How Social Media Addiction is Rewiring our Brains for Solitude

The lonely pursuit of likes and notifications

Are you mindlessly scrolling through your social media feeds late into the night, desperately seeking that next dopamine hit of likes, comments, or shares?

Is your addiction to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) actually making you more lonely?

A growing body of research suggests that might be the case.

Table of Contents

· The Social Media Feedback Loop
· Loneliness Epidemic
· Our Brains on Social Media
· Addicted to Distraction
· Are We Addicted to Addictiveness?
· The Consequences of Chronic Loneliness
· Escaping the Social Media Feedback Loop
· Got Questions?
· Wrapping Up

The Social Media Feedback Loop

Social media platforms are designed from the ground up to be addictive. When we post photos, status updates or tweets, we’re rewarded with immediate feedback in the form of likes and comments.

The same neurotransmitter that drugs like cocaine activate, dopamine, is released as a result of this.¹

We get a little hit of pleasure each time, which keeps us coming back for more.

The problem is that real social interactions in the physical world don’t provide such instant gratification. Getting validation from actual friends and family takes more effort.

It’s much easier to get that dopamine rush by mindlessly scrolling our feeds instead of interacting face-to-face.

Over time, our brains become rewired to prefer the superficial feedback loops of social media over meaningful real-world connections.

We start to crave the constant stimulation and become addicted to chasing those little dopamine hits.

Loneliness Epidemic

As we increasingly replace real socialising with online socialising, it should be no surprise that rates of loneliness have risen dramatically.

According to a 2018 survey, over half of American adults now say they sometimes or always feel alone — a significant increase from previous years.²

Research has found a strong link between social media use and loneliness. One study showed that the more time young adults spent on social media, the more lonely they felt.³

Another study found that people who passively consume social media (lurking on feeds without interacting) report higher levels of loneliness than those who actively engage.⁴

It seems our addiction to platforms that are designed to be addictive may actually be exacerbating the problem they claim to solve—loneliness.

By providing an endless stream of trivial interactions and superficial connections, social media fails to fulfil our basic human need for real social support and intimacy.

Our Brains on Social Media

To understand how social media is rewiring our brains, it helps to know how the brain normally responds to social interaction.

Neuroscientists have found three key brain networks that are activated during real face-to-face socialising:

The reward system — as mentioned, this includes the dopamine-releasing regions that give us pleasure from social interactions.

The mentalising system allows us to understand others by recognising emotions, thoughts, and intentions. It is important to have empathy to read social cues and have meaningful discussions.

The attachment system triggers feelings of safety, trust, and emotional bonding with close friends and family. It releases oxytocin and opioids.

When we socialise in person, all three systems are fully engaged. But on social media, they are activated to a much lesser extent.

• Likes provide a dopamine hit but no real reward or fulfilment.
• Text-based interactions lack emotional and social cues for the mentalizing system.
• No oxytocin or emotional bonding occurs from superficial online “friends.”

Over time, our brains start to prefer the dopamine hits of social media over truly engaging all three systems through face-to-face interactions.

We become habituated to superficial connections instead of developing real intimacy and attachment.

Addicted to Distraction

Another way social media rewires our brains is by making us constantly distracted.

The “fear of missing out” (FOMO) is real — we can’t stand the thought of not checking our notifications or missing an update.

Research shows our brains have difficulty focusing on one task for long periods without needing to check notifications or switch to another app or tab. This is because social media activates the brain’s reward system through those “information cravings.”⁵

Constantly switching between tasks also engages the prefrontal cortex less, impairing our ability to focus deeply.

Multitasking was previously thought to mean doing multiple tasks simultaneously, but studies now show we can only focus fully on one thing at a time.⁶

When we try to multitask, we actually spend more time and mental effort switching between tasks rather than completing them.

Being constantly distracted also prevents us from engaging fully with real human interactions. We’re too busy glancing at our phones during conversations or events to truly be present.

Over time, our brains become conditioned to crave superficial online interactions and short-form content rather than deep engagement.

Are We Addicted to Addictiveness?

Perhaps most troubling is the idea that we may not just be addicted to social media itself but also to the process of becoming addicted.

Dr. Adam Alter refers to this as an “addiction to addictiveness” in his book Irresistible.⁷

Social media platforms are designed, through careful psychological manipulation, to be as habit-forming and engaging as possible.

They employ techniques like variable rewards, social comparison, validation through likes and comments, and constant notifications to keep us engaged.

Platforms like Facebook even run large-scale experiments on users without consent to test how to maximise “engagement.”⁸

They’ve essentially gamified social interaction by turning our lives and relationships into optimised feedback loops.

The result is that we become addicted not just to platforms themselves but also to the process of building habits and seeking constant stimulation, validation, and distraction.

Our dopamine systems get hijacked into constantly needing a fix. We lose our ability to self-regulate screen time and social media use.

In a sense, we’ve moved from being in control of technology to being under its control.

We’re hooked not just by social media itself but also by our own addictive tendencies that platforms are expertly designed to exploit for profit.

It’s raising important questions about the ethics of technology design and its effects on human psychology.

The Consequences of Chronic Loneliness

While feeling lonely temporarily is normal and human, prolonged chronic loneliness has been shown to take a serious toll on both our mental and physical health.

• Higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Lonely people are around 30% more likely to suffer mental illness.⁹
• Increased stress levels. Loneliness activates the body’s fight-or-flight response, as if we’re under constant threat.
• Weaker immune system. Lonely people have higher levels of stress hormones like cortisol that suppress the immune system over time.
• Higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Loneliness is as damaging to heart health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.¹⁰
• Accelerated cognitive decline in old age. Lonely people are more likely to suffer dementia, as loneliness impairs attention and memory formation.
• Shorter lifespan. One study found that being lonely was associated with a 26% increased risk of mortality, similar to obesity or smoking regularly.¹¹

Chronic loneliness is clearly a public health crisis with dire physical and mental consequences. As social media contributes to rising loneliness, it’s exacerbating one of today’s most pressing well-being issues.

Escaping the Social Media Feedback Loop

Given social media’s powerful hold over our brains, escaping its addictive feedback loops is no easy task. But making conscious changes can help retrain our brains for healthier social interaction.

• Delete social media apps from your phone and only access them via a web browser for a limited time.
• Turn off all notifications to prevent constant interruptions from alerts.
• Replace mindless social media scrolling with real face-to-face interactions.
• Get outside in nature without your phone. Spending time in nature boosts well-being more than digital screens.
• Pick up a hobby you’re fully immersed in, like learning an instrument, sports, cooking, etc.
• Develop self-awareness of triggers that make you reach for your phone, like boredom or loneliness.
• Spend quality time with close friends and family without distractions.

It takes effort, but retraining your brain’s reward system to prefer real socialising over superficial online interactions is key to overcoming social media addiction and the loneliness it fuels.

Prioritising our real-world relationships is vital for both mental and physical wellness.

Got Questions?

Isn’t some social media use okay or even beneficial?

In moderation, social media can have benefits like staying connected to distant friends and family. But excessive passive use is linked to negative mental health effects. The key is using it consciously and in a way that enhances rather than replaces real social interaction.

What if I’m addicted and can’t stop myself from constant social media use?

If you’re truly struggling with addiction, seeking help from a mental health professional can aid in the process of breaking free from harmful habits and retraining your brain. Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) helps develop coping strategies.

How young is too young for kids to have social media?

Major platforms require users to be 13+, but most experts recommend waiting until later teens to give young brains time to fully develop. Constant social comparison and seeking validation can be damaging to self-esteem and mental health in childhood.

Aren’t some levels of loneliness normal and even beneficial?

It’s true we all experience loneliness at times, and having alone time can be important for self-reflection and creativity. However, chronic, severe loneliness takes a toll on both mental and physical health. While temporary loneliness may be normal, feeling consistently lonely and lacking social support indicates a problem that should be addressed before it causes damage.

What can governments and companies do to curb social media addiction and loneliness?

Governments could fund more research into impacts and support services. Platforms should be more transparent about how they manipulate users and give users more control over notifications and usage. Stronger regulations may be needed regarding data privacy, ethical design and protecting vulnerable groups. But ultimately, individuals must also take responsibility for using platforms consciously instead of being passive victims of manipulation.

Wrapping Up

In moderation, social media has its place in today’s connected world. But when platforms become addictive feedback loops that displace real social interaction, it comes at great cost to both individual and public well-being.

As loneliness reaches epidemic levels, we must recognise social media’s role in exacerbating the problem through addictive design that hijacks our brain’s reward systems.

While technology isn’t solely to blame, we can all make conscious choices to limit excessive passive use and replace it with face-to-face connections.

By retraining our brains through willpower and seeking help when needed, it is possible to break free from the loneliness trap of social media addiction.

Prioritising meaningful offline relationships is key to improving mental and physical health in today’s digitally distracted world.

References:

[1] A study published in Neuropsychopharmacology explored how social media activates the brain’s reward system in a similar way to drugs like cocaine.

[2] Over half of American adults report feeling lonely sometimes or always, according to a 2018 survey by the health insurer Cigna.

[3] Research published in the journal Emotion investigates the link between time spent on social media and increased feelings of loneliness among young adults.

[4] A study from the University of Pittsburgh published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology compared active vs. passive social media use and the impact on loneliness.

[5] Neuroscience research explores how social media engages the brain’s reward system through “information cravings” and constant notifications.

[6] Studies from Stanford and other top universities demonstrate we can only focus fully on one task at a time, despite the common notion that multitasking means doing multiple things simultaneously.

[7] Adam Alter’s 2017 book “Irresistible,” which explores the concept of becoming addicted not just to platforms but to the process of building habits and seeking constant stimulation,.

[8] Reports that Facebook ran secret psychological experiments on users without consent regarding maximising “engagement” on the platform.

[9] Numerous studies have linked chronic loneliness to higher rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.

[10] Research shows loneliness is as damaging to heart health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day due to its impacts on stress levels and immune function over time.

[11] A major study published in PLOS Medicine linked loneliness to a 26% increased risk of mortality.

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