What Social Media Really Does To Your Brain

Victoria Spratt became so concerned about her Instagram obsession she deleted the app. Here, she discovers how social media is engineered to create an addiction

BEFORE THE TECHNICIAN in Dr William Van Gordon’s laboratory attaches the Finometer to my finger (to measure my blood pressure) and places a monitor near my heart, I’m nervous. I’m at the University of Derby to talk to him about his ground-breaking research in the field of social media addiction and I’m worried that his machine will confirm that I am a mindless, addicted narcissist.

Recently, I’ve caught myself becoming irritated with friends as they talk, itching to pick up my phone to check Instagram. I even once deleted the app, only to find myself subconsciously unlocking my phone as if to open it again. I’m concerned about the role tech plays in my life and in our global society, but the very mention of a digital detox makes my eyes roll back into my skull. Plus, like many people, I can’t do my work without a smartphone. So William’s research got my attention.

He recently discovered a new social media related ‘ontological addiction’, which means being addicted to yourself, and I think it could help me – and you – understand why we’re so drawn to social media.

Once I’m wired up, William asks me to take a selfie and post it on Instagram. I sit strapped to the devices and wait. The screen looks like a ’90s computer game, and I feel like I’m in a scene from Netflix’s Maniac. It’s not long before the white line that measures my blood pressure starts to peak. ‘Your blood pressure increases whenever you engage with social media,’ William notices, ‘especially when you anticipate receiving positive or negative feedback.’