Teens who frequently checked social media showed an increasing sensitivity to peer feedback, although the cause of the changes was not clear.
An adolescent uses their mobile phone, at home in Egan, Minn. on Oct. 28, 2021.
The study has important limitations, the authors acknowledge. Because adolescence is a period of expanding social relationships, the brain differences could reflect a natural pivot toward peers, which could be driving more frequent social media use. The subjects received full brain scans three times, at approximately one-year intervals, as they played a computerized game that delivered rewards and punishment in the form of smiling or scowling peers.
Researchers in the field of social media warned against drawing sweeping conclusions based on the findings. “There are people who have a neurological state that means they are more likely to be attracted to checking frequently,” he said. “We’re not all the same, and we should stop thinking that social media is the same for everyone.”
Experts who reviewed the study said that because the researchers measured students’ social media use only once, around age 12, it was impossible to know how it changed over time or to rule out other factors that might also affect brain development.
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