Young people in particular spend a lot of time on social media. A new study shows that this digital consumption influences the development of the brain.
Social media continues to enjoy great popularity among the population. According to the ARD/ZDF-Onlinestudie 2022 50 percent of the German-speaking population use social media “in one way or another” at least once a week. Unsurprisingly, this value is particularly high among young people. Among 14-29 year olds, 88 percent visit such platforms at least once a week, with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat ranking high.
Does this change in media behavior affect individuals? It has long been known that intensive use of social media is not good for well-being. The platforms TikTok, Snapchat and Co., which are popular with Gen Z teenagers, can even cause depression, as a study shows. Another study suggests that social media consumption among Gen Z youth also promotes belief in conspiracy theories.
Social media interfere with brain development
Additional research shows that regular use of social media also has cognitive effects and influences brain development. “Our everyday experiences leave traces in the brain. This also includes the online activities that we pursue,” says psychologist Christian Montag der Welt. In concrete terms, new neural connections are made that have a direct effect on action, thinking and feeling.
This phenomenon could now in a current Studie der University of North Carolina can be made visible with an imaging method. Using 169 sixth and seventh graders over a period of three years, it was examined whether the brains of adolescents develop differently if they regularly use Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. To do this, they were placed in an MRI scanner and given a reaction test that mimics the emotional sense of achievement (likes) and disappointment (dislikes) experienced on these platforms while measuring their brain function.
Young social media users are becoming more receptive to “social feedback”
It turns out that regular use of this social media leads to changes in the brain areas responsible for motivation, focused attention and cognitive control. Apparently, teens who habitually browse Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat will be “more sensitive to social feedback,” such as a like. On the other hand, young people who use social media less often are less receptive to this feedback, as one author of the study shared on Twitter.
Increasing sensitivity to this social information could lead to future teen compulsions on social media, but importantly, it could also have an adaptive effect, helping them navigate their increasingly digital world, writes Maza on.
However, the study emphasizes that many questions remain unanswered and that further long-term studies are needed to assess the long-term effects of these changes in the adolescent brain.
Our author did the test and limited her time on Instagram, TikTok and Co. – that’s what happened to her.
