the results clearly demonstrate that “teens who grow up checking social media more often are becoming hypersensitive to feedback from their peers,” telzer told the times.
“we can’t make causal claims that social media is changing the brain,” study co-author eva h. telzer, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the university of north carolina, chapel hill,
told the new york times.
but “teens who are habitually checking their social media are showing these pretty dramatic changes in the way their brains are responding, which could potentially have long-term consequences well into adulthood, sort of setting the stage for brain development over time.”
as the study points out, this is part of the appeal that’s built into the apps: they’re “designed to hold users’ engagement by maximizing social rewards.” alerts from the app — likes, direct messages, other notifications — arrive unpredictably on a maximally powerful variable reinforcement schedule, conditioning individuals to check social media habitually in anticipation of this social feedback.
but this hypersensitivity isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“heightened sensitivity could lead to later compulsive social media behaviours, or it could reflect an adaptive neural change that helps teens navigate their social worlds,” telzer told cnn.
the study looked specifically at changes in the brain — the question of whether those brain changes led to shifts in behaviour was outside of its scope. it certainly “i
s asking the question” about whether social media can change behaviour, as medical correspondent dr. jennifer ashton told abc news. but the answer to that question will lie in further research.