However, experts also point out that social networks and new technologies “can cause addiction” given that “part of the cerebral processing of social networks takes place in the circuits related to rewards” and their uncontrolled use could be associated with some psychiatric disorders such as addictions.
About the effects of social networks on the brain, Dr. Pedro Bermejo, neurologist and president of the Spanish Association of Neuroeconomics explains “they have already been verified on digital natives and it is known that they learn in a slightly different way than those who are not”.
“On the one hand, digital natives are capable of doing several tasks at the same time with better results, and on the other hand, they are quicker to search for information to answer specific questions,” adds Bermejo.
“It has been proven that they have more difficulty discerning between reliable sources of information and those that are not, giving more importance to the information they get from their friends and acquaintances, and less to official and more reliable web pages,” he added. .
THE CHANGES IT CAUSES
From a biological perspective, “social media has been shown to cause changes in neurotransmitters such as oxytocin, adrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, and cortisol.”
Higher levels of oxytocin are related to more purchases and investment and greater influence from family and partner. Adrenaline, which is released punctually in the use of social networks, would be linked to aggressiveness, while dopamine is released when a ‘like’ is received. Just as described.
“In this way, the reward centers are activated and the feeling of happiness is increased. For this reason, some products can be perceived as more positive through social networks. The increase in serotonin could modify social behavior towards a more introverted character and the priority of individual interests over those of the group”.
However, among the changes in brain capacities, experts also point to the influence of social networks on issues such as the loss of the ability to concentrate, as well as the ability to read and write long texts. Regarding the social benefits of social networks, there is consensus on the “defining” role of these in the search for a partner or sexual relations, their impact on education, job search or online shopping.
Source: Ambito
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