How Social Media is Making You Stupid (And How to Avoid it)
Social Media is necessary today both personally and professionally. It can also make you a dumb dumb. Here’s how to navigate the waters
Let us be Captain Obvious here (little-KNOWN FACT: HE’S THE DISTANT COUSIN OF POWDERED TOAST Man): Social Media is important. Duh.
If you’re not on a social media platform and have a strong and proactive presence, it’s like you don’t exist. If that’s the case, welcome to the void. It’s nearly impossible today not to have some interaction, presence and footprint on Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat…one or all of them. And that presence is an exceptionally useful tool for your business!
Conversely, If your brand or business doesn’t have a Social Media presence, that void becomes a black hole where your company, and bottom line, goes to die. According to Facebook, businesses generate an average of $5 for every $1 spent on advertising on social media. Additionally, a Hootsuite study found that 73% of marketers consider social media marketing a "somewhat" or "very important" factor in achieving their business goals. This all equates to another “duh:” social media is crucial to your brand’s monetary success.
That reliance and significance comes with pratfalls, though. Social media addiction is a serious problem. Studies suggest that about 10% of Americans (approximately 33 million) may exhibit symptoms showing it. There is a strongly suggested link between excessive social media use and increased risk of depression and low self-esteem, not to mention perpetuating FOMO and unrealistic body image comparisons. Plus, excessive social media use can significantly impact focus, attention, and time management, leading to decreased productivity in work, school, or personal pursuits. It’s impacting our brain structure, and spoiler alert, not in a positive way.
(And if you just drifted off during that paragraph, we may be talking about you)
So, let’s look at how and why social media is making us stupid, and what we can do about it:
How Social Media is Making Us Stupid:
Social media addiction driven by dopamine cocktails
Every time you get notifications, follows and likes on social media, your brain releases a small amount of dopamine. Drip: pleasure. Drip: satisfaction. Drip: motivation and internal sexiness. That’s good stuff! Ever feel self-satisfaction, joy and pleasure from your post getting a ton of likes? That’s dopamine doing its job, baby.
However, there’s a massive downside to that. Like all addictive substances, social media is designed to exploit the rewards system in our brains. They flood your system with excessive dopamine, creating an intense "high” that keeps you happy and coming back. This creates a cycle of seeking validation, getting rewarded with likes or comments, and craving more – a powerful loop that can be difficult to break.
The long-term consequences of both social media and substance addiction can be similar. Over time, both can alter brain chemistry and function, impacting memory, decision-making, and impulse control. This can lead to poor choices and behaviors that further perpetuate the addictive cycle.
i.e., more dope(amine) more happy juice, more happy juice less think-think. You just want that sweet validating pleasure, and don’t care as much about using your brain for much else. Ruh roh.
Attention overload and distraction
Additionally, the constant stream of notifications, updates, and short-form content can be overwhelming, making it difficult to focus on deeper thinking or learning. Social media notifications act like intrusive magnets drawing your attention away from your task. Have to build that widget? Great, just check that Instagram alert really quick…Oh, it’s a like! How about that. Now, what was I doing again?
Every time you check a notification, even briefly, you engage in task-switching, not multitasking. This renders the brain’s multitasking functionality as non-effective over time.
Living in a constant state of distraction trains your brain to expect it, negatively impacting your ability to focus and resist distractions. The impact on our brain functionality is real and significant. Social media is important. It can also be dangerous to our well-being. Use it. But don’t lose it (and by “it,” we mean the ability to form sentences related to what your boss is talking about…that seems important).
The Cure…AKA How to Keep Your Brain Cells
Social media isn't inherently bad. It is a valuable tool for communication, learning, and connecting with others. Yet, some people are more susceptible to the negative effects of social media than others. Its overuse, or misuse, can impinge and not elevate.
Understanding how social media impacts our brains is key. Then, limit your actions surrounding it to ensure it doesn’t become a detriment to your health. We additionally recommend the “Know Thy Self” self-reflection experience: Are you the type of person who uses social media to your own detriment? Have you been overusing it or relying on it like a crutch? Have you found your own focus waning recently?
As a marketing agency, our team at This Feels Right is in a love-and-hate relationship with social media. We recognize its tremendous value in helping clients reach their target audience and boost brand sales. However, we also acknowledge the potential negative effects on our own brains.
Therefore, we prioritize healthy practices. We aim to always create content that is a value add to people, not just another mindless dopamine hit. We batch our content creation and post strategically, dedicating specific time slots for research and engagement on behalf of our clients. We consciously avoid mindless scrolling, understanding that even client-related activity can be detrimental to our well-being. We believe in working hard, but also working smart. We believe in healthy practices for both you and your business, and that’s why we deliver positive results on both sides. Trust that we’ll keep only your best interests in mind. That’s what we do.
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