The Effects of Social Media on Human Brain and Behavior

The Effects of Social Media on Human Brain and Behavior The influence of rapidly growing social media, television, and the internet has taken the world by storm in recent years. Its fascinating development over the years is nothing short of remarkable when you take into account that 20 years ago, only 16 million people in the world were online, compared to the 2 billion that roam on the internet now. Modern communications technology has now become so familiar and utterly banal, yet there is still this tingling sensation when one receives a text from a love interest on Facebook or WhatsApp. Human identity, the idea that defines each and every one of us, is on the verge of being radically defined by social media. This essay will†¦show more content†¦A good example of Zizeks ideology would be the fake laughter that one hears when watching a television sitcom ; even if we dont laugh while watching the sitcom, and simply stare at the screen after a hard days work, we nonetheless feel relieved after the show as if the soundtrack ha s done the laughing for us. This applies to social media; when you see a certain someone on Facebook getting really happy about something productive, you will feel really happy for them. Another philosopher, Andrew Eig in the chapter Group and Myth of the Cyberaspace of the book Social Media and Group Psychotherapy (Fall 2012 edition) mentions that we are living in a world called cyberspace ; a world where whatever we see on the internet is determining the way we think. We can never be unplugged from the world, and it is almost impossible to be fully turned off from digitization. I firmly agree with this notion as it shows the way in which the world is moving ; technology is king. Having undergone an extensive series of MRI-based tests focused on measuring specific chemical release patterns when people are using platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, Dr. Zak Khan of the University of South Carolina, suggests that ‘social networking triggers the release of the generosity-trust chemical into our brains’ . The brain experiencesShow MoreRelatedSocial Cognition And Social Psychology1412 Words   |  6 PagesWe know human beings are social creatures, they are able to create families, religions, cultures and so on. These socializations help humans stay alive by creating support systems, fending off threats, and tending to each other’s wounds. Because of this, ancestral humans were able to survive. They evolved with neural and hormonal mechanisms supporting their helpful social behavior. 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