The era of social media has altered the way our brains behave and as a result impact human behavior. What effect does social media have on dopamine production and how does this impact human behavior? To address this question we must first break it down and understand every aspect. Firstly, what is social media? Social media is the technological platform for social networks. It is a broad term to describe all forms of sharing platforms. Despite social media being a traditionally “American phenomenon” its influence has spread to almost every part of the world (Mc Mahon,2019 p.3). As media consumption increases overall, social media seems to have the most obvious effects. Before the revolution of social media, other forms of media consumed were books, movies, newspapers, radio and television. However social media revolutionized the way we communicate and interact. Overtime humans have become more dependent on technology and the use of social media has been crafted to be the most effective. The initial use of social media was to provide a medium of open and constant communication. Now the focus has shifted. As multi-media marketing has become a billion dollar industry and mass consumerism is at an all time high the use of social media is extremely profitable. The effects of mass social media consumption is now being studied. Its effects on normally functioning neurological processes is extreme, as reward systems in human brains are skewed by it. Social media platforms and algorithms have almost perfected the process of capturing human attention and altering the way our brains process reward and learning. Every notification, alert, ad, compelling post, and even Google search plays a role in the way dopamine is produced. These concerns may hit close to home for many people who interact with social media. A decade or so ago teens would have been warned about nicotine addiction as it relates to smoking and tobacco use. No one would have ever thought that the revolution of technology would soon reach the same level of warning in this generation. No matter how far removed people may think they are from curating and enabling addictive behaviors, that distance is lessened with the proximity of social media in our lives. Even if there isn't a personal effect this epidemic can be felt by billions of people. The way you interact with technology and alter neurological patterns and ultimately behavior isn't just a personal problem, it affects the way you interact with everyone around you. Dopamine is essentially a chemical for learning and motivation. An important concept to understand is that dopamine has an effect on both current behavior and future behavior. These firing patterns of dopamine in the brain are slightly different but still significant (Berke,2018). Through observation of redefining dopamine bursts as reward prediction errors scientists made a key discovery. Dopamine arousal is extremely sensitive and will develop a higher tolerance to rewards over time. If we take dopamine production out of the context of social media and place it in a more understandable context this concept is easy to identify. For example people who consume alcohol or indulge in nicotine products may initially have a low tolerance to the substance. More specifically they have a low tolerance to the way these substances interact with dopamine receptors in their brain. However overtime, with consistent and constant consumption these consumers may develop a higher tolerance to the substance. Their brain will require higher levels of consumption to receive the standard feeling of euphoria, stress relief or happiness because the dopamine receptors have been extremely overstimulated. I can personally say that I’ve seen the affects of dopamine overstimulation through the use of technology and social media in my own life. During COVID-19, my social media use skyrocketed. My screen time ranged from ten to eleven hours a day on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and standard messaging. I noticed how addicted and glued I was to my phone. Everytime my phone screen lit up or I felt my phone vibrate, I immediately checked the notifications. This rush of dopamine was directly linked to the addictive interaction I had with my phone. As a result, the summer going into my freshman year of college I decided to create a dopamine detox regime to achieve a healthy level of screen time. This regime consisted of putting screen time restrictions on my social media apps. I could only interact with the apps in my wind down time, which was 5 to 7pm. After making this change I noticed a significant change in the way I felt, slept and interacted with the people around me. I felt way less anxious when receiving notifications on my phone. I also was able to sleep through the night. I didn't realize how often I checked my phone throughout the night as a result of receiving notifications. I made a major difference in how well reseted I felt and how easily I could fall asleep at night. I also noticed that I was more present with the people around me. In social settings checking my phone was almost like a pacifier or comfort action. By limiting my screen time I found it easier to have full conversation with the people around me without interrupting it to check my phone. As studies progress scientists are truly beginning to understand how impactful dopamine is in humans. The feeling of motivation is characterized as a prediction of the future. This feeling impacts our performance. The process of learning (which impacts future decisions) is characterized by past experiences. Dopamine impacts the current (respectively past) and future behavior simultaneously. This impact is made because of dopamine’s unique stimulus- reward learning system. When we receive a reward dopamine levels increase and we experience pleasant emotions. You can experience a dopamine rush when doing anything that brings pleasure, from having sex to making an A+ on a difficult exam. This rush of dopamine teaches your brain to want things or actions that give it a rush. It also motivates you to make decisions based on the level of dopamine stimulation(Berridge,2007). However social media is a new factor that has an extreme effect on dopamine production. Receiving a like on a post, getting a message notification or watching a 10 second post that is enjoyable all give you dopamine rushes. The issue is that we are receiving these rushes in abundance. The average person checks their phone 80 times a day (Swns,2017). As a result your body craves these rashes that come at a rapid pace during social media use. This process has drastic effects on the way humans interact with social media and their behavior overall. According to Susan Weinschenck, a psychologist, we are living “in a dopamine-induced loop”. Weinschenck is referring to the way social media has infiltrated every area of our lives. Instead of reading traditional newspapers or using a dictionary book we use Google or other forms of media to meet our informational needs. Almost every aspect of our personal and even professional lives involves social media from simple text messages to paid advertisements on applications like Instagram. Dopamine is a stimulus-reward learning system. Everytime we receive a notification or have a dopamine stimulating reaction to social media our brain takes note of that. Our desire for what dopamine makes our brain process as rewards, motivates us to interact with social media even more. We develop impulses to check our notifications, inboxed and media platforms in general, to satisfy the temporary desire for reward (Charman,2009). This same loop of dopamine in social media use has been applied to other addictive behaviors such as drug use. The ability to receive instant gratification through social media seriously impacts our actions. Dopamine arousal has a positive correlation with social media use. Because dopamine production is linked to how we perceive current behaviors and let that perception impact our future behavior it is a chemical that also has a positive correlation with addiction. Dopamine production increases after interaction with social media eventually leads to addiction, similar to drug or alcohol abuse. The behavioral effects of this issue can be seen in multiple studies that explore human behavior after strong interactions with social media. These trends of behavioral issues don't just have an individual impact. The impact of social media can be seen in world wide trends. Data from psychological studies have noted the trend in global mental health disorders along with the increase in prolonged use of social media. Social media was originally created to foster a sense of community that could be felt despite physical distance and/or limitations. However, a recent study published by the Guilford Press suggests that we are seeing the opposite effect. There is a positive correlation between this false sense of connection and depressive symptoms and behavior in adults. Studies have found that following strangers on social media positively correlated with highly depressive symptoms. This conclusion makes sense, the connection you share with complete strangers is fabricated through edited and carefully considerate posts. Using this logic one might assume that connecting with those you know in real life would invoke more positive emotions. However the study also showed that interactions on social media with people we are friends with fosters a sense of loneliness. The feelings and maladaptive behaviors associated with highly active social media users include depression, anxiety and low-self esteem. These behaviors described in this study were the result of hyperactive social media use (Hunt, Melissa et al., 2021). This correlation is a significant finding. The domino effect of desensitized dopamine receptors result in addictive behavior tied to social media use. This addiction in return created a cycle of maladaptive behaviors that affects more than just the individual but creates a chain reaction within entire communities. The pressure to stay in connection with not only your peers but also public figures has a greater impact than what most people assume. Dopamine's ability to impact both current and future behaviors poses a dangerous connection to mental health disorders. Just like any other addiction, people are aware of the harms, dangers and effects of their actions but still commit them. The more people consume social media, the harder it is to break habits of consumption and the more succeptiable they are to detrimental behavior. Behavioral addiction linked to internet and social media use is unlike addictions studied previously. Other addictions like tobacco use are based upon consumption. Injecting a substance into your body via oral consumptions, direct blood stream or any other methods fosters a different type of addictions. These substance abuse addictions have obvious direct physical symptoms. Opposed to the way behavioral symptoms are connected to a behavior rather than a substance. Traditional behavioral symptoms are typically visible with noticeable features but it's attached to the feeling of behaviors, not the actions (Alavi, Seyyed Salman et al., 2021). Dopamine stimulation corresponds with a series of behaviors linked to chasing a feeling and not an action. A social media user may check their phone constantly or have a high level of screen time solely based on the feeling they desire to chase. The rush of dopamine creates a feeling of euphoria and temporary happiness. This unique rush of emotion directly corresponds with interacting with social media and increases the occurrence of addictive behaviors. The alteration of behavior is a clear cut sign of addiction and common amongst those who actively participate on social media. In conclusion, The ability to receive instant gratification through social media seriously impacts our actions. What effect does social media have on dopamine production and how does this impact human behavior? This question can be answered through a series of assessments. Firstly understanding dopamine and its impact is essential. Dopamine is responsible for creating emotions of euphoria, and joy. It also impacts the way we interpret the past and act in the future. Ultimately making dopamine responsible for feelings of motivation and learning habits. The release of this one chemical is hyperstimulated while interacting with social media. Dopamine has managed to infiltrate almost all aspects of our lives including the way we interact among our peers and also ourselves. Social pressures to interact with our peers combined with the enticing nature of social media, is a deadly combination and recipe for disaster. Not only does social media create an attention deficit loop of hyperstimulation, but it also creates addictive behaviors. Addictive behaviors in the state of substance abuse show up through visible behavioral patterns. However dopamine behavioral addictions show up differently. The addiction is not linked to a substance or activity but it's linked to feelings. Dopamine addiction is fueled by the desire to recreate the same emotions experienced in the split second of time it takes to feel a rush of emotion from one activity. Dopamine addiction is simply a pattern of recreating a rush of emotion or the feeling associated with the behavior. It's not linked to physical actions or patterns, it's all controlled by surges of emotion. All of these factors play a role in dopamine production, social media interaction and addictive behaviors and patterns. Works Cited Mc Mahon, Ciarán. The Psychology of Social Media. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2019. Print. Berke, Joshua D. “What Does Dopamine Mean?” Nature neuroscience 21.6 (2018): 787–793. Web. Berridge. “The Debate over Dopamine’s Role in Reward: The Case for Incentive Salience.” Psychopharmacology. 191.3 (2007): 391–431. Web. Swns. “Americans Check Their Phones 80 Times a Day: Study.” New York Post, New York Post, 8 Nov. 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/11/08/americans-check-their-phones-80-timesa-day-study/. Charman-Anderson, Suw. “Seeking Addiction: The Role of Dopamine in Social Media.” Computer Weekly (2009): 16–. Print. Alavi, Seyyed Salman et al. “Behavioral Addiction versus Substance Addiction: Correspondence of Psychiatric and Psychological Views.” International journal of preventive medicine vol. 3,4 (2012): 290-4.
