Social media is a web-based technology that transforms how people communicate by enhancing interactive conversations. As a generation we have been heavily influenced by various social media platforms and this could be harming our wellbeing. I have always had an interest in 'social media addiction', being a slave to it myself, and this interest was triggered when social media 'starlet' Essena O'neill quit social media leaving her half a million followers behind. If you are not familiar with her story I will quickly summarise it for you: Essena quit all social media after claiming that her self confidence was fuelled by internet 'likes' and that she had developed body dysmorphia due to her online presence that she wanted to upkeep. This made me think whether I too subconsciously linked my self worth with the amount of likes I had on social media and to test this I gave all social media up for a week. I started to think more about this and wondered what the neuroscience behind social media addiction was and, after a little research, this is what I have found.

Apparently, social media use triggers the amygdala and the striatum; both parts of the brain responsible for the reward system. This explains why we feel a rush of pleasure when a photo or status we post gets liked by someone else. Whilst the amygdala is an integrative region for behaviour, emotions and motivation, the station is a critical part of the forebrain. Recent brain imaging research shows that social media and new forms of technology affect the brain's frontal cortex (which controls executive functioning) in the same way that cocaine does. The rush of getting likes is so hyper-arousing that it raises dopamine levels in our brain. This is why many neuroscientists call screens "electronic cocaine" and "digital heroin".

In addition to this, neuroscientists can investigate the difference between online and offline social environments and use this to look at brain structure and function in light of these differences. It has been found that during real life conversations, people spend 30% of conversations sharing information about themselves. However, online, where we have limitless opportunity to share information, self-disclosure comprises 80% of online posts. Is social media turning our world into one of egocentrism and vanity? Maybe this is why the hashtag 'selfie' has been used almost twice as many times as the hashtag 'family' on instagram. Furthermore, social distance provided by certain platforms violate politeness norms that we would abide by in face to face interactions. This is the main reason that cyberbullying has become such a problem. 

A social media user’s broadcasts can be analyzed to measure his or her emotional state. Also, by examining changes in a user’s broadcasts after exposure to friends’ broadcasts, social media can be used to measure social conformity. How people scroll through social media newsfeeds and click on content can provide insights into users’ curiosity, and their digital footprint on social media may offer clues to their personality traits. Plainly put, social media can help us learn a lot about each other and about social interactions.

I'm not here to say that social media is bad, if anything it is giving us and insight to how we interact with one another online and offline. But next time you feel the high after your Instagram photo breaks the 11 likes barrier, think about how your brain is reacting inside as you feed it the digital heroin. 

- Helena

(if you found this subject interesting, I would highly recommend reading this article on the psychology behind social media addiction http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/social-media-likes-impact-teens-brains-and-behavior.html )

One example of great use of the visual stimuli was used in Amsterdam airports. They put photos of a fly in urinals to get men to have a better aim and it actually reduced spillage by 80%. Another example of this is at bars where bartenders serve drinks in tall glasses as people drink less in tall glasses but it looks as if you are getting a greater volume of liquid. An example of using tangible stimuli would be on a long stretch of land people speed up but a curve at the end of the road meant the increased speed was extremely dangerous. So, bars were drawn on the road and got closer together gradually near the curve giving the illusion hat you are speeding up so that you actually slow down. 

Neuro-marketing has caused a great deal of controversy in our society, however I believe that our advances in neuro-marketing will give us better education, medicine, entertainment, relationships and so much more.

-Helena

I grew to love biology from a young age. At the time I had no idea that it was actually biology as our lessons were just branded as ‘science’. Nevertheless, it became very clear that I greatly preferred learning about organs and animals than I did learning how to put together a parallel circuit. The first human biology topic I studied at GCSE was the circulatory system and from that moment on I was hooked. I remember searching on my laptop for documentaties about the heart and then going back to my teacher and telling her everything that I had just found out about. It wasn’t until I heard about neuroscience on the radio that I found the sector of biology that interested me the most.

The human brain consists of 100 billion neurons each connected to 10 thousand other neurons. Sitting on your shoulders right now is the most complex system in the world. Simply, neuroscience is exciting. Understanding how thoughts work, how connections are made, how the memory works etc. – it’s all fascinating to me. Although Neuroscience is not taught at A-Level, I have developed an interest through my studies in Chemistry and Biology as to how bonding in carbon and hydrogen are essential in the structure of molecules such as neurotransmitters and how cells, especially in the brain, are vital for essential processes which keep us alive. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease alongside other injuries fascinate me, as I want to know if there could be a cure for them. Although neuroscience is still very much in it’s infancy, I am confident that in the future we will find a cure for paralysis and dementia. Neuroscience is more than just the brain and nervous system; it is about being able to improve quality of life, whether by discovering how to rehabilitate phantom limbs or developing new cures.

It’s not only the brain which fascinates me but other areas or human biology as well. For example, I believe that biology’s role in the study of genetics and DNA is extremely important and interesting. Scientists are now able to pinpoint exactly where certain predispositions to certain diseases exists without our biological makeup, how they’re passed from generation to generation, and even working on breakthroughs to remove undesirable traits from people on a molecular level. It’s absolutely compelling to think of the endless possibilities that biology is gradually opening the door for when it comes to our health.

The information biology has taught us is present in everything we know. Your ability to identify the parts of your face when you look in the mirror can be credited to anatomy. What you eat for lunch was influenced by biology and put on your plate with the help of biology . The medication or vitamins you take daily, your exercise routine – it all comes back to biology.

-Helena