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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).

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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
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

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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 Ys way of thinking. It is quite
amazing how quickly fads or trends can spread through social media. Each of these crazes starts
out as a single post, and before you know it, everyone is Planking or doing the ALS Ice
Bucket Challenge. And while its 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 todays 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 Im 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,

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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
conducted a study to test the possibility of behavioral addiction to social media. A selfassessment 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).

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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
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 majoritys 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
todays 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.

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