Written by Sameera Rampertab | Art by Tanisha Arora
Approximately 93-97% of US teens are active on social media, and 20% report negative mental health. The brain’s reward system, the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, maintains a key role in facilitating social media’s detrimental health impacts. Dopamine aids in improving mood while also aiding in memory, attention, and focus, acting as the main modulator of this pathway. This very pathway can also cause feelings of increased anxiety in adolescents who crave the social media experience. Platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok all employ algorithms as a tactic, motivating teens to lose track of time due to the allure of colorful designs, eye-catching features, followers, and likes.
Social media use causes significant alterations in brainwave activity. For example, alpha waves representing relaxation decline, suggesting cognitive excitation. However, beta and gamma waves, high-frequency waves marked by higher brain activity and the inability to relax, increase dramatically. Additionally, dopamine, the neurotransmitter involved in addiction, is secreted in nerve tracts in the brain. Our brains are designed to feel pleasure when using social media due to its addictive nature. Notifications and social feedback activate the ventral striatum and mesolimbic system, encouraging users to repeatedly check their phones for more rewards. Overuse can reduce blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, instead triggering stress responses.
Easy access to social media and notifications are two hallmarks of addiction. The smartphone is the delivery mechanism for delivering digital dopamine to a generation in the height of digitalization. Social media’s bright colors, flashing lights, and alerts deliver images to the visual cortex, responsible for processing information we see. Likes and comments, acting as social validations, trigger dopamine, which can heavily impact self-esteem. Additionally, TikTok and Instagram reels pack quite the punch due to their concise nature, leading the brain to crave more. Our brains release dopamine when human connections are made, encouraging us to do it again. However, social media has become “druggified” by social media apps, inducing overconsumption. Just like methamphetamine, alcohol, or heroin, these apps can release large amounts of dopamine into our mesolimbic pathway. The compulsive nature of social media can lead to behavioral addictions where users experience cravings, withdrawal, and tolerance, requiring more stimulation to get the same satisfaction. Artificial intelligence suggests personalized content, optimizing the reward pathway, and sustaining user attention through continuous feedback loops. This has also led to doom scrolling, social media usage before bedtime, and rapidly checking accounts for the number of followers and likes.
So, how can this be fixed? Healthier platform features are warranted to mitigate the reward system’s exploitation. Features such as encouraging users to take breaks after every 15-20 minutes of use or shutting down the app after a certain amount of time to reduce doom scrolling should be included. Platforms could also filter and take down negative comments to reduce cyberbullying. Designers could consider content warnings or hide like, comment, and follower numbers to reduce dopamine spikes. In addition, overly filtered photos could be blocked from being posted. Platforms could implement restrictions on heavily edited imagery while proactively promoting calming, low-stimulation content during late-night hours. Employing AI tracking to monitor doom scrolling and the frequency of notification checking may also provide personalized data to improve social media. Although social media does have the benefit of connectivity, it should be regulated and controlled, preventing negative health impacts from overshadowing the benefits.
References:
De, Debasmita et al. “Social Media Algorithms and Teen Addiction: Neurophysiological Impact and Ethical Considerations.” Cureus vol. 17,1 e77145. 8 Jan. 2025, doi:10.7759/cureus.77145
Satani, Abhijeet et al. “Modern Day High: The Neurocognitive Impact of Social Media Usage.” Cureus vol. 17,7 e87496. 8 Jul. 2025, doi:10.7759/cureus.87496
Dores, Artemisa R et al. “The Effects of Social Feedback Through the “Like” Feature on Brain Activity: A Systematic Review.” Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 13,1 89. 6 Jan. 2025, doi:10.3390/healthcare13010089
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