It’s not a surprising fact that Social Media has had a major impact on us in the last couple of years. With approximately a third of the global population active on social media channels, it has altered how we view and act in this world. So much so, that our infatuation towards social media is actually altering our bodies. Here are some of the ways our internal systems might actually be getting influenced by social media:
Addiction
5-10% of Internet users are actually unable to control how much time they spend online. Though it’s psychological addiction, MRI scans show a comparable deficiency of regions with those that are drug addicts. Social media provides immediate rewards with very little effort required, thus we start craving these neurological stimulations achieved by online interactions.
Reduced Multi-tasking
It’s a false conception that social media users are able to multi-task more efficiently between their social and work related lives. Increased multi-tasking online reduces your brains ability to filter out interferences, making it easier for you to get distracted. Furthermore it can even make it harder for the brain to commit information to memory.
Phantom Vibration Syndrome
Have you ever checked your phone after you felt a vibration only to realize you had no new notifications? You aren’t the only one. Phantom Vibration Syndrome is a relatively new psychological phenomenon where you think you felt your phone go off, but it didn’t. Technology has begun to rewire our nervous systems and our brains are being triggered in a way they never have been before in history.
Release of Dopamine
Social Media triggers a release of dopamine, the feel good chemical. Using MRI scans, scientist found that the reward centers in people’s brains are much more active when they are talking about their own views, as opposed to listening to others.
Our body is physiologically rewarding us for talking about ourselves online.
Verbal Communication
With the rise in online dating apps and websites, it seems that partners tend to like each other more if they meet for the first time online rather than with a face-to-face interaction. The reasons behind this might not be so clear yet but there is a statistical increase in successful partnerships that started online.
Here is a link that illustrates these changes in a clear and informative video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HffWFd_6bJ0