Your Brain on Screen

The Brain on Screens: Understanding the Impact of Excessive Screen Time

In recent years, the detrimental effects of excessive technology use have become increasingly evident. It’s crucial to study the profound impact of the internet, smartphones, and other digital technologies on the human brain. Beyond their recognized addictive nature, these technologies inevitably alter our natural social lives, our overall mental well-being, and can potentially cause harm to individuals and even societies. Understanding these ramifications is of utmost significance.

Our primary objective is to identify the functional and structural changes in the brain that may underlie internet addiction and related disorders, shedding light on their neurological and psychological causes. By examining how excessive technology use affects the human brain, we can pave the way for a deeper understanding of this modern-day challenge.

To anchor this discussion, we explore the implications of technology overuse within the context of affective neuroscience—the study of how our brains process emotions. Drawing from neuroimaging studies, we reveal that the excessive consumption of digital content, such as pornography, video games, and compulsive internet Browse, has measurable negative effects on the brain.

The surge of neurochemicals and hormones released during these activities can have lasting impacts, altering brain function in significant ways.

The Digital Drug: A Comparison to Substance Abuse

Scientists and researchers are increasingly warning about the addictive nature of screen exposure, with some going so far as to compare the neurophysiological effects of excessive screen time to the abuse of substances like heroin and cocaine.

Compelling evidence suggests that a child’s brain engaged in addictive video gaming, for example, exhibits similar patterns to a brain under the influence of drugs. These findings indicate that many individuals are already “overusing” technology, and it is imperative that we understand the ramifications of this behavior on our brains.

Recent advancements in brain imaging research have revealed that devices such as iPads, smartphones, and gaming consoles function as a form of digital drug. These technologies impact the brain’s frontal cortex—the area responsible for executive functioning, decision-making, and impulse control—in a manner similar to cocaine. The hyper-arousing nature of technology raises dopamine levels, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and addiction, to an extent comparable to sexual experiences.

Renowned experts have likened screens to “electronic cocaine” and “digital heroin,” highlighting the addictive power they possess. The term “digital pharmakeia” has even been used by some researchers to emphasize the detrimental effects of video games and screen technologies, drawing parallels to deceptions and seductions.

As we increasingly recognize the damaging consequences of excessive technology use, it is crucial to prioritize the study of its effects on the human brain. By delving into the neurological and psychological causes of internet addiction and exploring the impact within the framework of affective neuroscience, we gain valuable insights into the potential harm these technologies can inflict on individuals and societies.

The likening of screens to addictive substances further underscores the urgency of understanding and addressing this issue. Through continued research and awareness, we can strive for a healthier relationship with technology, preserving the well-being of our minds and societies as a whole.

Excessive screen time has the power to change both the structure and function of our brain, impacting our abilities to:

Form new memories.
Think deeply.
Focus.
Absorb and remember what we read.

In addition, numerous clinical studies show that screens can increase depression, anxiety, and aggression, and in extreme cases, can even lead to psychotic-like features where individuals addicted to digital media lose touch with reality.

Negative effects of heavy smartphone use (especially social media) can lead to the following behaviours:

Neuroticism: Leading to digital monitoring and surveillance behaviors.
Self-identity and self-esteem problems: Due to constant comparison and curated online personas.
Empathy deficits: Reduced ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
Impulsivity: Decreased control over urges and reactions.
Jealousy: Impact of digital media on jealousy, conflict, and control within romantic relationships, including digital violence.
Negative thought patterns: Such as doubt and fear, allowing them to invade our lives and hinder well-being.

The Neurochemical Basis of Addiction: Unraveling the Role of Dopamine

At the core of our brain’s pleasure response lies the release of dopamine—a neurotransmitter that significantly influences our brain’s reward centers. This chemical plays a crucial role in orchestrating our pursuit of pleasure and is released during enjoyable experiences, spurring us to seek out those experiences once more.

Dopamine is produced in areas like the ventral tegmental area and projected to the nucleus accumbens, which is considered a crucial part of the brain’s reward system. This pathway is hypothesized to be enhanced by virtually all addictive drugs. Dopamine also projects to the prefrontal cortex, further integrating with the reward system.

Discovered in 1957, dopamine is one of many neurotransmitters that carry vital messages between neurons and other cells. While often seen as the main chemical of pleasure, dopamine also ensures our basic functions like heartbeats and breathing, and guides us towards essential rewards, like knowing to get a glass of water when thirsty to quench it. Beyond its core function in learning (by identifying how a reward differs from expectations), dopamine is also vital for movement control and plays a role in memory, attention, mood, cognition, and sleep.

The nucleus accumbens (NAS), located deep inside the brain, is a key region integral to both the reward and emotional systems. Dopamine release in this area is so consistently tied to pleasure that neuroscientists refer to it as the brain’s pleasure center. In essence, dopamine signals: “This feels good, I want more.”

As noted by New York Times columnist David Brooks in 2017, tech companies “understand what causes dopamine surges in the brain and they lace their products with ‘hijacking techniques’ that lure us in and create ‘compulsion loops’.”

Many social media sites, for example, create irregularly timed rewards techniques long employed by the makers of slot machines. This strategy, based on the work of psychologist B.F. Skinner, found that the strongest way to reinforce a learned behavior is to reward it on a random schedule. Just as a gambler feels a dopamine rush when favored by luck, we compulsively check our social media because we never know when the “delicious ping of social affirmation” may sound.

The capacity for “persuasive technology” to influence behavior in this way is only just being understood, but the power of the dopamine system to alter habits is already familiar to drug addicts and smokers. Every habit-forming drug, from amphetamines to cocaine, from nicotine to alcohol, affects the dopamine system by dispersing many times more dopamine than usual.

The use of these drugs overruns the neural pathways connecting the reward circuit to the prefrontal cortex, which helps people to tame impulses. The more an individual uses a drug, the harder it becomes to stop. As explained by researchers, these “unnaturally large rewards are not filtered in the brain – they go directly into the brain and overstimulate, which can generate addiction. When that happens, we lose our willpower.”

Dopamine vs. Serotonin: Pleasure vs. Happiness

Conversely, there is another area of the brain, the raphe nuclei, where a different neurotransmitter, serotonin, is produced. This is the contentment pathway, and contentment and joy are closely related. Joy is what all human beings seek in our jobs, relationships, and activities. Contentment is being satisfied with what we have, who we are, and where we are going.

Serotonin triggers the entire brain in a different way than dopamine. These are two separate pathways, but their interaction plays a vital role. Dr. Robert Lustig, a neuroendocrinologist, categorizes seven key differences between pleasure (dopamine-driven) and happiness (serotonin-driven):

Pleasure is short-lived; happiness is long-lived.
Pleasure is visceral; happiness is ethereal.
Pleasure is taking; happiness is giving.
Pleasure can be achieved with substances; happiness cannot be achieved with substances.
Pleasure is experienced alone; happiness is experienced in social groups.
The extremes of pleasure all lead to addiction (whether substances or behaviors). Yet there’s no such thing as being addicted to too much happiness.
Pleasure is tied to dopamine, and happiness is tied to serotonin.

Pleasure can be experienced from various sources, including substances (e.g., nicotine, alcohol, sugar, opioids) or behaviors (e.g., internet use, shopping, pornography, social media). All aspects of pleasure, in their extreme form, can lead to addiction.

Consequently, we have two different areas of the brain, two different neurotransmitters, two different sets of receptors, and two different mechanisms of action and regulation. It is important to understand these differences: dopamine is excitatory (tending to induce excitation), and serotonin is inhibitory.

Neurons like to be excited; they have receptors for this purpose. However, they don’t like to be overstimulated. Chronic over-stimulation of neurons can cause neuronal cell deterioration and death. Neurons are delicate and require more oxygen and glucose than any other part of the body. Therefore, long-term over-stimulation can lead to neuronal death, a process called neurotoxicity. As a defense mechanism, neurons can downregulate their receptors, making them less sensitive to stimulation.

What does this mean? When a person receives a “hit” or a “rush,” the receptors become desensitized. The next time, the person needs a bigger hit to get the same rush because there are fewer receptive receptors, and this cycle continues, leading to tolerance. Tolerance occurs when the person no longer responds to the stimulus in the way they initially did, requiring a higher dose or more intense engagement to achieve the same effect. Ultimately, when neurons begin to die, that’s a key sign of addiction.

Conversely, serotonin does not downregulate its own receptors because it is inhibitory rather than excitatory. This implies one cannot “overdose” on too much happiness. However, there is one thing that does downregulate serotonin: dopamine.

Ironically, this means that the more pleasure one seeks, the more unhappy the person can become. Dopamine fosters more dopamine in a vicious cycle: dopamine signals “This feels good. I want more,” leading to engaging in more gratifying behaviors or substance use (sugar, alcohol, social media, games, pornography). As receptors desensitize, the need for continued exposure grows, leading to tolerance. Add the stress hormone cortisol to the mix, and the individual can become addicted, losing the ability to self-control as downregulated receptors demand a constant “hit.”

As a result, addiction is clearly one manifestation of this neurochemical process gone wrong. We don’t necessarily need “more stuff” to make us happy; we need to be mindful of the things that excessively stimulate dopamine.

On the other side, serotonin makes us feel content: “I feel good, I don’t want or need any more. I’m happy with where things are right now.” Here’s the problem: many things suppress serotonin, including technology, certain foods, and sleep deprivation. Cortisol (the stress hormone) also downregulates serotonin receptors. Less serotonin leads to increased unhappiness and discontent. As fewer serotonin receptors are active, our unhappiness increases.

And that, in essence, is the neurophysiology of the onset of clinical depression, or at least a pervasive state of unhappiness. The same things that cause addiction tend to contribute to depression as well, often running together. Most individuals struggling with addiction will describe feeling profoundly unhappy. It is a vicious cycle.

The more unhappy and discontent an individual feels, the more anxious they become due to their mood and thoughts. This anxiety leads to increased cortisol production. To cope, they may search for happiness or comfort in certain substances or behaviors that cause a temporary dopamine rush, providing fleeting relief. However, this increase in dopamine, combined with cortisol, suppresses serotonin receptors.

When the activity or substance is stopped, dopamine levels drop, leaving the individual with lowered serotonin levels that cannot sustain their mood. They feel more unhappy and discontented, leading them to crave that dopamine “hit” again, but now needing more of it. And so, the cycle repeats itself.

The repetition and abuse of any unhealthy, addictive activity create dependence, as the brain requires more dopamine to maintain the same level of pleasure due to the desensitization of the brain to that stimulus. A barrier starts building, and eventually, dopamine is unable to pass through to the pleasure center of the brain. Once this is saturated, the next step is addiction, followed by numbness and anhedonia.

Anhedonia is a psychological term referring to the inability to experience pleasure or a diminished ability to find enjoyment in activities that were previously enjoyable. It is caused by the ineffectiveness of dopamine due to extreme desensitization. Anhedonia can manifest as a lack of interest or enthusiasm, reduced motivation, and a general sense of indifference or flatness, significantly impacting one’s quality of life and overall well-being.

It is intriguing to note that when examining brain scans, there are striking similarities between the brain of a cocaine addict and that of a digital addict. From the brain’s perspective, these two stimuli are perceived as similar because the brain lacks the ability to distinguish between different forms of excitatory stimuli. The brain’s reaction is solely based on the neurochemicals it receives in response to a stimulus, regardless of its origin. In essence, the brain perceives the effects of cocaine and digital stimuli in a comparable manner, which can be observed through the activation of similar neural pathways in brain scans.

Cocaine acts as a potent stimulant that greatly enhances the activity of certain neurotransmitters, leading to a pleasurable high. Surprisingly, digital interaction produces a similar effect on dopamine release. Each time we receive a “like,” a text message, or any form of digital affirmation, our brain receives a small surge of dopamine, akin to a “hit” of pleasure. Given extreme exposure, some people become addicted to that dopamine hit, and thus become addicted to digital interaction.