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Stephanee Yager
Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
2 April 2015
An Internet Overdose: Is Social Media Changing our Brains?
Have you ever wondered just how much of an impact social media sites have on todays
society? If Facebook were a country, it would be the most populous nation on earth,
(Stenovec). Home to over 1.39 billion active users, Facebook has been the primary database for
people to come together to like, share, and comment on one others pictures, posts, and statuses.
Social media websites have been developed for any person to share content such as pictures,
feelings, or posts. It allows for a connection between peers, family, work buddies, or classmates
without having to interact in person. Social media has created a new means for communication
and staying in touch. Social media use has hit an all-time high in this generation, but the question
becomes: is staying logged in beneficial for the development of current members of
Generation Y, the young generation of people who have been raised in this technological age?
And what does this mean for our future leaders and for the generations to come?
Social Media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have beneficial aspects
when it comes to staying connected with peers. The internet offers up opportunities to make new
friends, and improve social life. Because we are living in a technological world, social media
sites can provide an easy access to group activities in the classroom or at work. Many

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colleges/schools have Twitter accounts to post announcements in order to spread information to
students in a fast and convenient way. But how does this constant internet interaction affect what
is going on in our brains?
Members of Generation Y, or people who were born between the years 1980-2000, are
currently the most active internet users. According to the Pew Internet American Life Project,
93% of young people are online (DeAngelis). Many of these millennials brains are still
developing, and studies have been done to test whether social media and the internet can be
addictive (Cabral). Other researchers suggest constant use of social media sites can cause an
individual to feel isolated, narcissistic, and it may even have an effect on face-to-face
interactions. Narcissism is associated with an abnormality in the brain. People with NPD have a
noted lack of ability to feel compassion or empathy, combined with a noted excess of selfregard (Phillips). A specific part of the cerebral cortex (the most outer layer of brain tissue)
called the left anterior insula, contains less gray matter in a person who has Narcissistic
Personality Disorder (Chow). In short, the part of the brain that deals with feeling empathy is
much thinner in those who have NPD, than an individual who does not. While staying connected
with peers and news through social media may be effective and efficient, there may be
consequences that tag along, such as a thinness in gray matter, resulting in NPD.
As I was scrolling down my Instagram feed, I came across a video a girl had posted
earlier that day. I clicked the play button and watched 39 photos of herself flash one after another
on my iPhone. It was as if she could not decide which picture she looked best in, so she complied
them all together in a video for her followers to watch, in hopes it would up her chances for
receiving as many likes as possible. Social media has become a tool of acceptance. Getting likes
and retweets on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram provides us with the satisfaction of

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feeling popular or included. Using these platforms in the comfort of our homes makes us feel it is
okay to post tons of selfies, or pictures of ourselves without having to hear the judgement of
others. A research study conducted by a group at Harvard University in 2012 displayed that 40%
of our time is devoted to self-disclosure, which provides us with same feeling of pleasure as
having sex or eating food (Feiler). As humans, we tend to feel isolated or left out of the loop
when we do not receive the attention we crave. Social media makes it easier for us to share our
personal lives with others, without feeling guilty about it. Research suggests that while during
face-to-face interaction humans communicate 30-40% of the conversation about themselves; on
social media websites that number jumps to 80%. When we talk about ourselves, dopamine is
released in our brain which provides a feeling of satisfaction (Moffit, and Brown). Dopamine, the
feel good chemical in our brain, is released when an individual carries out certain actions.
These actions are typically rewarding ones such as eating good food or engaging in sexual
behaviors. Because social media is such a convenient way to gain personal attention and cause
enjoyment through the release dopamine in our brain, it can easily lead to narcissistic tendencies.
The internet acts as a major influencer on Generation Ys way of thinking. It is quite
amazing how quickly fads or trends can spread through social media. Each of these crazes start
out as a single post, and before you know it, everyone is Planking or doing the ALS Ice
Bucket Challenge. And while its great that awareness of a serious disease like ALS can be
easily spread through social media sites, so can strong opinions which leads to bullying. Media
has a major impact on how news is portrayed to people. It can skew a story in order to provide
favoritism to a specific side. If you are not on the bandwagon of what the majority of people
think, then you become the subject of oppression.

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About 95% of teens who use social media report they have witnessed bullying online
(Hughes, and Logan). This type of influence strips away the individuality of young people in
todays world. Janelle Hanchett, a blogger from California, confesses her obsessive need to
check what people were saying about her posts, which actually ended up affecting her content. I
find this difficult as a writer, because Im often inclined to reach for these likes instead of being
authentic, she says. Rather than expressing how we truly feel, we may fall under societal
pressures and post what other people will like in order to fit in or be accepted. This all ties back
into the narcissistic tendencies that I mentioned before. Self-image has become the ultimate
concern amongst individuals in this generation. If someone does not fit in with the crowd, they
become subjected to bullying online.
While the internet provides a wide range of ways to commit harassment and bulling, it
also allows for bystanders to witness the acts and make a comeback. A recent case which I found
very interesting and held a positive message was The Dancing Man. It all began with an
anonymous post which read, Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped
when he saw us laughing, followed by two pictures: a heavy-set man dancing, and the other
pictured the heavy-set man looking down shamefully, as he realized he became the laughing
stock of these malicious individuals. Because content on the internet travels faster than the speed
of light, it was not too long before Twitter user, Casandra Fairbanks tweeted, Anyone know this
man or who posted this? Theres a huge group of ladies in LA who would like to do something
special. Soon, the Find Dancing Man was the talk of twitter for weeks. Even famous
celebrities like Pharrell Williams and Ellie Goulding got in on the action. Casandra and her group
eventually found Dancing Man and were able to raise $30,000 to fund a huge dance party for
him. The party also benefitted an anti-bullying campaign. This is an example of how social

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media can be used to combat certain situations and raise awareness for negative situations. If we
can shift the focus from selfies and stalking our ex-boyfriend/girlfriends Twitter page, maybe
more positive outcomes can occur from our excessive use of social media.
We know substance addiction exist, but is it possible for us to become addicted to social
media? I know from personal experience as I am writing this essay, I have subconsciously picked
up my phone to check my notifications about a dozen times. Most people set a certain tone on
their phones for the different notifications they receive, which causes us to perform a type of
classical conditioning among ourselves: When we hear the specific ding, we immediately
know which platform, whether it be Facebook or Twitter, received a notification, and our
response is to check it at that very moment because it is right at our finger tips. About 5-10% of
people are unable to log off of the internet, which can technically be considered a psychological
addiction. Substance addiction and psychological addictions have close similarities: both affect
decision making, emotions, and attention (Moffit, and Brown). A research team at Elon
University conducted a study to test the possibility of behavioral addiction to social media. A
self-assessment survey was created and sent out to people to evaluate their social media use. The
survey incorporated 5 components of addiction: tolerance, salience, conflict, withdrawal, and
relapse. The following paragraphs explain what questions corresponded with what component.
Tolerance related to the following questions: How often do you find that you spend
more time than intended on social media? And How often do you find yourself saying Just a
few more minutes when using social media? These questions are affiliated with the willingness
to accept the amount of time you spend on social media is higher than you imagined or hoped it
would be.

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Salience relates to the following question: How often do you check your social media
sites before something else that you need to do? The salience aspect has to do with how
prominent social media use has become in your life. Do you put it before your school work? Or
maybe even before making dinner? If so that may lead to some issues, which falls into the next
category: conflict.
A question composed for conflict was: How often do you feel your productivity suffers
because of social media? If valuable time is being compromised because of the constant need to
check Instagram, social media is conflicting with your life.
Withdrawal has to do with the following question: How often do you typically feel
stressed out, disconnected or paranoid when you cannot access social media? When an
individual expresses feelings of true frustration because they cannot connect to wifi in order to
check their Twitter notifications, it may be the withdrawal symptoms associated with social
media. This generation has a constant connection with social media which it hard for people to
part form the cyber world at any given time.
A final component, relapse proposes the following question: How often do you try to cut
down the amount of time you spend online and fail? Once an individual realizes there is a
problem with the amount of time spent on the internet, you can try and attack the problem head
on and limit your time. If this does not work, it is referred to as a relapse.
The survey results show 3 of the 5 components were the most supported (tolerance,
salience, and relapse) to show that addiction to social media is possible (Cabral).
So we know that feeling of addiction may occur while using social media over long
periods of time, but what part of the brain is physically changing? White matter within our brain
control the regions associated with decision making, emotions, and attention. Studies show that

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in these areas, the white matter actually becomes impaired or degraded with more severe
addictions (Moffit, and Brown). This could potentially be detrimental to the members of
Generation Y whose brains are still developing. Other studies show that social media could also
be rewiring our nervous systems. A very new and interesting syndrome has recently been
discovered because of vibrations from our phones. Phantom Vibration Syndrome is when your
brain perceives an itch on any part of your body as a vibration from a phone. This demonstrates
the evolution of our brains throughout history. Never has this Phantom Vibration Syndrome
ever been relevant until now because of our rise in technological advancements (Moffit, and
Brown).
It is amazing to think that the current generation of children will never know a world that
is not suffused with technology such as social media and the internet. Our future leaders may be
vastly different from those before because of the impact social media has on our ways of
thinking. Teenagers seem to think that what they put out on their Facebook profiles define who
they are inside, which in fact, is not true at all (Plye). Falling under societal pressure, they may
feel the need to put on a mask to hide who they really are and only post what pleases people.
Leaders need to be able to have original thought and realize that conforming to the majoritys
way of thinking may not always be the best way to go about things. Not only must we worry
about how this will affect the lives of the current generation, but generations before their time as
well. The elderly will be under rule of these leaders, and the choices they make. If social media is
posing a negative threat on the manner they run the government. Social media will have a major
impact on all generations to come.
Looking at social media as a whole, it has potential to do a lot of great in this world. Providing us
with information and connectivity at our fingertips becomes really efficient in todays society.

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The idea of being able to stay in touch with family and making new friends through social media
is thriving more than ever. But it is very important to realize when constant usage becomes a
physiological problem, and should be addressed. Over all, balance between face-to-face
interaction and internet interaction is vital, but taking a break from constantly checking
Instagram to maintain a healthy mindset and prevent behavioral addictions could be far more
important.

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Works Cited
Cabral, Jaclyn. "Is Generation Y Addicted to Social Media?" The Elon Journal of
Undergraduate Research in Communications 2.1 (2011): 5-14. Elon.edu. Spring 2011.
Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Chow, Denise. "Narcissists' Lack of Empathy Detected in Brain Scans."LiveScience. TechMedia
Network, 24 June 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.
DeAngelis, Tori. "Is Technology Ruining Our Kids?" 42.9 (2011): 62. American Psychological
Association. Oct. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Feiler, Bruce. "For the Love of Being Liked." New York Times 11 May 2014: ST2. The New
York Times. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.

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Hughes, Donna R., and Cris C. Logan. "Cyberbullying Statistics." Internet Safety 101: Statistics.
Enough Is Enough, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
Moffit, Mitchell, and Gregory Brown. "5 Crazy Ways Social Media Is Changing Your Brain
Right Now." YouTube. YouTube, 7 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Phillips, Greg. "Brain Abnormalities Found in Narcissists." The Ranch Drug Rehab Eating
Disorder Trauma Treatment Center Sex Addiction Nashville Tennessee TN. The Ranch
Inc, 18 July 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Plye, Samantha O. "The Impact of Social Media on the next Generation."Nashville Business
Journal. American City Business Journals, 23 Dec. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
Stenovec, Timothy. "Facebook Is Now Bigger Than The Largest Country On Earth." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.