In the new paper, presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, a team of radiologists at Korea University report that smartphone addiction changes teenagers’ brains. Using brain imaging, they argue that smartphone- and internet-addicted teenagers have imbalanced brain chemistry when compared to their peers who aren’t addicted to smartphones or the internet…
In the study, the team led by Dr. Hyung Suk Seo used “standardized internet and smartphone addiction tests to measure the severity of internet addiction” in nine boys and 10 girls, according to a statement. Then, they used MRS, a brain imaging technique that can identify particular brain chemicals, to examine the participants’ brains before and after taking nine weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy to help their “addiction.”
Compared to a control group, the “smartphone addicts” had skewed levels of neurotransmitters in their brains. In particular, they had a higher ratio of GABA to Glx (glutamate?glutamine), which are respectively responsible for slowing down brain signals and exciting neurons. An elevated ratio of GABA to Glx, the researchers concluded, can be associated with the self-reported symptoms of the “smartphone addict” teens, including depression, anxiety, insomnia severity and impulsivity. After 12 of the teens participated in cognitive behavior therapy, the scientists report, their chemical imbalances appeared to even out to look more like the control group’s.
There is argument over how accurate the study results are, but there is no doubt that the modern tech is incredibly stimulating.
What I find interesting is that the brains are adapting by trying to slow down in the face of the stimulation, presumably to lower the metabolic stresses, and pace the brain’s activity levels so as to not immediately wear it out and create stroke-like symptoms.
I remember when I first started going on the internet, back when you could sometimes search a subject and not find exactly what you were looking for. Websites were primitive and basic, and data was incomplete and often presented strangely by the quirky amateurs who were the only people creating websites back then. Even with all its primitiveness and shortcomings, it was exhilarating to enter such an expansive world of almost limitless information, and compared to a book in a library, the information was often far more perfectly tailored to whatever it was you were looking for.
I have noticed that as I surf today, my stimulation level is far below what it was back then, even though the web is vastly superior today. Back then, there was almost a thrill as the browser fired up. Today, going online is no different from opening a book or listening to the radio. A part of me wonders if when I am just doing regular things in life, I am actually even less engaged in the moment than I would have been otherwise, and I just don’t notice.
What we may be doing is creating thrill seekers. Thrill seekers can make an Apocalypse interesting, because when regular people are shaking and in a fetal position because the shit is so intense, thrill seekers are looking for ways to make things even more interesting. Yes, when things are slow they get depressed, but when things are wild, they are just warming up, and they may actually make things wild when they don’t have to be, just to keep themselves occupied and interested, and alleviate the ennui.
It will be fun to se how that plays out, once the wheels come off as the nation is hurtling to disaster.
Tell everyone about r/K Theory, because it will eventually produce enough thrills for all of us
Never short of something to think about, that’s for sure.
Beats encyclopedia. (remember those?)