Good luck, Daria Igorevna

Why this affects teens in particular

Past research on the nucleus accumbens shows that compared to kids or adults, teens have exaggerated activity in this area of the brain when it comes to rewarding activities. The nucleus accumbens also grows to its largest size during adolescence before it starts to shrink, which is why, “nothing — whether it’s being with your friends, licking an ice-cream cone, zipping along in a convertible on a warm summer evening, hearing your favorite music — will ever feel as good as it did when you were a teenager,” psychology professor Laurence Steinberg explained in a 2015 New Yorker article about the teenage brain.

The over-activity and size of the nucleus accumbens can explain everything from teens’ risk-taking behavior to intense pleasure seeking to their tendency to make poorly thought-out decisions. It could also explain why teens feel such a strong connection to the rewards that come from social media, Sherman said.

Of course, teens have been eager for validation from their peers and have been easily influenced by their peers long before social media became such a prominent part of everyone’s lives.

But the one thing that’s different about social media, Sherman explains, is that it provides a quantitative measure of peer approval in terms of the number of likes one can earn in a single post. The “likes” on the photo provide an immediate, tangible reward, which lights up parts of the adolescent brain like the nucleus accumbens that are primed to overreact to every pleasure and happiness, Sherman explained.

“That’s one of the reasons social media is more compelling,” she said. “It helps explain what’s going on and why teens find it so interesting.”

Social media influence isn’t necessarily a bad thing

These and other findings don’t mean that social media access will necessarily harm teens, Sherman explained.

Her study found that teens were influenced by the “liking” activity of their peers no matter what the subject of the photo was — neutral, positive in nature or “risky” (say, drinking or smoking) — which means that peer influence could go either way.

If you’re a parent with a teen who is obsessed with social media, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are being negatively influenced, Sherman said. However, parents should realize that their teen’s online social networks are probably more vast than their day-to-day, IRL friendships, and that their teen is probably drawing from a bigger pool of influences than a parent would think.

“Peer influence is kind of agnostic; it can be a good thing, it can be a potentially bad thing,” Sherman said. “Ultimately what really matters is what teens are seeing online, what their peers are posting and liking, and if these are pro-social, positive behaviors.”

Rethink time limits, be honest about your own relationship with your smartphone, and get to the root of the issue — depression, anxiety or bullying —that could be behind problematic social media use.

Task 3

Answer the questions:

1. What this article is about?

2. Who does the research?

3. Who participates in the research?

4. What was the survey about? What are the results?

5. What is the experiment about? Describe it in details.

6. How does the teens’ brain react on “liking”? How does it work?

7. Why does teens’ brain have this react?

8. Can social media influence be a good thing? Why\why not? How?

9. Do you think this theme is topical?

10. Do you think you are addicted to social media? Your friends?

 

If you have answered all questions, you are ready for the lesson. We will discuss social media addiction, so be ready to talk on this theme for 2 minutes. Don’t forget to take this text with you.

Good luck, Daria Igorevna