A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found that the brains of teenagers who frequently use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram differ significantly from those who use them moderately. The study suggests that social media may make its users more sensitive to feedback from others. The researchers surveyed 178 twelve-year-olds about their social media usage and divided them into habitual users (those who accessed social media platforms more than 14 times a day), moderate users (those who accessed them less than 14 times a day), and non-habitual users (those who accessed them less than once a day). They then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the brains of habitual and moderate users while they played a computer game that rewarded or punished them with positive or negative emoticons based on their reaction time. The study found that the brains of habitual users showed different activations in regions associated with regulation, control, and environmental perception.
While the study provides evidence that habitual social media use may make teenagers more sensitive to feedback from others, it has some limitations. The researchers only measured social media usage at the beginning of the study and did not track changes in usage over the two-year period. Additionally, the study only provides information about the general direction of brain changes, not their extent. The study also cannot answer the question of whether the brain changes are caused by social media use or whether people who already have these brain changes are more likely to use social media. The researchers plan to conduct further studies to better understand the long-term effects of social media use, starting from early childhood.
Overall, the study highlights the potential impact of social media on the developing brains of teenagers. While further research is needed to fully understand the effects of social media use, the findings suggest that parents and educators should be aware of the potential risks and benefits of social media and help teenagers develop healthy habits around its use.
