Is technology changing your brain? Does social media have its grip around your mind’s eye? Psychologist and tech expert Brian Primack thinks yes, on both accounts.
In his new book You Are What You Click — Primack a medical professor at the University of Arkansas sheds light on the influence social media and technology have on our mind as individuals, and a species.
Published in the fall of 2021, in an effort to further the general understanding of the negative repercussions brought on by consistent technological interface he utilizes data gathered during two decades of research to offer an insightful and practical approach to living in a quickly evolving technological world.
Considering the fact that the definition of social media is somewhat undefined, he utilizes the Oxford definition — social media as “websites and software programs.”
Encouraging readers to think of social media in terms of consumption, he promotes the necessity of creating a balanced relationship by being selective, positive and creative.
“Social media and related technologies have become the sharpest double-edged sword of our era. It has the ability to catalyze connection, warmth and generosity; while on the other hand, breeding feelings of depression, anxiety, isolation, and hatred,” said Primack in the book.
Social media is powerful because it’s personal in the way previous technologies aren’t. With the ability to follow you around and learn from your behaviors, it has the potential to influence your everyday life. Because of its emotion evoking properties, social media can become addictive and heavily influential.
“We’re training and conditioning a whole new generation of people that when we are uncomfortable or lonely or uncertain or afraid we have a digital pacifier for ourselves that is kind of atrophying our own ability to deal with that” said Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google and tech commentator from the documentary The Social Dilemma which Primack references throughout his book.
Unfortunately this digital pacifier is limited to the illusion of comfort.
Primack and his team conducted a national study with over 2,000 young adults that found every individual who increased their social media use also had an increase in negative emotions such as depression and anxiety, as well as an increase in social isolation — regardless of variables such as age, race, income and gender.
A study done in February 2021 by the University of Utah corroborates these findings, as many as 90% of young adults use social media compared to the 12.5% in 2005. These findings suggest that social media use has become an integral role in the culture and routine of young adults.
Although data reflecting the negative impact social media has on individuals is not necessarily new, the relevancy of the ongoing dialogue is important to consider– especially in the age of Covid when social media platforms have become a replacement for face to face interaction.
This is why Primack emphasizes the importance of being selective, positive, and creative when we go online.
Essentially the purpose of his approach is to try and reintegrate the friction social media takes away. Consistently reviewing what we feed our head will ultimately lead to an increase in mental fortitude.
Being selective on social media is a necessity considering how well resourced and effective social media marketing companies are at developing ways to sustain your attention. Being aware of their influential design contributes to general awareness, and it is equally the case with positivity.
When general awareness includes all the terrible things happening across the world, maintaining a positive perspective can help create a broader view — keeping unwanted negativity at a distance. Doing so can be instrumental in keeping a healthy mental state.
Developing a creative approach to curating what we consume online will help maintain these aspects of what Primack calls “the social media pyramid,”– where creativity is at the pinnacle. Creative thinking aids the discovery of how we spend our time and energy online which can help promote healthier interactive habits.
Being aware of how our thought processes are being manipulated is undoubtedly important to always consider but especially so for college students. In addition to being pioneers for the collective future, college level students are prime candidates for being influenced by social media.
At a time when social media has the power to endlessly influence the way we think, it has never been more important to be mindful of why we may think what we think.