our memory of those very moments. Social media and smartphones change how our brains process and store information; we often remember where to find details rather than retaining the experiences themselves.
Moreover, social media addiction can disrupt sleep, which leads to depression and memory loss. Deep sleep allows for synaptic pruning, where the brain clears out unnecessary information to make room for new memories. Interrupted sleep hinders this process, further impairing memory retention.
Final thoughts
Despite being designed for interaction, social media platforms can foster dependency and emotional distress. Recognizing these impacts is crucial for our well-being. Implementing controlled usage is essential. Social media users must set boundaries and practice digital mindfulness. By doing so, we can enjoy the benefits of social media while protecting our mental and cognitive health.
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- How to Use Social Media to Drive Real Estate Sales
Header Image from Freepik
