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According to an American study, the increased use of social media could make our young teenagers more sensitive to what people think of them. But how much?
Are you the proud parent of a teenager? You have probably already asked yourself the question: can their gaze riveted on the screen of their smartphone, “scrolling” their social media, have more or less serious consequences on their brain? A team of American scientists set out to verify this impact, in one of the first long-term studies of adolescent neural development and technology use.
Checking your phone more than 20 times a day would increase sensitivity
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill followed 169 students aged 12-13, recruited from public colleges for three years. Each participant indicated how often they visited three popular social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Their responses ranged from less than once to more than 20 times per day.
Participants then underwent annual brain imaging sessions, during which brain activity related to social reactions was measured. The study, published in JAMA Pediatricsreveals that the brains of teens who check their phones the most often may become more sensitive to their social surroundings:
“The results suggest that children who grow up consulting social media more often become hypersensitive to feedback from their peers,” said Eva Telzer, author of the study.
An inevitable adaptation in the modern world?
Thus, the very content of social networks could play on the construction of young adolescents by providing a constant and unpredictable flow of social comments in the form of likes, comments, notifications and messages. “These social contributions are frequent, inconsistent, and often rewarding, making them particularly powerful reinforcers that can condition users to repeatedly check social media.” according to Kara Fox, co-lead author.
One more problem to manage during the teenage crisis? Not necessarily for these researchers: “While this heightened sensitivity to social comments may promote compulsive social media use, it could also reflect possible adaptive behavior that will allow teens to navigate an increasingly digital world,” explains Maria Maza, another author of the study.
The smartphone is not necessarily the trigger
Consulted on the subject, Nawal Abboub, doctor in cognitive sciences, does not entirely agree with this observation which lacks precision.
“Certainly, the study here indicates that adolescents who spend time on their phones are more sensitive to remarks and social validation from those around them, and that this induces brain activity in certain regions of the brain. But we cannot say that it is a “causal”. This means that we do not know if these teenagers studied already showed sensitivity, if they were anxious children for example.
However, for the professional, the subject can easily be considered inversely:
“Adolescents who will present greater vulnerability, increased sensitivity linked to the family environment, to what is happening at school, or to their level of well-being will also be more tempted to check their phone more often. and be, in fact, more sensitive to criticism” she explains.
The study published in JAMAwhich undoubtedly requires further research, however, has a utility according to the doctor of cognitive sciences:
“However, this shows that children are not all equal when it comes to social networks and that we should be vigilant. In front of a teenager stressed in front of his phone, you have to ask questions, teach them how to protect themselves, not to expose themselves too much. And to try to understand why this anxiety exists”.