THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: A REVIEW OF COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS

Authors

  • Daniel Emilio Kafie Montoya Research Scholars Program, Harvard Student Agencies, In collaboration with Learn with Leaders

Keywords:

Social Media, Cognitive Impact, Emotional Regulation, Attention Span, Social Behavior, Mental Health

Abstract

Social media's pervasive use has significantly influenced neurological and cognitive functions, underscoring the intricate relationship between technology use and brain dynamics. This paper explores these complex interactions, focusing on how social media impacts emotional regulation, social behaviors, and attention span. Existing studies reveal that the high volume of information intake and continuous notifications associated with social media may reduce attention span and hinder focus. Additionally, dopamine-driven feedback loops within social media interactions foster addictive behaviors, promoting a need for immediate gratification and altering the brain's reward-processing mechanisms. While social media offers numerous benefits, its substantial and varied effects on the brain highlight the necessity of mindful and moderated usage. Understanding these neurological and psychological impacts is crucial to developing strategies that mitigate potential drawbacks and enhance the positive aspects of social media use.

References

I. O’Keeffe, Gwenn Schurgin, and Kathleen Clarke-Pearson. “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families.” Pediatrics, vol. 127, no. 4, Apr. 2011, pp. 800–04.

II. Amedie, Jacob. “The Impact of Social Media on Society.” Scholar Commons.

III. Information, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication And. “Undergraduates’ Use of Social Media as Information Sources.” NTU Singapore, 2014.

IV. Ophir, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), 15583-15587.

V. Cain, M. S., & Mitroff, S. R. (2011). Distractor filtering in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(10), 15567-15572.

VI. Montag, C., Lachmann, B., Herrlich, M., & Zweig, K. (2017). Addictive features of social media/messenger platforms and Freemium games against the background of psychological and economic theories. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(14), 2612.

VII. Kross, E., Verduyn, P., Demiralp, E., Park, J., Lee, D. S., Lin, N., ... & Ybarra, O. (2013). Facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults. PLoS One, 8(8), e69841.

VIII. Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841-1848.

IX. Turkle, S. (2011). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Basic Books.

X. Uhls, Y. T., Michikyan, M., Morris, J., Garcia, D., Small, G. W., Zgourou, E., & Greenfield, P. M. (2014). Five days at outdoor education camp without screens improves preteen skills with nonverbal emotion cues. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 387-392.

XI. Michikyan, M., Subrahmanyam, K., & Dennis, J. (2015). Can you guess who I am? Real, ideal, and false self-presentation on Facebook among emerging adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 567-574.

XII. Naslund, J. A., Aschbrenner, K. A., Marsch, L. A., & Bartels, S. J. (2016). The future of mental health care: Peer-to-peer support and social media. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 25(2), 113-122.

Additional Files

Published

15-11-2024

How to Cite

Daniel Emilio Kafie Montoya. (2024). THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: A REVIEW OF COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS. International Education and Research Journal (IERJ), 10(11). Retrieved from https://ierj.in/journal/index.php/ierj/article/view/3723