1717“When 3.48 billion humans
start doing something never
before done in the history
of human civilisation, neu-
roscientists are especially
interested in the effects.”
News IDEAS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFEcompany and sandals from that one.
Sally then pushes her unsuspecting
followers into buying the frock and
the sandals, which funds her trip to
Hawaii for more photo shoots. Sally,
too, is on the ludic loop.
For the ‘dealers’ of social media- the content producers and the ‘in-
fluencers’ like Sally - there’s money
to be made. But for users of social
media, the teenagers and pre-teens
clicking endless ‘like’ buttons of
dream-inducing imagery, there are
psychological pulls that are making
them jealous, miserable, and addict-
ed to more of the same. Sitting on
a suffocating school bus looking at
“Sally, now in Hawaii - swimming
with a golden tan and fluorescent
teeth,” the teenager adds a little
scribble, a digital footprint, wishing
that they too could have a life like
that. “Amazing Sally. So beautiful. I
wish I were you.”
When 3.48 billion humans start
doing something never before done
in the history of human civilization,
neuroscientists and psychologists are
especially interested in the effects.
But results are far from pleasing:
high social media usage activates the
same brain mechanisms as cocaine;
it produces psychological cravings;
and users are locked into a cycle of
addiction on par to slot machines at
casinos. A 2017 study of over half
a million students in 8th to 12th
grade found that depressive symp-
toms spiked 33 per cent from 2010
to 2015, and the suicide rate for
girls in that age group rose by 65 per
cent. The study’s lead author, San
Diego State University psychologist
Jean Twenge noted that the rise in
depressive symptoms correlates al-
most exactly with smartphone adop-
tion during that period. There’s not
much to ‘like’ in that.
In a pine wood, by Christen Dalsgaard17“When 3.48 billion humans
start doing something never
before done in the history
of human civilisation, neu-
roscientists are especially
interested in the effects.”
News IDEAS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFEcompany and sandals from that one.
Sally then pushes her unsuspecting
followers into buying the frock and
the sandals, which funds her trip to
Hawaii for more photo shoots. Sally,
too, is on the ludic loop.
For the ‘dealers’ of social media- the content producers and the ‘in-
fluencers’ like Sally - there’s money
to be made. But for users of social
media, the teenagers and pre-teens
clicking endless ‘like’ buttons of
dream-inducing imagery, there are
psychological pulls that are making
them jealous, miserable, and addict-
ed to more of the same. Sitting on
a suffocating school bus looking at
“Sally, now in Hawaii - swimming
with a golden tan and fluorescent
teeth,” the teenager adds a little
scribble, a digital footprint, wishing
that they too could have a life like
that. “Amazing Sally. So beautiful. I
wish I were you.”
When 3.48 billion humans start
doing something never before done
in the history of human civilization,
neuroscientists and psychologists are
especially interested in the effects.
But results are far from pleasing:
high social media usage activates the
same brain mechanisms as cocaine;
it produces psychological cravings;
and users are locked into a cycle of
addiction on par to slot machines at
casinos. A 2017 study of over half
a million students in 8th to 12th
grade found that depressive symp-
toms spiked 33 per cent from 2010
to 2015, and the suicide rate for
girls in that age group rose by 65 per
cent. The study’s lead author, San
Diego State University psychologist
Jean Twenge noted that the rise in
depressive symptoms correlates al-
most exactly with smartphone adop-
tion during that period. There’s not
much to ‘like’ in that.
In a pine wood, by Christen Dalsgaard