In a broad sense, I think social media is one of the leading causes of many problems society faces daily as a whole. Not only just in the broad population of our society, but especially with adolescence and younger generations. This is where one can find a focus on the effects of how social media can alter the formation of young individuals, and how it changes/will change how people are raised in the modern world. The large question that many can ask is if it is an overall positive or negative change from a less advanced tech world. With being included in the Z-generation age group- I have paid close attention to others as well as myself and how my life may differ from someone who was not raised with the level of technological advancements as myself. Differences that could include just even the basic value of a “like” on an app like Instagram.

        As mentioned previously, the value of even a simple “like ” from another user on a social media app like Instagram has altered even the chemical reaction in the average person’s brain. In an article on Business Insider labeled “What happens to your brain when you get a like on Instagram ”. Here, the article quotes NYU professor Adam Alter “The minute you take a drug, drink alcohol, smoke a cigarette if those are your poison, when you get a like on a social media, all of those experiences produce dopamine, which is a chemical that’s associated with pleasure”. So, with the explanation of chemical dependency after a certain time spent on social media it is proven that social media can be extremely addictive. In which, all ultimately depends on the individual, but seems to be quite prominent in the younger generations especially. One quote that I found particularly interesting is where Alter is explaining that the chemical reaction comes from the unpredictability of the outcome of publishing a post where he states ” If you knew that every time you posted something you’d get 100 likes, it would become boring really fast”. I think this could also expose the negative sense that many people believe is sourcing from the rise of social media. For example, if one posts an image and expects to get at least100 likes, but then shortly after they notice that they did not get as many likes as they anticipated. In which, creates more of a negative reaction rather than positive. Especially with being a girl in the Z-generation, I have had copious instances of where either my friends- or even me (embarrassing enough) have deleted posts that did not seem to receive enough ‘attention’ as expected. In which, in retrospect and certainly now- I have acknowledged does not validate anything. Inevitably, being an oblivious middle schooler growing up in the peak of the inclination of social media, it is rather difficult to not ‘run with the stream’. Especially if the alleged ‘stream’ is a completely new and modern idea for communication between others. From observing this firsthand, I can ultimately say that this does appear to be a literal addiction to some, and an actual problem.

        In a study found in an article named “The Power of the Likein Adolescence: Effects of Peer Influence on Neural and Behavioral Responses to Social Media” written by Lauren E. Sherman, Ashley A. Payton, Leanna M. Hernandez, Patricia M. Greenfield and Mirella Dapretto. Here, is where there was a study held where these women developed a novel functional MRI (fMRI) paradigm to imitate a version of the photo-liking app Instagram. The difference is that this tool would measure adolescents’ behavioral and neural responses to ‘likes’, a quantifiable form of social endorsement. Also, a potential source of peer influence and the effects that can occur from it. After performing this study, there were a few outcomes in which- did not appear to be much of a shock to at least to me. They found that adolescents are more likely to like photos depicted with more likes rather than what would be considered a small amount of likes. This can relate to their deeper discovery of the literal influence of virtual endorsement, and held both for neural photos and photos of ‘risky behavior’ (drinking, smoking etc.). Along with that, when viewing risky photos (opposed to neural), the activation of the cognitive-control network decreases. These discoveries can contribute to the possible function underlying peer influence during adolescence. 

        With an extremely high percentage, nearly 90% of American teens report being active users of social media. In which, can make one believe that the concern of the effects on adolescence. Not only just from the large population that it could potentially affect, but also due to the fact that adolescents are especially important for social cognitive development. During this point of a human’s life, young people are attuned to the complexities of interpersonal relationships. 

        Amongst the wide range of effects and surplus contributors that create the large question of what ultimately will be the long term effect of social media. Not only social media, but the specific focus on adolescence usage and ultimately the effects on their growing minds. With the concern stemming from the discovery that literal emittance of dopamine when one receives a likeon their post. As early as the very beginning of the tech world, there has always been an ongoing fear of singularity and the human race becoming reliant on technology. In an article found on The Economist labeled “How Heavy Use of Social Media is Linked to Mental Illness’ ‘, research is expanding and uncovering the potential link with mental illness and heavy social media consumption. 

“Sean Parker, Facebook’s founding president, has admitted that the product works by “exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.””- The Economist Newspaper

        The quote above is just another validating statement to prove that even the actual intent of these social media apps is to fully captivate the users attention and emotions. Which ultimately cannot be ‘good’. In 2014, five neuroscientists held an experiment and concluded from it that Facebook (and most likely more apps) triggers the same impulsive part of the brain as substance abuse. This is particularly important, because this fully emphasizes the addictive aspect- as if it were a substance. 

“The most convincing effort was a survey that tracked a group of 5,208 Americans between 2013 and 2015. It found that an increase in Facebook activity was associated with a future decrease in reported mental health.”- The Economist Newspaper

      Human values are extremely important especially in this topic of social media and its effect. I believe the most valid value would be morals. Now, morals are open to interpretation and can vary from person to person, but there are basic ‘rules’ many all choose to live by. I believe one of these basic rules is ‘self control’. Control of yourself also plays a role into an even broader aspect called self respect. In which, if one practices and stays true to their own values- there is a chance conflicts will decrease. What is confusing about the correlation of humans and social media is that it is proven to affect people mentally. With social media even intruding on dopamine levels in the brain, one can believe that one’s personal values can transform- usually for the worst. For example, there are too many people who say they are deleting their social media apps and taking a ‘break’. Usually, what happens is they will give it up for a certain amount of time and then usually give in due to the fact that they had a “fear of missing out” or a.k.a. FOMO. This can be an indicator that human values and morals are constantly evolving, but it is even more emphasized amongst social media. 

Inevitably, there is always going to be some form of negativity stemming from social media and it’s advances. Although, if I had the opportunity to think of redesigning a social media app to better its affect on individuals I would add one feature. With Instagram specifically, I would take away the opportunity to see the amount of ‘likes’ on someone else’s post. I believe this would help minimize comparisons and competition with people. Along with that, it would also decrease the altering of dopamine that occurs in the brain when receiving a ‘like’ or comparing likes with others. Ultimately, I feel like no matter the extent of a new feature there will always be an increasing affect on humans. I think the key is to focus on adolescence’ usage of social media and how to go about not having them grow reliant on these apps for validation. It comes down to the broad sense of acknowledgment and knowing when a situation has gone ‘too far’.

Works Cited

"How Heavy Use of Social Media Is Linked to Mental Illness." The Economist, Economist Newspaper, 18

     May 2018, www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/05/18/

     how-heavy-use-of-social-media-is-linked-to-mental-illness. Accessed 14 Feb. 2020.

Sherman, Lauren E., et al. "The Power of the Like in Adolescence: Effects of peer influence on

     neural and behavioral responses to social media." APA PsycNET, American Psychological

     Association, 31 Mar. 2016, psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-35190-009. Accessed 14 Feb. 2020.