Social Media and Addiction by Anxiety

by Dr. Sonia Marques

We are all aware of the addictive elements to social media.  While it opens us up to connection and opportunities to learn, it can also leave us feeling depressed and anxious.  One thing is certain, it is easy to fall down the rabbit hole of mindless scrolling.  Social media’s dirty little secret is this….addiction by anxiety.

While past explanations have pointed to the dopamine chemical being responsible for the positive feelings associated from ‘likes’, recent discussions in neuroscience reveal that this an oversimplification of the process.  In fact, our addiction to  scrolling is more likely controlled by ‘stress hormone’ cortisol rather than ‘feel good’ dopamine.  Although we do like the reward of dopamine that’s released when something makes us feel good, why do we continue to scroll when things make us feel worse? Social media is curated to provoke strong emotions, whether it’s alarming news, political outrage or curated idealized lifestyles.  These inputs heighten our anxiety and stress responses, leading to a steady low drip of cortisol that keeps us in a a low level crisis state.

So why are we addicted to the stress and anxiety if it makes us feel badly? We are addicted to the emotional stimulation itself and the familiarity.  Scrolling become addictive because it maintains the stress level we are now accustomed to and we crave updates to provide us safety from uncertainty.  This chronic exposure to cortisol-inducing stimuli rewires our brains. We are now mired in a loop of over reactivity of our emotional state and hyper vigilance. 

Breaking this cycle requires more than simply shutting off notifications or putting our phones away for a couple of hours.  We require a recalibration of our nervous system to reset the pathways scrolling has created. To decrease cortisol driven impulses, steps that we can implement are practicing mindfulness, digital detoxification and consciousness in our digital consumption.   The next time you find yourself scrolling, ask whether you are seeking pleasure or just quieting the stress that scrolling itself creates?