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Stephanee Yager

Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1103

2 April 2015

An Internet Overdose: Is Social Media Changing our Brains?

“If Facebook were a country, it would be the most populous nation on earth,” (Stenovec,

huffingtonpost.com). Home to over 1.39 billion active users, Facebook has been the primary

database for people to come together to like, share, and comment on one others’ pictures, posts,

and statuses. Social media use has hit an all-time high in this generation, but the question

becomes whether staying “logged in” is good for current members of Generation Y, and what

this may mean for our future.

Social Media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have beneficial aspects

when it comes to staying connected with peers. The internet offers up opportunities to make new

friends, and improve social life. Because we are living in a technological world, social media

sites can provide an easy access to group activities in the classroom or at work. Many

colleges/schools have Twitter accounts to post announcements to spread information out to

students in a fast and convenient way. But how does this constant internet interaction affect what

is going on in our brains? Members of Generation Y or people who were born between the years

1980-2000, are currently the most active internet users. According to the Pew Internet American

Life Project, 93% of young people are online (DeAngelis, American Psychological Association).

Many of these millennials’ brains are still developing, and studies have been done to test whether

social media and the internet can be addictive (Cabral, The Elon Journal of Undergraduate

Research in Communications). Other researchers suggest constant use of social media sites can

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cause an individual to feel isolated, narcissistic, and it may even have an effect on face-to-face

interactions. While staying connected with peers and news through social media may be effective

and efficient, there may be consequences that tag along.

As I was scrolling down my Instagram feed, I came across a video a girl had posted

earlier that day. I clicked the play button and watched 39 photos of herself flash one after another

on my iPhone. It was as if she could not decide which picture she looked best in, so she complied

them all together in a video for her followers to watch, in hopes it would up her chances for

receiving as many likes as possible. Social media has become a tool of acceptance. Getting likes

and retweets on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram provides us with the satisfaction of

feeling popular or included. Using these platforms in the comfort of our homes makes us feel it is

okay to post tons of “selfies,” or pictures of ourselves without having to hear the judgement of

others. A research study conducted by a group at Harvard University in 2012 displayed that 40%

of our time is devoted to “self-disclosure,” which provides us with same feeling of pleasure as

having sex or eating food (Feiler, The New York Times). As humans, we tend to feel isolated or

left out of the loop when we do not receive the attention we crave. Social media makes it easier

for us to share our personal lives with others, without feeling guilty about it. Research suggests

that while during face-to-face interaction humans communicate 30-40% of the conversation

about themselves, on social media websites that number jumps to 80%. When we talk about

ourselves, dopamine is released in our brain which provides a feeling of satisfaction (Moffit, and

Brown, YouTube: AsapSCIENCE). Because social media is such a convenient way to gain

personal attention, it can easily lead to narcissistic tendencies.

The internet acts as a major influencer on Generation Y’s way of thinking. It is quite

amazing how quickly fads or trends can spread through social media. Each of these crazes starts

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out as a single post, and before you know it, everyone is “Planking” or doing the “ALS Ice

Bucket Challenge.” And while it’s great that awareness of a series disease like ALS can be easily

spread through social media sites, so can strong opinions which leads to bullying. Media has a

major impact on how news is portrayed to people. It can skew a story in order to provide

favoritism to a specific side. If you are not on the bandwagon of what the majority of people

think, then you become the subject of oppression. About 95% of teens who use social media

report they have witnessed bullying online (Hughes, and Logan, Internet Safety 101). This type

of influence strips away the individuality of young people in today’s world. According to Janelle

Hanchett, a blogger from California, confesses her obsessive need to check what people were

saying about her posts, actually ended up effecting her content. “I find this difficult as a writer,

because I’m often inclined to reach for these likes instead of being authentic,” (Feiler,

huffingtonpost.com). Rather than expressing how we truly feel, we may fall under societal

pressures and post what other people will like in order to fit in or be accepted.

We know substance addiction exist, but is it possible for us to become addicted to social

media? I know as I am writing this essay, I have subconsciously picked up my phone to check

my notifications about a dozen times. Most people set a certain tone on their phones for the

different notifications they receive, which causes us to perform a type of classical conditioning

among ourselves: When we hear the specific “ding,” we immediately know which platform,

whether it be Facebook or Twitter, received a notification, and our response is to check it at that

very moment because it is right at our finger tips. About 5-10% of people are unable to log off of

the internet, which can technically be considered a psychological addiction. Substance addiction

and psychological addictions have close similarities: both effect decision making, emotions, and

attention (Moffit, and Brown, YouTube: AsapSCIENCE). A research team at Elon University

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conducted a study to test the possibility of behavioral addiction to social media. A self-

assessment survey was created and sent out to people to evaluate their social media use. The

survey incorporated 5 components of addiction: tolerance, salience, conflict, withdrawal, and

relapse. The survey results show 3.5 of the 5 components were supported to show that addiction

to social media is possible (Cabral, The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in

Communications).

So we know that feeling of addiction may occur while using social media over long

periods of time, but how is that physically changing our brain? White matter within our brain

control the regions associated with decision making, emotions, and attention. Studies show that

in these areas, the white matter actually becomes impaired or degraded with more severe

“addictions” (Moffit, and Brown, YouTube: AsapSCIENCE). This could potentially be

detrimental to the members of Generation Y whose brains are still developing. Other studies

show that social media could also be rewiring our nervous systems. A very new and interesting

“syndrome” has recently been discovered because of vibrations from our phones. Phantom

Vibration Syndrome is when your brain perceives an itch on any part of your body as a vibration

from a phone. This demonstrates the evolution of our brains throughout history. Never has this

“Phantom Vibration Syndrome” ever been relevant until now because of our rise in technological

advancements (Moffit, and Brown, YouTube: AsapSCIENCE).

It is amazing to think that the current generation of children will never know a world that

is not suffused with technology such as social media and the internet. Our future leaders may be

vastly different from those before because of the impact social media has on our ways of

thinking. Teenagers seem to think that what they put out on their Facebook profiles define who

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they are inside, which is not true at all (Plye, Nashville Business Journal). Falling under societal

pressure, they may feel the need to put on a mask to hide who they really are and only post what

pleases people. Leaders need to be able to have original thought and realize that conforming to

the majority’s way of thinking may not always be the best way to go about things.

Looking at social media as a whole, it has potential to do a lot of great in this world.

Providing us with information and connectivity at our fingertips becomes really efficient in

today’s society. The idea of being able to stay in touch with family and making new friends

through social media is thriving more than ever. But it is very important to realize when constant

usage becomes a physiological problem, and should be addressed. Over all, balance between

face-to-face interaction and internet interaction is vital, and taking a break from constantly

checking Instagram to maintaining a healthy mindset and to prevent behavioral addictions.

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Works Cited

Cabral, Jaclyn. "Is Generation Y Addicted to Social Media?" The Elon Journal of

Undergraduate Research in Communications 2.1 (2011): 5-14. Elon.edu. Spring 2011.

Web. 9 Mar. 2015.

DeAngelis, Tori. "Is Technology Ruining Our Kids?" 42.9 (2011): 62. American Psychological

Association. Oct. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

Feiler, Bruce. "For the Love of Being ‘Liked’." New York Times 11 May 2014: ST2. The New

York Times. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.

Hughes, Donna R., and Cris C. Logan. "Cyberbullying Statistics." Internet Safety 101: Statistics.

Enough Is Enough, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.

Moffit, Mitchell, and Gregory Brown. "5 Crazy Ways Social Media Is Changing Your Brain

Right Now." YouTube. YouTube, 7 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

Plye, Samantha O. "The Impact of Social Media on the next Generation."Nashville Business

Journal. American City Business Journals, 23 Dec. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.

Stenovec, Timothy. "Facebook Is Now Bigger Than The Largest Country On Earth." The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.