According to a summary article published in 2024 by Stanford Law School, up to 20% of young people show signs of addiction to social networks. However, there is no reason to immediately ditch your phone. It’s more helpful to understand how social networks actually work and why they attract us so much that we often wake up and go to sleep with them.
Dopamine and instant happiness
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in feelings of joy, motivation, and satisfaction. Social networks can release dopamine. Many other activities release it as well, such as sports, listening to favorite music, or spending free time with friends. Compared to social networks, the problem is that these activities often require much more time and energy and are therefore less accessible. Meanwhile, we all have a phone in our pocket. It’s a kind of instant happiness. For obvious reasons, our brain loves dopamine and wants more and more of it.
Well-designed algorithms
Social networks can accurately recognize what you like and dislike, whether it’s animals, sports, fashion, electronics, or anything else. Carefully designed algorithms then choose the content you see, tailoring your feed so you stay active as long as possible. Additionally, the format of posts (for example, the length of videos) is designed to keep your attention and keep the content entertaining for you.
Reinforcement of behavior
You might remember from social science lectures — if you get something you want, you remember it and repeat the behavior. This is called positive reinforcement. Social networks keep giving us little joys and rewards over and over. The brain learns that spending time there pays off. And it wants to repeat it. Social networks are designed for this phenomenon. The feed never ends, you never know what else is there, and that motivates you to keep scrolling.
Sociální kontakt
Člověk je tvor společenský a má přirozenou potřebu být v kontaktu s druhými. Přes sociální sítě je to snadné a rychlé, ať už jsme kdekoliv. Nemusí se jednat jen o zprávy na messengeru, i videa, příspěvky a reakce na ně jsou určitá forma komunikace. Nepřímá komunikace je často zároveň méně stresující než přímý kontakt. Když se cítíme sociálně přijímáni a uznáni, opět se nám zvyšuje hladina dopaminu.
Co s tím?
Pokud si nejsi jistý/á, jak to máš se sociálními sítěmi a chceš si o tom s někým promluvit, neváhej vyhledat terapeuta - vyslechne tě a pomůže ti se v tvé situaci zorientovat. Řada terapeutů funguje i online, takže se ti může dostat pomoci už v řádu dní.
Článek vznikl pod záštitou Alive Cares.
Autorka: Mgr., Bc. Tereza Jandová - adiktoložka, terapeutka, psycholožka ve zdravotnictví
