May 7, 2025 — Andalucia Luvrien
Edited by the YNPS Publications Team.
Abstract
Social media has captured significant attention by engaging users and constantly delivering likes, which can impact brain function. Notifications teasing users to check the progress of their posts create anticipation, turning these moments into highly awaited events that may lead to feelings of overwhelm and stress. This research explores the effects of social media engagement, particularly through likes, on the brain’s reward processing system. The study focuses on how the brain responds by analyzing articles, scientific studies, and health blogs. Research reveals that receiving likes activates dopamine pathways in the brain, reinforcing habitual use and significantly influencing emotional well-being. Specifically, likes trigger activity in regions such as the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area, which are central to the brain’s reward circuitry. This neural response highlights the psychological and emotional attachment to social media’s “like” feature. Overall, research indicates that social media can produce both acute and sustained effects on cognition and emotional health. This study proposes that future research should integrate internet-related phenomena into broader scientific contexts to better understand how this unprecedented facet of society impacts cognition and brain function across the lifespan. Future investigations should aim to include quantitative data and focus specifically on the neurological mechanisms underlying addiction to deepen insights into these psychological and neural dynamics.
Introduction
Social media has become an integral part of modern life, with platforms like Instagram and Facebook enabling users to share content and receive instant feedback through likes and comments. These interactions go beyond simple social exchanges; they activate neural reward systems, which can have significant implications for mental health and behavior. This study aims to explore how social media affects the brain, focusing on the “like” feature—its origins, the causes of addiction, and its broader impact. Through this analysis, the research will demonstrate that social media not only influences mood but may also cause long-term damage to brain function if its effects are not properly understood. By examining how the brain processes digital stimuli in the context of social media, this study underscores the importance of educating ourselves to maintain a healthy balance between online engagement and real-life activities.
Methodology
This study was conducted as a literature review to explore how the brain responds to social media likes. Studies were selected based on their relevance to the research topic, specifically those that examined neural responses to social media engagement and the role of dopamine in reward-related brain regions.
Discussion
Social media refers to a group of websites and applications that allow users to communicate and share content with one another. This content is represented in videos, photos, group games, and written texts, and it provides an opportunity for others to interact with it. The Internet consumes a considerable chunk of our attention on a day‐to‐day basis. The amount and frequency of Internet usage are even more pronounced amongst younger people. Teens spend more than half of their hours on social media, such as posting pictures and videos, and most of them post updates so that friends, family, and followers can interact by liking or commenting. Clicking “like” is very easy; it takes less than a second to show that you are in touch with someone without needing to explain why you like their post. Likes are unlimited, and when a post receives a lot of likes, it tends to be perceived as more popular and interactive compared to posts with fewer likes. Moreover, when we see a post with many likes, it can brighten our mood, leading us to think that more likes activate our reward system.
Overconsuming social media can negatively impact our mood by increasing anxiety, depression, loneliness, and FOMO (fear of missing out). These issues are very prevalent, especially for teenagers and young adults. The addictive nature of social media activates the brain’s reward center by releasing dopamine. Dopamine is a type of monoamine neurotransmitter. It is made in your brain and acts as a chemical messenger, communicating messages between nerve cells in your brain and the rest of your body. It also acts as a hormone. Dopamine is known as the “feel-good” hormone. It gives you the motivation to do something when you are feeling pleasure. Dopamine is part of your reward system. This system is designed, from an evolutionary standpoint, to reward you when you are doing the things you need to do to survive — eat, drink, compete to survive, and reproduce. As humans, our brains are hard-wired to seek out behaviors that release dopamine in our reward system. When you are doing something pleasurable, your brain releases a large amount of dopamine. You feel good, and you seek more of that feeling. However, when dopamine levels are not balanced, it could lead to mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, psychosis, ADHD, and Parkinson’s disease.
Research shows that regular social media use is changing our brain structure, function, and cognitive development in three key areas. Social media usage triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that reinforces rewarding behaviors. This chemical response is similar to what occurs with addictive substances such as drugs and alcohol. According to Pigott’s research, dopamine plays a critical role in creating a cycle of continuous engagement with social media platforms. ‘Using social media lights up the same parts of your brain as other addictions, such as drugs, alcohol, and gambling,’ Laura Elin Pigott explained in her study.
(Figure 1): Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Dopamine and serotonin pathways.
The nucleus accumbens (NAc), traditionally known for its role in reward and addiction, also plays a significant role in pain modulation and analgesia. Research indicates that the NAc receives nociceptive input from pain-related brain structures, such as the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and thalamus, suggesting its involvement in pain signaling pathways. The major cell types in both the dorsal and ventral striatum are GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs), which comprise ~95% of the total cell population in these structures. They are commonly subdivided into two neuron populations: those that preferentially express dopamine D1 receptors (D1) and those that express dopamine D2 receptors (D2). D1 MSNs are key components of the so-called direct pathway as they form monosynaptic contacts with basal ganglia output nuclei, the substantia nigra pars reticulata, and the internal globus pallidus (Kreitzer and Malenka, 2008). NAc is the target of numerous neuromodulatory systems with important roles in cognition and motivated behaviors (Klawonn and Malenka, 2019). “Like” feature happens to affect brain structures. The structures involved in goal-oriented and social behavior, such as the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) (Sturm et al., 2016; Xu et al., 2019), and the nucleus accumbens (NACC) appear particularly crucial for engagement with SM, as its activation correlates with positive feedback and the intensity of SM use. Notably, the insula, amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and paracingulate cortex are uniquely activated in response to receiving a “like” rather than giving feedback (Mauri et al., 2011).
On the other hand, the use of touchscreen smartphones has been shown to induce measurable changes in brain activity, particularly in regions associated with sensory processing. Electroencephalography (EEG) revealed that frequent smartphone users exhibit enhanced cortical activity in response to touch on the thumb, index, and middle fingertips, with the level of activity directly proportional to the intensity of smartphone use (Korte, 2020). Day-to-day fluctuations in smartphone usage were found to influence cortical responsiveness, emphasizing how digital technology continuously molds neural processing. This phenomenon aligns with the broader impact of social media engagement on brain function, as features like “likes” similarly exploit reward systems and contribute to habitual behaviors. This reward system is often conceptualized as if it were a single psychological process or a unitary feature of a reinforcing stimulus. It is sometimes identified with the pleasure or hedonic impact of a stimulus, and is viewed by some as necessarily subjective in nature (Berridge and Robinson, 1998). Social media is made to be addictive with its features, each like presents a little hit of dopamine to our brain, thus creating reward pathways in the brain, causing you to desire more until one day when you do not meet your expectation. It leads to feelings of sadness, anxiety, depression, and emptiness because our brain does not get the hit of dopamine. That is why intense use of social media can lead to a profound effect on neuronal structures in the human brain. Exposure to unrestrained levels of digital technology can have serious long-term consequences for development. Social media can permanently change young people’s brain structure and impact how they will think, feel, and act throughout their lives.
As you can see, social media can have a tremendous effect on how our brains function, impacting our ability to concentrate, focus, form memories, and even affecting our mental health. This is why it is crucial to establish boundaries around its use. The number of “likes” you receive does not define your worth in real life; receiving fewer likes does not mean there is something wrong with you. It is unnecessary to conform to what everyone else wants to see and like. Sometimes, you can post something simply to keep it as a memory. Understanding how social media affects our brain’s reward system can empower us to take control of our usage. To prevent long-term issues related to brain function, start by distancing yourself from social media and turning off notifications. Notifications keep our dopamine levels high, but over time, they can lead to addiction. By turning them off, you can check social media only when necessary. Setting a schedule helps you stay organized and prioritize real-life activities, such as making your bed in the morning instead of immediately jumping onto your phone. By creating a healthy routine and committing to it, you will find that life becomes much easier and less stressful. Additionally, replacing screen time with real, productive activities can help train your brain to focus. Engaging in hobbies like reading, painting, or spending time with friends through face-to-face interactions can clear your mind and improve your thought processes.
Conclusion
This research has illuminated the intricate ways in which social media, particularly the “like” feature, affects our brains and emotional well-being. The instant gratification derived from likes triggers the release of dopamine, creating a reward cycle that can lead to addictive behaviors. This constant stimulation not only alters our brain structure and function but also poses significant challenges to our mental health, contributing to increased anxiety, depression, and a pervasive fear of missing out. The study underscores the importance of understanding the neurological mechanisms behind social media engagement. By recognizing how these platforms exploit our brain’s reward system, we can take proactive steps to mitigate their adverse effects. It is crucial to set boundaries, limit screen time, and engage in real-world activities that promote genuine connections and satisfaction. While these platforms offer opportunities for connection and expression, they should not define our self-worth or dictate our emotional state. By prioritizing our mental and emotional well-being and fostering a healthy relationship with technology, we can harness the benefits of social media without succumbing to its potentially damaging effects. Future research should incorporate quantitative data and delve deeper into the neurological and psychological dynamics of social media addiction to provide a more comprehensive understanding. Integrating these perspectives will be essential for developing effective intervention and prevention strategies in the digital age, especially among young people.
Citations
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