Digital Dopamine is Destroying Us

Addiction is one of the greatest battles in any person’s life. Things like alcohol, smoking, gambling, induce a chemical called dopamine into our brains making them addictive factors. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in our brains, and plays a role in how we feel pleasure. Alcohol increases activity in the dopamine neurons while releasing endorphins into your opioid cells. The feeling of pleasure is addictive, and to make matters worse there is a new terror on our hands that is exposed to an even greater consumer audience.

Our newest generations are introduced to a new dopamine inducer. Social Media. The presence of technology and social platforms hold an abundance of power over us in many different sectors. From view count and comments received, to the simple struggle of getting off the app. Social Media feeds off the interaction between people, while this allows for connections and conversation, it essentially runs a system of approval and validation. In a journal written by researchers at the California State University-Fullerton, analysts find that peer approval in “liking photos” releases dopamine in the frontal lobe. The release of which makes it an addictive factor that we seek more of each time. The relevance of which is so magnanimous to the point that the reduction in likes or views leads to severe mental instabilities and disapproval on one’s self. Michelle Newton, a consumer futurist, explains, “It’s a drug that feeds the ego of the self, the ego of me.”

Now, if the cycle of validation to invalidation is not harmful enough, app engineers orchestrate methods to make your device glued to your eyes and hands. Through corrupt methods, companies are marketing off of the vulnerabilities of others and putting the consumers at risk. Digital leaders are persistent on achieving the holy grail, which is getting users engaged enough that they come back again and again. Anukriti Sharma perfectly explains the business structure of social media and says, “Social media companies are built on the idea of engaging the attention of users for as long and as frequently as possible. This user attention is then sold to advertisers for revenue. Since most social media platforms are free, they make profit by primarily relying on the revenue generated from advertisers.” With the utmost intention to yield the highest revenue, it is imperative for social media founders to accum

ulate as many users as they can to stare at their screens for hours on end. Though it appears as inconspicuous to teenagers on the app, corporate companies are profiting at our downfall. The pleasures a person feels from an app is toxic and inherently evident.

We have established why technology and a digital platform can be addictive, but what are the apparent harms? Addiction is a disorder, and like all things it will lead to a breaking point. When that is or how long it takes to get there is never standard, but what is determined, is the inevitable crash. An addiction to social media can lead to depression, anxiety, FOMO (fear of missing out) and serious isolation iss

ues. It stems from feelings of invalidation, or disapproval from the quantifiable sides of it, and from emotional standpoints it can easily be detrimental to your mental state. From the moment we log on, we are signing up for apps where you are being tested on your self control and discipline. With a plethora of positive points from social media, there are even more negatives. The digital dopamine is real, and it is time we face it.

Written By: Eesha Bellad