Data Points: How Social Media Impacts Our Mental Health (featuring Dr. Corey Emanuel) - Something Was Wrong

Summary

Something Was Wrong: Data Points – How Social Media Impacts Our Mental Health (feat. Dr. Corey Emanuel)
Podcast by Broken Cycle Media
Aired: September 17, 2024

Episode Overview

In this “Data Points” special episode of Something Was Wrong, media psychologist Dr. Corey Emanuel explores how social media usage impacts mental health, brain function, and cognitive development. Drawing from current research and his experience as a psychologist, Dr. Emanuel unpacks both the positive and negative effects of social platforms, offers actionable coping strategies, and encourages self-awareness about digital habits.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Evolution and Prevalence of Social Media

History & Proliferation
- Social media began with platforms like Six Degrees, Friendster, and MySpace, but “it was the launch of Facebook in 2004 that truly revolutionized social networking” (03:24).
- Now, over 62.6% of the world uses social media, averaging 2 hours and 20 minutes daily (02:26).
Transformation of Communication
- Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok have “fundamentally transformed how we communicate, share information, and interact socially” (04:05).

2. Impact on Attention and Cognitive Performance

Fragmented Attention
- “Social media platforms are designed to capture and hold our attention through a constant stream of notifications, updates, and multimedia content” (05:10).
- Online multitasking and frequent content switching reduce the ability to focus on single activities, such as reading or creative tasks (05:30).
Compulsive Checking Behavior
- The “habitual nature of checking social media can create a compulsion to frequently look for new content and interactions instead of completing desired tasks” (05:50).
Conflicting Research
- While some studies suggest multitasking doesn’t harm attention, “other literature suggests that extensive multitasking may lead to poor performance on various cognitive tasks” (06:15).
Information Overload
- The rapid influx of information can overwhelm users, making it hard to process and retain details—even from important news or interpersonal interactions (06:40).
- “Developing strategies to minimize interruptions...can help improve information retention and overall learning effectiveness” (07:06).

3. Effects on Memory and Reward Pathways

Experimental Evidence
- In a University of Alabama study, students distracted by their phones performed worse on lecture tests, particularly on recent material (07:20).
- “The students who kept their phones and received distracting messages during the lecture exhibited fragmented attention, which significantly impaired their ability to encode and retain information” (07:50).
Dopamine and Habit Formation
- “Social media use can condition users to expect constant stimulation and immediate gratification, triggering the release of dopamine in the brain” (08:05).
- Repeated exposure to likes, notifications, and positive social signals reinforces compulsive behaviors—comparable to the reward pathway activation seen in drug use (08:35).

4. Cognitive Development & Critical Thinking

Decreased Deep Learning
- The “constant influx of brief, often sensationalized content can discourage critical thinking” (09:00).
Susceptibility to Misinformation
- “Frequent exposure to misleading or sensational content can shape neural pathways...leading to habitual reliance on emotional cues rather than critical thinking” (09:25).
- Fake news and disinformation are harder for users to detect or question, which can perpetuate cycles of misinformation (09:41).

5. Social Media and Mental Health

Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
- Prolonged or negative social media use “can lead to increased stress, anxiety and depression,” especially for victims of cyberbullying or cyberstalking (10:03).
- These forms of digital harassment create “a sense of helplessness and constant vigilance” (10:25).
Parasocial Relationships and Self-Esteem
- “One-sided relationships where individuals form strong emotional connections with celebrities, influencers, or online personas...can lead to unhealthy comparisons impacting one's self esteem” (10:55).
Potential for Addiction
- “Experiencing symptoms of altered brain functioning or mental health challenges might indicate an addiction to social media” (11:15).

6. Coping Strategies & Resources

Self-Awareness and Assessment
- Dr. Emanuel encourages users to “interrogate how they feel before and after social media use” (11:30).
- Recognizing patterns (“comparisons...can trigger feelings of imposter syndrome and low self esteem”) can signal a need to take breaks or set time limits (11:45).
Seeking Support
- “If you find that these issues are affecting your mental health and well being, it's okay to seek support from a licensed mental health professional” (12:00).
- Additional resources and links are available at somethingwaswrong.com/resources.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“As a media psychologist, I am frequently asked, how is social media use affecting our brains? Which is a valid question.” – Dr. Corey Emanuel (02:09)
“Social media platforms are designed to capture and hold our attention through a constant stream of notifications, updates, and multimedia content.” – Dr. Corey Emanuel (05:10)
“The habitual nature of checking social media can create a compulsion...instead of completing desired tasks.” – Dr. Corey Emanuel (05:50)
“Social media use can condition users to expect constant stimulation and immediate gratification, triggering the release of dopamine in the brain.” – Dr. Corey Emanuel (08:05)
“One-sided relationships...with celebrities, influencers, or online personas...can lead to unhealthy comparisons impacting one's self esteem.” – Dr. Corey Emanuel (10:55)
“Recognizing these signs can be an indication to take a break from social media or set alerts to limit your usage.” – Dr. Corey Emanuel (11:45)
“If you find that these issues are affecting your mental health and well being, it's okay to seek support from a licensed mental health professional.” – Dr. Corey Emanuel (12:00)

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:40 | Introduction to “Data Points” and episode’s purpose | | 02:09 | Dr. Emanuel on the central question: How is social media affecting our brains? | | 03:24 | Social media evolution; Facebook’s pivotal role | | 05:10 | Effects on attention and multitasking | | 07:20 | University of Alabama study: phone distractions and memory | | 08:05 | Dopamine, reward pathways, and compulsive behavior | | 09:00 | Impact on deep learning and critical thinking | | 10:03 | Mental health challenges: stress, anxiety, and depression | | 10:55 | Parasocial relationships and self-esteem | | 11:30 | Self-assessment: Interrogating feelings before and after social media use | | 12:00 | Encouragement to seek professional help if needed |

Resources

For the full list of referenced research, notes, and mental health resources: somethingwaswrong.com/resources
Follow Dr. Corey Emanuel: @coryemanuel or visit coryemanuel.com

This episode maintains an educational, supportive tone while distilling actionable advice for listeners to examine and improve their relationship with social media.

Transcript

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Hi friends, this is Dr. Corey Emanuel, media psychologist, mental health advocate and founder of Men Talking Shift. The Broken Cycle Media team is excited to offer a new series of educational episodes which we're calling Data Points. These special episodes will include educational information, statistics and support on different topics that are important to our community. Thank you so much for listening. As a media psychologist, I am frequently asked, how is social media use affecting our brains? Which is a valid question. Research shows that social media has both positive and negative effects on psychological, social and physical well being. According to Smart Insights, more than 62.6% of the world now uses social media with an average daily usage time of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Given these insights and the continuous development of social media platforms, examining their impact on brain structure and function remains a constant concern. The rise of social media in the early 2000s marked a significant transformation in how we interact, communicate and share content online. Early social networks like Six Degrees Friendster and MySpace laid the groundwork by introducing basic features such as friends lists and personal profiles. However, it was the launch of Facebook in 2004 that truly revolutionized social networking. Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook integrated a wide range of features, including status updates, photo sharing, and a newsfeed, quickly becoming the dominant platform. Since then, social media networking sites like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok have emerged, fundamentally transforming how we communicate, share information, and interact socially. And While some studies show that social media can offer comfort during periods of loneliness, there are several potentially negative effects it has on the brain as well as our mental health. Social media use can affect attention Spanish research shows that social media platforms are designed to capture and hold our attention through a constant stream of notifications, updates, and multimedia content. Online environments encourage multitasking and frequent shifts in focus leading to fragmented attention. As users often find themselves switching between tasks and content quickly, it reduces the time spent on any single activity. The immediate gratification and endless novelty of social media content can diminish our ability to maintain sustained attention on prolonged tasks. Some examples include reading a book, completing work assignments, or writing creative works. The habitual nature of checking social media can create a compulsion to frequently look for new content and interactions instead of completing desired tasks. While some studies have shown that multitasking has no adverse effects on attention, other literature suggests that extensive multitasking may lead to poor performance on various cognitive tasks. Social media imposes a cognitive load as it exposes users to a vast amount of information in a short period. This information overload can overwhelm cognitive resources, making it challenging to process and retain information effectively. Examples include not remembering details of important news stories or personal interactions, educational content, or instructions. Developing strategies to minimize interruptions, such as setting dedicated study or work periods without social media access, can help improve information retention and overall learning effectiveness. As I mentioned, the constant notifications and updates on social media can interrupt focus activities, leading to fragmented attention. Relatedly, social media use also affects the memory. In one experiment, a psychology professor at the University of Alabama divided students into two groups amidst a lecture. One group kept their phones and one didn't. During the lecture, the students with phones received distracting messages, while the other group had no such interruptions. At the end of the lecture, both groups were tested on the material. The findings revealed that the students distracted by their phones performed worse on average than the control group, particularly on questions about the material reviewed at the end of the lecture. The students who kept their phones and received distracting messages during the lecture exhibited fragmented attention, which significantly impaired their ability to encode and retain information. Another side effect of frequent social media use is that it can condition users to expect constant stimulation and immediate gratification, triggering the release of dopamine in the brain. This dopamine effect reinforces the behavior, making users crave more of the quick, rewarding interactions that social media provides. Over time, this can not only lead to a reduced attention span, but the brain also becomes increasingly conditioned to seek out and respond to these instant rewards rather than engage in sustained, focused activities. According to the National Library of Medicine, stimuli such as laughing faces, positive recognition from peers, and messages from loved ones can activate the same dopaminergic reward pathways as drugs. This helps explain why our memory can be compromised by social media use as these rewarding interactions reinforce behaviors that distract from focused, deep cognitive processing. Social media use can affect cognitive development. Deep learning is essential for long term cognitive development and the ability to apply knowledge in different contexts. The constant influx of brief, often sensationalized content can discourage critical thinking. Social media users may become accustomed to accepting information at face value rather than analyzing and questioning its validity and underlying assumptions. According to the National Library of Medicine, the production of fake news often leads individuals to believe the disinformation, struggle to distinguish it from legitimate news, and potentially share it. Further, frequent exposure to misleading or sensational content can shape neural pathways related to information processing and decision making. This may lead to habitual reliance on emotional cues rather than critical thinking, making it hard to break the cycle of accepting and spreading misinformation. In addition to brain function, social media use can also have a significant impact on our mental health. Studies show that although social media can provide a sense of belonging, excessive use or exposure to negative content or interactions can lead to increased stress, anxiety and depression. Increased stress, anxiety and depression can arise from various aspects of social media use, particularly cyberbullying, the use of digital platforms to harass, imitate, or harm individuals. Victims may feel trapped as the harassment is not confined to a specific place or time, leading to a sense of helplessness and constant vigilance. Similarly, cyberstalking, which can include tracking someone's online activity, sending incessant messages, or making threats, can create an environment of fear and anxiety for the targeted individual. Parasocial Relationships One sided relationships where individuals form strong emotional connections with celebrities, influencers, or online Personas who do not reciprocate these feelings may also lead to negative outcomes as frequent exposure to idealized representations of others on social media can lead to unhealthy comparisons impacting one's self esteem. These various factors lead many people to suspect that experiencing symptoms of altered brain functioning or mental health challenges might indicate an addiction to social media, prompting them to consider reducing or completely stopping their social media use. I encourage social media users to not only be honest with themselves about social media behavior and experiences, but also to interrogate how they feel before and after social media use. Often, emotions from your offline life can be amplified by social media interactions. While comparisons on these platforms can trigger feelings of imposter syndrome and low self esteem, recognizing these signs can be an indication to take a break from social media or set alerts to limit your usage. If you find that these issues are affecting your mental health and well being, it's okay to seek support from a licensed mental health professional. They can provide guidance and strategies to help you manage the impact of social media and address any underlying concerns. This can ensure that you maintain a balanced and healthy relationship with your digital life. For a more comprehensive list of related resources and support, please visit SomethingWasWrong.com resources for the complete list of research studies and references from today's episode, please see the episode notes. I'm Dr. Corey Emmanuel and you can follow me across social media oryemanuel or visit my website@coryemanuel.com thank you so much for listening and learning with us.