Cognitive processing of mediated message-

Media effects: Advances in theory and research,

Media, Mind and Brain, Media Withdrawal
 Brain, Mind & Media

● Long-term fight between dualism (separate existence of mind & body) and holistic
view (mind-body integration)
● Increase in biologically-inspired media researches
○ Recent studies - focus on brain activities during mediated message viewing to
predict future real-life behavior
■ Cooper et al. (2015) show evidence that brain activity in response to online
antismoking messages can significantly increase prediction accuracy of
smoking behavior change.
■ Yegiyan (2015) - processing of promotional messages following emotionally
arousing stimuli is a function of the interaction between motivational system
activation and consolidation of the preceding message content in memory
systems
● Is social media changing your brain?
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMFJ9Fr450I
 Brain, Mind & Media

● Neuromarketing - the latest application - https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=1FIv6OQa6ks
● Social media provide a platform where the modern human can attempt
to satisfy basic social needs via five key behaviors.
(1) Broadcast information
(2) Receive feedback on this information
(3) Observe the broadcasts of others
(4) Provide feedback on the broadcasts of others
(5) Compare themselves with others
 Brain, Mind & Media

● These behaviors rely primarily on three domains:

○ Social cognition (i.e., mentalizing)
○ Self-referential cognition
○ Social reward processing
 Brain, Mind & Media

● Social cognition (i.e., mentalizing) - Using social media requires us to

think about the mental states and motivations of other users: to
mentalize.
○ e.g. before and after a social media user broadcasts information,
they may think about how her audience will respond.
○ When providing feedback on another user's posts, a user may think
about how this specific user may react upon receiving this
feedback.
○ Finally, when viewing information and feedback broadcast by
others, a user may think about the other user's motivations for
posting this information.
 Brain, Mind & Media

● Self-referential cognition - People use social media to

post information about themselves: they share their own
current subjective experience, recent past, or opinions.
○ e.g. thinking about oneself may prompt a user to
broadcast those thoughts, and broadcasting one's
thoughts may provoke further self-referential thought.
○ Receiving feedback may induce reflected self-
appraisals.
○ Social comparison likewise requires users to think
about their own behavior in relation to other users.
 Brain, Mind & Media
● Social reward processing - Social media provide users with a consistent
supply of social rewards, with each and every suggestion of social connection
or reputation enhancement.
○ e.g. Facebook users can receive positive feedback in the form of a ‘like,’
or social connections in the form of a ‘friend’ request.
○ Social rewards activate a network of brain regions including the
ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), ventral striatum, and ventral
tegmental area
● In using social media, one must attend to stimuli, make decisions, and
execute motor movements, amongst countless other behaviors. These
implicate other brain systems in social media use, such as the fronto-parietal
attention network https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkMh6xdJNeM
 Media Withdrawal
Discussion points
-Addiction
-Withdrawal symptoms - psychological (like FOMO
etc.) & physical
-Clinical lens - pathology
-Neurotransmitters - impact on cognitive capability
-Consummatory time-loss
 Media Withdrawal
Discussion points
-Techniques to control usage
• Control on time
• Control on type of usage
-Equating life and relationships with the use of
social & digital media
• it’s a parallel life almost or a way to connect to
the existing one
 Media Withdrawal
Discussion points
- Goals - pros
• Adding skills
• Improve life-quality
• Improve self-actualisation
• Gaining self-control
- Cons
• Disconnect with multiple friends
• Might not get very updated information
- Desensitisation
- Users withdraw from Multiple types of media due to over-usage
 Media Withdrawal
Withdrawal based on the type of media
- Print media
• Lack immediacy
• Limited space
• E ect of decreasing attention span and patience
• Less visually stimulating
• Less option to explore - lack embedded links or connecting
information
- What possible kind of e ect is this kind of withdrawal having on the
present and future social and lifestyle discourse?
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