Social media has added so much to people’s lives and enhanced the human experience in many ways. Being able to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues who live or work in different parts of the world and even connect with business opportunities that we may not have been granted otherwise has become increasingly more accessible with the help of platforms that bring us together.
Most entrepreneurs and small business owners today believe that marketing their products and services on platforms like instagram, facebook and tiktok is the holy grail and it’s the best way to find success in their business ventures. Well that may be true to some extent but…
At what cost?
A large percentage of the same people are unconsciously addicted to social media and are completely unaware of how it is driving their choices and creating social distance that is detrimental to basic human behavioral development which plays a major part in the evolution and growth of the human species in general.
So how is this affecting them overall and what are the consequences of using social media for business? How does it affect our personal lives?
I believed that social media was the holy grail for business too until I tried to give it up and realized what type of grip it actually had on me. Being someone who understands addiction extensively, I knew that those uncontrollable urges to check my IG or the unconscious habit of checking my phone for messages, even when there was no notification were signs that I needed to evaluate my relationship with social media.
I’ve been completely obsessed with the human mind and behavior for as long as I can remember and learning these things drove me into an even deeper rabbit hole of discovery.
It’s been almost 2 years since I permanently deleted my Facebook and Instagram profiles. Now I choose to invest most of my time in face to face interactions.
I'll never look at social media the same again and here is why.
The basics of the brain
To really grasp how social media is affecting you, you need to understand the basic difference between the mind and the brain. The mind is comprised of our awareness, perceptions, thoughts, ideas and it is the basis of our actions. While the brain is made up of neurons, chemicals and cells which tells the organ itself how to respond. Although they have different jobs they are inseparable and rely on each other to be a fully functioning unit.
What affects the brain affects the mind and vice versa.
Every time you spend time on platforms like instagram, facebook, tik tok or twitter you activate the part of your brain called the rewards center better known as the mesolimbic system to scholars. This center has many functions but the main part you should be aware of for the purpose of knowing how social media affects your actions is at the center of it all. The striatum.
What is Dopamine and how does it work?
The striatum is in charge of thinking, planning, action, reinforcement, and motivation. To top off these very important but often overlooked duties it controls the center of rewards perception. The entire rewards center runs on dopamine, a neurochemical and transmitter that drives us to stimuli and affects behaviors associated with pleasure.
When you’re having sex you’re definitely not thinking about how your brain works but it's processing and releasing neurochemicals in nanoseconds associated with the enjoyment of the experience.
Dopamine is naturally released in proportion to the perceived level of pleasure with things like eating foods we like, social interaction, relationships and other exciting activities but when released in excess it may cause the formation of habits and addictions.
Social media provides an increase and immediate release in dopamine levels and studies have shown that heavy social media users’ brain scans look very similar to those of drug addicts and gamblers. Dr. Anne Lembke was interviewed on Fox 5 news about this also and feels taking a break from social media is necessary to bring dopamine levels back into homeostasis.
Social media addiction
What if I told you that social media platforms are designed to control your mind, change your perceptions and enforce addiction to it.
Would you stop using it?
Probably not without some serious effort. Mainly because you have been using it long enough to associate feelings of pleasure. Using the app shoots a rush of dopamine down your neural pathways and creates a desire for that reward over and over again. This influences habitual practice and once your brain has created a habit it’s very hard to break without some assistance.
The innovative thinker and psychologist Dr. Douglas Lisle calls it the pleasure trap. Basically he explains how some people are predisposed to certain habits based on their biology and how our genes, instincts, thoughts, feelings and behaviors are all intricately connected. You can watch his Ted talk here.
Think about something in your life that you know you should be doing but haven’t been able to bring yourself to getting done. Is it going to the gym? Eating healthier? Leaving a toxic relationship?
According to Dr. Lisle this is so difficult to do because you’re so far from your natural state of being. In a nutshell this just means that physical movement, eating whole foods, and loving yourself more than you allow someone to hurt you are all parts of your natural state of being and when you deviate from it, you receive a spike in your dopamine levels which makes it difficult to go back to your natural state.
This has an effect on the choices you make, how you perceive the world around you and creates the desire to continue feeling the pleasure you get from the increase of dopamine.
In other words when you introduce something abnormal to a person’s normal environment they are thrown off balance.
The effect on teens and adolescents
Social media is one of those abnormal introductions with the most popular ones only being part of the human experience for less than 20 years as of this date.
When cell phones were introduced we didn’t know or understand how it would affect us. Humans are electromagnetic beings and carrying devices which emit radiofrequency waves has proven to be a problem over the years. Studies have shown that these waves affect our mind and body with some people reporting sleep issues, headaches, muscle strain and spasms from using cell phones.
Due to the fact that social media hasn't been around very long the research is ongoing and is especially targeting adolescents and teens since their brains are still developing. According to an article by Columbia University’s director of the Clinic for Anxiety and Related disorders Ann Marie Albano PhD, some children might feel
“There’s nothing out there for me. I can’t do anything. I might as well just lose myself in another season of whatever show this is.”
Which is not healthy and leads to being unproductive and a less contributional member of society.
When using too much social media it invokes feelings of depression, anxiety and exacerbates other mental disorders which could be harmful or even fatal to those suffering from it.
Children, especially adolescents and teens are trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in while learning to navigate their emotions. Social media makes it easy to compare themselves to others and unfortunately most people are posting their idea of a perfect life which encourages feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness.
It’s not just children who suffer from these feelings.
The effect on adults
Adults are also highly likely to experience feelings of depression, isolation and anxiety due to social media use for very similar reasons. According to a survey hosted by onlinetherapy.com 58% of adults in America believe their mental health is negatively impacted by the use of social media.
But why are people still using it if they know it is affecting their mental health?
Simply put, the social media platform game is unpredictable. When behavior is unpredictable it is harder to pull away from it.
Think about playing the lottery. The sheer enjoyment of knowing you could win is what keeps people playing. If there was no reward, nobody would play.
The likes, comments, validation and the search of meaningful connection, is like winning the lottery multiple times a day and you may be wondering
How is that a bad thing?
Not knowing what you're going to get when you open the app increases your anxiety levels and opening it to likes and comments even if they’re from people you don't actually know in your daily life influences your innate desire to belong.
Not all connection and belonging is beneficial to you.
Most social media users have reported depression, body image issues, and dissatisfaction with life. This is mainly due to comparing their lives to their social media “friends” and having unrealistic expectations created by edited images, staged photos and the perfection ideation which most people project on social media.
FOMO
One of the most pressing issues is fear of missing out. This contributes to all the mental health issues associated with social media and can exacerbate the breakdown of mental health fortitude. The following list includes some of the symptoms of FOMO according to Forbes Health.
- Obsessively checking social media
- Withdrawing or self isolation
- Experiencing negative feelings when comparing your life to others on social media
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Mental exhaustion after being on social media
- Sleep issues
I noticed first hand when I chose to remove myself from the social media scene how some of the following symptoms cleared up for me. If you find that social media is becoming an issue for you please click here to schedule a free consultation. I would be happy to assist you with taking your life back.
- Having less time to get things done
- Overwhelment
- Overbooking over scheduling activities
- No work life balance
- Unhealthy business and personal relationships
- Losing myself in others
- Lack of true self care
- Keeping up with joneses’ syndrome
Sadly, the people sitting at the head of the table for Facebook and Instagram have been well aware of the affects associated with the use of their platforms for quite some time and are choosing not to implement any regulations.
Conclusion
I am by no means anti-social media. I understand that like everything else in life there are pros and cons to it.
I do believe however that it’s imperative people are aware of the effects associated with the use of it so they can make informed decisions about how often they use it and be mindful of the intention behind its use.
As of 2023 there has been a significant increase in the reported cases of anxiety and depression in the U.S. especially amongst women, people of color and people ages 18-44. If you fall in one of those categories your chances of being or developing these issues are exacerbated by social media use.
Considering that I fall under every category I proactively choose not to use it at all. Which is my choice. Truthfully it has enhanced my life in many ways but most of all by allowing me to be present in the moment and increasing my awareness about things that matter most to me in life. I’ve been able to excel in both business and personal experiences in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
So I ask you.
Rather you’re using social media platforms for business, pleasure or both.
Is it worth it?
Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
Until next time…