1 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to the Psychology of Your Twenties, 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: the podcast where we talk through some of the big 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: life changes and transitions of our twenties and what they 4 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: mean for our psychology. Hi, Hello, welcome all. Here's the 5 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: question we're asking ourselves this week. Let's jump right into it. 6 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: Is social media rotting your brain? And all? The answer 7 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,520 Speaker 1: is yes, there you go. End of episode Just kidding. 8 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: This week we are going to discuss the consequences of 9 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:45,239 Speaker 1: social media in our twenties and the absolute chokehold it 10 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: has over so many of our lives. I think social 11 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: media has just recently, in the last decade or two, 12 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: become part of people's daily activities. Many of us spend 13 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: hours each day on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and other 14 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: popular social media sites. Hours hours of our lives detached 15 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: from the real from the real world, from what is 16 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: actually happening, you know, connected but not really. There's so 17 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: much to discuss when we talk about these platforms. We're 18 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: going to consider the issues of social comparison and presentation 19 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:30,279 Speaker 1: to addiction. We're going to talk about exogenous depression caused 20 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: by excessive social media usage. How the design of social 21 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: media is highly intentional and deliberate to capture of much 22 00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: of our attention as possible, based on an understanding of 23 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: how our brains work, how our brains process social information, 24 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: how these platforms are attuned to tribal networks, and the 25 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: matter by which dopamine controls every single one of our actions. TikTok. 26 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about, TikTok, why are those short 27 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: videos so hard to pull away from? And why it's 28 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: probably not your fault that you find yourself in the 29 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: TikTok deep dive or black hole of content so much 30 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: that we're talking about today, So let's just jump right 31 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: in and answer some of those questions. Humans have been 32 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: evolving for thousands of years, and many, if not all, 33 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: of our current anatomical features and processes, like our limbic 34 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: system and our dopamine centers, they have adapted from the 35 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: survival priorities of pre human and I guess human ancestors. 36 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: And there are a couple of ways that this kind 37 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: of evolutionary idea is so important when we consider how 38 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,840 Speaker 1: dominating social media is in our lives these days. In particular, 39 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: our brains are hardwired towards tribal networks, as this was 40 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,160 Speaker 1: kind of the best method for organizing members of a 41 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,959 Speaker 1: group to ensure survival in the past. Humans are adapted 42 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:10,840 Speaker 1: to be highly social, and despite platforms like Instagram, like 43 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: Facebook being created to help humans connect, social media deliberately 44 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:23,920 Speaker 1: exploit psychological features of our social brains andgeric systems to 45 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: mean that we keep going back to receive the reward 46 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,919 Speaker 1: of feeling like we are part of a broader group 47 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: and connected to others, even if it's perhaps not true, 48 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: or even if it's just through a screen. As a 49 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: result of that, I guess our social media uses has 50 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: just rapidly increased in the past five years, I'd say 51 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: five to ten years, and some researchers have even found 52 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: reasons to believe that our brains have experienced the kind 53 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: of rapid evolution that we never see. There's been these 54 00:03:55,480 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: massive changes to our dopamine systems, our signapses, they of 55 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: certain lobes in children and in young adults that have 56 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: been noticed since the introduction of social media, changes that 57 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: would normally take generations entire generations to show up. In 58 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: the past. Social media it evolved. It has evolved beyond 59 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: a platform that connects users, but that's not the main 60 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 1: purpose anymore. It's now a significant distraction from daily life, 61 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: and many of us prioritize scrolling our feeds or do 62 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: it counterintuitively without even wanting to, and the negative impacts 63 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: that have emerged from that are just endless. I'm sure 64 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: you've experienced that yourself, the use of social media as 65 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: a distraction, how it removes value from the moment, seeing 66 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: the world through what we can post to receive attention 67 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: as a way of connection, rather than seeing the world 68 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,919 Speaker 1: through actually kind of enjoying the moment. So to begin, 69 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,799 Speaker 1: we are going to examine how social media platforms like TikTok, 70 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: like Instagram have been designed in a very particular and 71 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: deliberate manner to consume a user. That's you, the user. Okay, 72 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,400 Speaker 1: So here's the basis of social media addiction, or at 73 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: least attraction or attention. Evolutionary psychologists like we talked about 74 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: have observed that prehuman ancestral groups who had greater social 75 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: connections were more likely to survive because they had greater 76 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: access to food, because they could divide labor, there was 77 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:36,720 Speaker 1: security in numbers, and they had more mating partners, successful 78 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: social interactions, and the neurotransmitters that are released during these 79 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: interactions can be one of the most fulfilling stimuli for 80 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,720 Speaker 1: humans because of the survival benefits of maintaining a large 81 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 1: social network in the past, that instinctual drive towards maintaining 82 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: expansive networks and groups has survived the evolutionary process. It's 83 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: still here today. Modern day humans, you and me right 84 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: now still place great value in an expanse of social 85 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: network because it's hardwired into our genetic material and certain 86 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 1: drives that create our lives, and social media naturally exploits 87 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: that tribal instinct. It says it in the name social media. 88 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: I don't think I'm really converting anything new with that, 89 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: but it's really interesting to think about how what once 90 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 1: emerged as something that was social, something that was meant 91 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: to cater to our need for connection, has actually created 92 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 1: perhaps more disconnection than previously. So let's do a quick 93 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 1: a quick history, lesson fun fact trivia time. So a 94 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: lot of people think that the first social media platform 95 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: was MySpace. That's not correct. It was this thing called 96 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: six degrees and it was created in nineteen ninety seven. 97 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: So six degrees kind of relating to that idea of 98 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:00,279 Speaker 1: six degrees of separation and it essentially connected users with ends, 99 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: kind of like what MySpace did after that or what 100 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: Facebook did after MySpace. So the premise of social media 101 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,720 Speaker 1: was and it continues to be, engaging audiences and connecting 102 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: people online whilst accumulating profits through methods like ad revenue, 103 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: capitalism and psychology kind of mixing to create the greatest profits, 104 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: I guess. And if a site captures more of your 105 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: attention and you spend more time on it, the more 106 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 1: ads they can run and the more they can receive 107 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: from this income stream, so they have an incentive to 108 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: capture as much of your finite attention and time as possible. 109 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,960 Speaker 1: So since this platform, six Degrees first launched, more platforms 110 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 1: have obviously been created for different needs or kind of 111 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,679 Speaker 1: the same one though, but in different ways, and many 112 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: people have become so engrossed by this virtual world that 113 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: they suffer from an addiction to these platforms which hijack 114 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: not only their social kind of brain, but their reward 115 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: systems as well. And these digital kind of technologies as well. 116 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: Like our smartphones become more integrated with everyday life, social 117 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: media is becoming highly proficient at capturing our attention whilst 118 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: kind of producing a global shift, a massive shift and 119 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: how people gather information and connect with each other. No 120 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: wonder we're seeing these huge changes in our brain formation. 121 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: Social media, let's not kid ourselves. It has been specifically 122 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: designed to be addictive. It exploits psychological processes to not 123 00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: only engage users, but to promote addictions. So in twenty 124 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 1: and seventeen, the ex president of Facebook, Sean Parker, if 125 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: you've watched The Social Network the movie, it's played by 126 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: Justin Timberlake ill, but Sean Parker, Facebook president, he confirmed 127 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: that the creators of Facebook deliberately tried to exploit a 128 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: vulnerability in human psychology when designing Facebook, with the objective 129 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,360 Speaker 1: of consuming as much time and attention as possible or 130 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: making the platform as addictive as possible. So one feature 131 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: in particular that he kind of cites that they created 132 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,880 Speaker 1: to achieve this damaging objective was like the like button. Parker, 133 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: this ex president man he stated, in kind of like 134 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: a public announcement or a public outing against Facebook, that 135 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: the like button it trains users to receive a little 136 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: dopamine hit from this feature, as it brings a sense 137 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:36,000 Speaker 1: of social validation and encourages users to engage for longer. 138 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: Same with the life button on Instagram. Social media, it 139 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: has the ability then to both capture and scatter your 140 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: attention because with a simple kind of refresh, there's not 141 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: only constant new information at your fingertips, but constant possibilities 142 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,600 Speaker 1: for validation. And the true drivers of our attachment to 143 00:09:54,679 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: social media are the hyper social environments that they offer. 144 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:04,160 Speaker 1: Very methods are used and very successful in keeping our 145 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: attention because of this innate need for social validation. So 146 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,719 Speaker 1: when a person uses social media and posts, you know, 147 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,040 Speaker 1: a picture or a status, or a video or a reel, 148 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: they receive a like, They receive positive social feedback and 149 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: a dopamine hit from a brain from the brain. So, 150 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: according to the study by Harvard University, a very big 151 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:31,000 Speaker 1: name social networking, it triggers the same region of your 152 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 1: brain that ignites when you use addictive substances. So this 153 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 1: rewards the behavior and perpetuates the social media habits that 154 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 1: we see these days. The instantaneous gratification from an immediate 155 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: release of dopamine that is the basis for addiction and 156 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,600 Speaker 1: why you can't stop scrolling, why you can't look away. 157 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:57,679 Speaker 1: So variably rewarding users with stimuli, so likes, notification comments, 158 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: that's what keeps you engaged with and companies understand what 159 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:07,000 Speaker 1: causes those dopamine surges and lulls, So not just they're 160 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,439 Speaker 1: not just interested in what piques your dopamine, but also 161 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,479 Speaker 1: what reduces it, and it creates their product their platform 162 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: with those hijacking techniques in mind, that will trigger compulsion loops. 163 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 1: Follow with me here. So the like button, the social 164 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: validation features. It basically causes your brain to produce dopamine 165 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 1: and the companies can use that to create these compulsion loops. 166 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,679 Speaker 1: The more our brain receives dopamine from social media, the 167 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: more the behavior of scrolling your feed, of visiting the 168 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:44,960 Speaker 1: site is positively reinforced, and people crave that instant rush 169 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:50,680 Speaker 1: of social affirmation from the dopamine release. The variable reinforcement 170 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,319 Speaker 1: we mentioned earlier is really crucial to this equation. So 171 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,959 Speaker 1: variable reinforcement remember that word or that phrase. So in 172 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,320 Speaker 1: social media marking, there is this idea called the hook model. 173 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:09,479 Speaker 1: The hook model, it goes beyond reinforcing behavior, It creates habits, 174 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,839 Speaker 1: and it spurs users to act on their own. We 175 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 1: no longer need marketing to make people use the platform 176 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 1: or to visit it. You no longer need to invest 177 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: in kind of expensive external stimuli or ads or kind 178 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:30,319 Speaker 1: of motivators for people to scroll their feeds. So at 179 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 1: the heart of the hook model is a pretty powerful 180 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 1: cognitive quirk and it was first described by BF Skinner 181 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,760 Speaker 1: in the nineteen fifties. BF Skinner huge name in psychology. 182 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: He's done so much for ideas of like conditioning and addiction. 183 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:48,559 Speaker 1: And it's called the variable schedule of rewards or intermittent reinforcement. 184 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 1: So Skinner, he's most known for this kind of I 185 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: don't know, like an experiment, like a yeah, like a tool. 186 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 1: He's best known for these boxes that he kept rats 187 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: in and he observed that these rats they responded most 188 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: to random rewards. So basically these boxes were used by 189 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: Skinner to understand how we learn how humans learned by 190 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 1: using rats as like kind of proteotypes. And either he 191 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: punished them, he removed a negative stimulus, he provided a 192 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: positive stimulus, or he removed or he removed a positive stimulus. 193 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:29,320 Speaker 1: So that creates the four types of reward and punishment 194 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 1: that we know, positive and negative reward and positive and 195 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,920 Speaker 1: negative punishment. So the mice or the rats, they would 196 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,320 Speaker 1: push or press a lever and sometimes they'd get a 197 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: small treat, other times they'd get a large treat, and 198 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: other times they get nothing at all. So, unlike the 199 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,719 Speaker 1: rats in other boxes that when they press a lever 200 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 1: they would receive the same treat every time, the mice 201 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: that we're receiving this kind of variable reward seemed to 202 00:13:55,640 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: press this lever more compulsively, more excessively. They pressed it 203 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,000 Speaker 1: even when they weren't hungry, and they became obsessed with it. 204 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: So humans, like the mice in Skinner's box, we crave predictability, 205 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 1: and we struggle to find patterns when none exist. So 206 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:16,840 Speaker 1: variability is kind of the brain's cognitive nemesis, and our 207 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,520 Speaker 1: minds they want to understand the cause and effect of 208 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: how things come to be, and we really can't understand 209 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 1: those ambiguous situations. So instead of leaving it, we kind 210 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: of become more obsessed with knowing the pattern of the reward, 211 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:38,760 Speaker 1: and we become more engaged in receiving the reward because 212 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: we kind of have expectation. Now, So let's explain this 213 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 1: a bit further as to how these ambiguous situations kind 214 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:54,120 Speaker 1: and kind of feed into variable rewards and addiction. So 215 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: variable rewards they keep the brain occupied because we want 216 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: to find out that cause and effect of when we're 217 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,440 Speaker 1: going to receive something, and we become obsessed with it. 218 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: It removes our defenses and it removes our kind of 219 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: cognitive controls. And that's how you know, either the teacher 220 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: in this case, Skinner or social media platforms have the 221 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: opportunity to plant these seeds of new habits and these compulsions. 222 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: This is how social media gets to us. It doesn't 223 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: tell us when we might receive something we particularly like, 224 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:28,600 Speaker 1: so we'll try and find that pattern ourselves, and therefore 225 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 1: we become integrated into the very technology that we are 226 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 1: addicted to. Because we're obsessed with it, we compulsively press 227 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 1: the lever to use that kind of mice example. It's 228 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,560 Speaker 1: the same with platforms like TikTok now, but this platform 229 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: has added something extra special into the mix that has 230 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,520 Speaker 1: already been used by other platforms, but has been especially 231 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: fine tuned on TikTok in particular. So what does TikTok 232 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: do well that other platforms also do but haven't quite 233 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: gotten the perfect formula? For algorithms? Algorithms they are such 234 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: astonishing tools for creating addictive platforms because they create a 235 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: virtual world that is perfectly curated to the things that 236 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: you like and the things that the platform now knows 237 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: you'll want to consume and come back to. So a 238 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: social media algorithm, it's a compilation of data and rules 239 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: that will make decisions almost for you about what you 240 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: see on a platform, the social media site. It creates 241 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: unique algorithms for every single person, every single user, which 242 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 1: means that no two people will have the exact same 243 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: social media news feeds. Besides issues of privacy, there's also 244 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: this issue of cognitive exploitation. By monitoring a user's online 245 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: behavior and harvesting their private data, they manipulate what they 246 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 1: can see online, and this is a form of manipulation 247 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: known as surveillance capitalism. These social media algorithms, they work 248 00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: without any oversight, and they work twenty four seven to 249 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: keep the users addicted to liking and scrolling through endless 250 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: ads and content because although that variable reward is still present, 251 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,879 Speaker 1: your overall experience with the app is likely to be 252 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,439 Speaker 1: more pleasant because you're seeing the things that kind of 253 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: pertain to you. So the hijacking of our rewards system 254 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:29,680 Speaker 1: that we've seen with variable reinforcement and with the addition 255 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: of things like the like button, it's furthered by this 256 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: neurological process called long term potentiation or LTP, so long 257 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,919 Speaker 1: term potentiation. It's the process in which neural pathways that 258 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,199 Speaker 1: are used frequently they become stronger. It's kind of the 259 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: opposite of use it or lose it. As the pathways 260 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: associated with social media use are exploited more frequently, they 261 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: become stronger, creating the compulsion. The more we open the app, 262 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,119 Speaker 1: the stronger these links between our signaps is become. And 263 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: if you have an iPhone, you can actually see this 264 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:06,640 Speaker 1: on your phone. You can see this compulsion that's kind 265 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:10,400 Speaker 1: of operating separate from probably your own intentions. So take 266 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: a second now, grab your phone, and I want you 267 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:14,640 Speaker 1: to go to the section of your settings that tells 268 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: you your screen time. I'm not worried about that. Scroll 269 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,440 Speaker 1: down and you'll find this section called first used after pickup. 270 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,959 Speaker 1: How many times after you pick up your phone has 271 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:30,080 Speaker 1: the next thing you've done been open an app like Instagram, 272 00:18:30,119 --> 00:18:33,640 Speaker 1: Facebook or TikTok Okay. I'll be honest, I'm recording this 273 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,960 Speaker 1: early in the morning and already I have forty total 274 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,919 Speaker 1: pickups of my phone, and of those fifteen after Instagram, 275 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:45,679 Speaker 1: almost half. I don't even get notifications for Instagram. It 276 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: has become a compulsion. The site doesn't even need to 277 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 1: advertise to me. It doesn't even need to motivate me. 278 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 1: I have been overtaken by the hook model, whereby they 279 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,760 Speaker 1: no longer have to persuade me to use the app. 280 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: I do it, not truly without even consciously thinking about it. 281 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: I don't even think about it anymore. And long term 282 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:10,360 Speaker 1: potentiation is responsible for those behaviors, because those kind of 283 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:14,200 Speaker 1: cause and effect behaviors I have. Okay, I see my phone, 284 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 1: I pick it up. My first thought is social media. 285 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 1: It's become, like I said at habit, because I've frequently 286 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,000 Speaker 1: checked it in the past, and I continue to do 287 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: it because I'm craving that reward, but also because the 288 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: more I use it, the stronger those synaptic connections that 289 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: associate my phone with the dopamine I get from social media. 290 00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 1: The stronger those connections become. And this exploitation has obviously 291 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,679 Speaker 1: raised some pretty serious debate over whether or not social 292 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: media should be regulated, or at least algorithms should be regulated. 293 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,840 Speaker 1: You know. The other thing that really scares me about 294 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 1: social media, particularly Instagram for me, is that if someone 295 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,760 Speaker 1: asked me to remember, to recount, to recall anything I'd 296 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:01,440 Speaker 1: seen on Instagram from the past, I wouldn't be able 297 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: to tell you the details of a singular post. So 298 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:07,159 Speaker 1: I spent at least probably an hour or two a 299 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,080 Speaker 1: day on that platform. Those hours are completely empty. I 300 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: have absolutely no memory of what it was that even 301 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: captured my attention or anything I saw. I'm completely blind 302 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: to those hours, and that's really terrifying. Before we talk 303 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,200 Speaker 1: about even social comparison, I want to explain a bit 304 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: more about what social media does to our neural networks. 305 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:31,640 Speaker 1: We've talked about dopamine, we've talked about long term potentiation, 306 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: but of course there's more to it, so heaps of 307 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: studies have been done it. It's really interesting in terms 308 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 1: of social psychology, yes, but also biological psychology and how 309 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: our brains have adapted around this new important institution of 310 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,240 Speaker 1: our daily lives, because that's what it is. Social media 311 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 1: is an institution. So heavy social media uses they and that. Okay, 312 00:20:56,359 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: I'm just going to say heavy social media is an 313 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,880 Speaker 1: hour or more I'm guessing all of us meet that criteria. 314 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: So these users, they perform worse on cognitive tests, especially 315 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: those that require attention and the ability to multitask. So 316 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: compared to moderate or light social media users, heavy users 317 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: we need to exert more effort to maintain focused or 318 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 1: to maintain focus. Yet to remain focused or maintain focus 319 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: in the face of distraction, and researchers have hypothesized that 320 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaker 1: since social media is easily accessible and competes for our 321 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:37,399 Speaker 1: attention with the promise of perpetual new content, heavy social 322 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: media users they actually become less able to ignore distraction 323 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,879 Speaker 1: in general. Not only does this lead to pour a 324 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: cognitive performance, but it actually strengths the part of the 325 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:52,919 Speaker 1: brain associated with maintaining attention. So the ability of the 326 00:21:53,040 --> 00:21:58,399 Speaker 1: brain to change is called neuropla plasticity neuroplasticity, and it 327 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,159 Speaker 1: has a big effect on your attention and cognitive function. 328 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 1: Research it also shows that heavy social media use is 329 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 1: linked with memory deficits, especially in your transactive memory. This 330 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: kind of memory involves deciding what kind of information is 331 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 1: important to store in your brain and what kind of 332 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: information can kind of been kind of be outsourced. So 333 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:25,440 Speaker 1: social media's central feature, the sharing and storing of your experiences, 334 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: may actually be altering which memories you keep and which 335 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: ones you don't. So when one study the participants they 336 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,199 Speaker 1: were asked to record an experience using their notes or 337 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: social media, and the other groups who are asked to 338 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 1: simply experience the event without recording it, without noting anything 339 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: down and at the end of the study, those who 340 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:47,679 Speaker 1: had recorded or shared the event performed worse and showed 341 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:51,399 Speaker 1: more memory deficit than those who had just experienced the 342 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: event organically without recording it. So externalizing an experience putting 343 00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:00,000 Speaker 1: it on social media, it worsened the participants memory because 344 00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 1: their brains, they've kind the brain has kind of received 345 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: this message that they didn't need to hold onto the 346 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,119 Speaker 1: information anymore. It was stored elsewhere. So consequently, not only 347 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 1: did the individuals lose some memory of their original experience, 348 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: but they also experience longer term deficits in the size 349 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,320 Speaker 1: and functions of their brain if they use social media 350 00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: again and again and again, and these consequences they're like 351 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: genuinely terrifying, especially when you consider young kids now who 352 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:29,439 Speaker 1: are going to grow up with social media present in 353 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: their lives from day dot from day one. You know, 354 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: I kind of feel grateful, at least me, you probably 355 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:38,640 Speaker 1: if you're in your twenties, if you're over the age 356 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: of twenty. At least we kind of got a chance 357 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: to have some years without it, back when our parents 358 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: were just kind of worried about the TV and not 359 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 1: this like evil capitalist invention at our fingertips that is 360 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: individually curated to be addictive just for you. We've talked 361 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: about addiction now, we've talked about the New York connections 362 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,359 Speaker 1: and how social media kind of changes them, how it 363 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: manipulates them. But another result of trapping users in this endless, 364 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,159 Speaker 1: kind of scrolling loop of content is that it can 365 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: lead to social comparison. It's perhaps one of the biggest 366 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: things that people you know, scared about or talk about 367 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 1: when they talk about social media. I don't know what 368 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,040 Speaker 1: it has been about my life recently, but I have 369 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:30,439 Speaker 1: been so weak to this, so weak to social comparison. 370 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: And it's often thinks like Instagram that are the catalyst 371 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: every single time. You know, people's perfectly created lives with 372 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: their endless cycle of friends and gorgeous outfits and money 373 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: to spend on restaurants. I'm envious. But then I'll have 374 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: people turn around to me and say things like, oh, 375 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 1: you know, you look so happy now, you're flourishing, you 376 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 1: look like you're having so much fun. And the only 377 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: thing that they have to judge that by is what 378 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,400 Speaker 1: I post on social media. These people they haven't seen 379 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,400 Speaker 1: me for months, and the impression they get is that 380 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,640 Speaker 1: my life is going really well. Let me just say 381 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,639 Speaker 1: that has not been the case. Like I had my 382 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,960 Speaker 1: heartbroken recently, I had someone really hurt me, like really bad, 383 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:16,639 Speaker 1: and have just been at such a low point in 384 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:19,879 Speaker 1: terms of my self esteem and sense of value. You know, 385 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,479 Speaker 1: in the past six months, I've lost countless friends as 386 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: I've moved and evolved and shifted into this new version 387 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,959 Speaker 1: of myself. I spent like days alone, hours kind of 388 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 1: crying over this person who was never going to love 389 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:34,880 Speaker 1: me back. And I've spent hours looking at other people's 390 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:38,880 Speaker 1: lives through social media thinking that they have everything going 391 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,959 Speaker 1: for them whilst they're thinking the same thing about me. 392 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,640 Speaker 1: And it's kind of a bit of a fucked game. 393 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,159 Speaker 1: It's a facade. We choose those best moments when we 394 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: are smiling or watching a sunset, out partying with friends 395 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:55,200 Speaker 1: and the other ninety nine percent that's unaccounted for, but 396 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: we judge people on the one percent, And those comments 397 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: that I got from a few people actually just really 398 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: made me realize that idea so deeply for the first time, 399 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: even though it's common knowledge. You know, we do only 400 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:12,280 Speaker 1: share the best moments of our lives, but that becomes 401 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 1: the source of so much social comparison, and you don't 402 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 1: really realize it until you feel it personally, until you 403 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:21,119 Speaker 1: see it. So when presented with the curated feeds of 404 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:24,920 Speaker 1: other people, we are vulnerable to frequent and pretty extreme 405 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,919 Speaker 1: upwards social comparison, which can lead to a number of 406 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 1: other negative side effects, some of which I've talked about, 407 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:33,600 Speaker 1: you know, the erosion of self esteem, a depressed mood, 408 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:39,000 Speaker 1: and decrease life satisfaction overall. So social comparison it's a 409 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:42,880 Speaker 1: form of sociological self esteem where we derive our sense 410 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: of self through comparing ourselves with others. Many studies have 411 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: argued that people have a tendency to make downwards social 412 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,320 Speaker 1: comparisons with those who are worse off or less skilled 413 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,159 Speaker 1: than them, and this raises your self esteem obviously at 414 00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: the expense of that other person, and then Conversely, we 415 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 1: have upwards social comparisons and this reduces social that this 416 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,640 Speaker 1: reduces self esteem, and it's more likely with social media. 417 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: That's when you kind of you see someone who is 418 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:11,720 Speaker 1: more skilled than you, doing better than you, happier than 419 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,159 Speaker 1: you can you kind of see where we're going with this. 420 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 1: So there's this guy, his name's Alfred Admer, and he 421 00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: said to be human is to have inferiority feelings, and 422 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:27,600 Speaker 1: in the age of social media, this is potentially definitely 423 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:33,639 Speaker 1: heightened and amplified. Social comparison in the real world usually 424 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: involves the self, you and a few other people, whilst 425 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: in the digital universe of social media, you're kind of 426 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:48,200 Speaker 1: presented with limitless potential to compare yourself to other people limitless. 427 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: There's thousands and research predating social media. It estimated that 428 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 1: the average person you know back in the nineties, back 429 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: in the nineteen hundreds had perhaps ten to twenty close 430 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:02,600 Speaker 1: relations chips and maybe one hundred and fifty people in 431 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,199 Speaker 1: their wider social circle. So that includes you know, like 432 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,720 Speaker 1: friends of your parents, colleagues, people you kind of know. 433 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:16,040 Speaker 1: Whereas now that number of wider social acquaintances because of 434 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 1: social media, it's up to around four hundred. So whilst 435 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:25,240 Speaker 1: social connection offers people heaps of positive opportunities, the more connections, 436 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: the more opportunities there is for social comparison. And that's 437 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,320 Speaker 1: what social media does to us. It creates that upwards 438 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 1: social comparison that makes you feel shit about yourself. Think 439 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:39,600 Speaker 1: about this in the context of our twenties. This is 440 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,680 Speaker 1: such a formative period for our self esteem, for how 441 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:46,560 Speaker 1: we view ourselves, how we view others, and our identity. 442 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: And we spend hours of our daily life in an 443 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:54,080 Speaker 1: online environment of comparison. And the consequences of that aren't 444 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: you just felt today and tomorrow? But they're life long. 445 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: And here's another related issue. This is the issue of 446 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: self presentation and identity. So social media, we've said it 447 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,080 Speaker 1: affords you, the user, the ability to carefully curate and 448 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,240 Speaker 1: control how you present yourself to your audience and people 449 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,520 Speaker 1: you know, you and I. We generally choose to show 450 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 1: an ideal image on social media and in social psychology, 451 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 1: two major motives are believed to influence this positive self presentation. 452 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:28,440 Speaker 1: They are self enhancement and self verification. Self enhancement this 453 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: motivates people to present an enhanced positive self image and 454 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 1: to seek favorable self relevant information. Self verification, on the 455 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: other hand, drives people to verify or to maintain stability 456 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: of their pre existing self views. So that first one 457 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:48,800 Speaker 1: is about presenting this enhanced view and seeing whether people 458 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: like it, and the other is maintaining how you feel 459 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 1: about yourself now and making sure that you continue to 460 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:58,920 Speaker 1: be validated for that. Self presentation theory suggests that people 461 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:01,880 Speaker 1: they have to discretion as to how they present themselves 462 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: in a variety of performances daily performances, and social media 463 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:10,760 Speaker 1: is one such performance. So the hyper personal model of 464 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: behavior argues that with that self presentation, that ability to 465 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 1: present who you want to be, even if it's not real, 466 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: that is really promoted by computer mediated or social media 467 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 1: mediated communication, and that has advantages over face to face 468 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: communication and how we optimize our self presentation. Think about 469 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: this a bit deeper. It's pretty obvious, but really think 470 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 1: about it. If you see someone in your daily life, 471 00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:44,280 Speaker 1: you know they're going to see your flaws. Maybe you 472 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,040 Speaker 1: like have a pimple. You know they're going to see 473 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,480 Speaker 1: the mistakes that you mean, They're going to see that 474 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 1: you're not perfect. But you have the opportunity to screen 475 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: those parts of you out on social media, you have 476 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:00,239 Speaker 1: the opportunity to show yourself being incredibly happy when that 477 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:04,040 Speaker 1: might not actually be the case. This isn't really our 478 00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:08,000 Speaker 1: true selves, and we can use social media as a 479 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: shield for acknowledging not only who we truly are and 480 00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 1: our true values, but it's also destruction from what's truly 481 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: going on, because we can use that validation and self 482 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:23,840 Speaker 1: enhancement to make us feel better, to make us seem 483 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,400 Speaker 1: better to the people that we want to receive validation from, 484 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 1: to the people that we want to win press. Essentially, 485 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 1: you know, you're probably asking yourself, surely, this isn't very 486 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:38,320 Speaker 1: good for our mental health. What are the chances you 487 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 1: would be correct? What gave it away? Time and time again. 488 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:47,360 Speaker 1: Social media has been shown to promote negative experiences like 489 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,640 Speaker 1: that feeling of inadequacy about your life and appearance is 490 00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:54,760 Speaker 1: because of upwards social comparison and a study by this 491 00:31:55,200 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: English author Primark found not primarch the store the person, 492 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,360 Speaker 1: it found a link between the use of multiple social 493 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:09,080 Speaker 1: media platforms and increase depression and anxiety symptoms in young 494 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: people age nineteen to thirty two. That's probably you, that's 495 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,160 Speaker 1: my normal audience range. Nineteen to thirty two. And think 496 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:19,560 Speaker 1: about that again. If you use social media platforms, it's 497 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 1: literally could potentially be making you more anxious, it could 498 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,920 Speaker 1: be making you more depressed. From another angle, though, online 499 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,720 Speaker 1: platforms may also have the potential to damage mental well 500 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 1: being through this promotion of unreasonable expectations about what you 501 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:40,239 Speaker 1: look like and how you present social media, it's been 502 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:43,479 Speaker 1: linked to poor self esteem and self image because of 503 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:48,520 Speaker 1: the advent of image manipulation on photo sharing platforms. You know, 504 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,240 Speaker 1: you can download face tune and make yourself look amazing. 505 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,520 Speaker 1: You can make yourself look skinnier, you can smooth out 506 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: your skin, you can make your skin look lowy. And 507 00:32:56,560 --> 00:33:00,480 Speaker 1: it's this idea of the idealized body image that has 508 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: been promoted by social media that arguably has the most 509 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 1: dental detrimental effect to self esteem and image, especially that 510 00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:12,720 Speaker 1: of young people. The twenty four seventh circulation of easibly 511 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:19,880 Speaker 1: viewable manipulated images promotes and entrenches those unrealistic expectations of 512 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:23,480 Speaker 1: how you should look and how you should behave think 513 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,160 Speaker 1: about all those photos you know of Kim Kardashian that 514 00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 1: people like, you know, screenshot or like repost, and then 515 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,520 Speaker 1: you find out that they're edited. Of course they are. 516 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,240 Speaker 1: No one looks like that, like have you ever seen 517 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: anyone who looks like that? No? No, like, you don't. 518 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:44,280 Speaker 1: And when these expectations we have for what we should 519 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,280 Speaker 1: look like based on what we see on social media, 520 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,479 Speaker 1: when they're not met, the impact on self esteem is 521 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:53,520 Speaker 1: so damaging and it's really disturbing. You know. There was 522 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:57,200 Speaker 1: this study run by the Australian government, like the Health Department, 523 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,760 Speaker 1: and it found that ninety percent night out of ten 524 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: young women that they interviewed, and they interviewed quite a 525 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:06,280 Speaker 1: few say they were unhappy with how they look and 526 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:15,520 Speaker 1: a big part of that was because of social media. Obviously, 527 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:20,400 Speaker 1: the rise of social media, it's incredibly multifaceted. It's you know, 528 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 1: we can't explain it simply, but the statistics they do 529 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:30,759 Speaker 1: suggest that it's strongly correlated or at least associated with anxiety, loneliness, depression, 530 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,720 Speaker 1: social comparison. And I've been feeling that, you know myself, 531 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:38,000 Speaker 1: I'm sure you have as well. Whether it is you know, 532 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:40,759 Speaker 1: just a causal kind of thing based on the fact 533 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:43,279 Speaker 1: that there is other stuff shown on our feeds that 534 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:48,480 Speaker 1: could be depressing us, like war and terror and awful things. 535 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,359 Speaker 1: It's going to have to you know, time will kind 536 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:54,719 Speaker 1: of tell, and there is so much policy research into 537 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:57,840 Speaker 1: this and so much kind of talk around regulation with 538 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,600 Speaker 1: the social media industry today as well. A lot of 539 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:03,680 Speaker 1: what we've talked about, it's probably not new to you. 540 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: And there are definitely some elements of social media that 541 00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: are really i would say beneficial and pretty incredible when 542 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: you think back. For example, you know, the war in Ukraine. 543 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,520 Speaker 1: At the moment, we would know so much less than 544 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:20,439 Speaker 1: we do if people didn't have the ability to share 545 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,640 Speaker 1: their experiences on the ground with people across the world. 546 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:27,400 Speaker 1: This is the same with other wars and revolutions. Since 547 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:31,040 Speaker 1: social media kind of became a thing the Me Too movement, 548 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 1: election mobilization social media, it's also a source of connection 549 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:41,759 Speaker 1: and information sharing that may not be accessible elsewhere or 550 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:45,640 Speaker 1: in another manner. Another thing that kind of comes to 551 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,080 Speaker 1: mind is how social media can be used to help 552 00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:52,160 Speaker 1: educate people about movements like black Lives Matter and spread 553 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:55,400 Speaker 1: awareness around things. You know, I think about when that 554 00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:58,320 Speaker 1: girl went missing in wa that was all over social media. 555 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:04,680 Speaker 1: That's definitely something to be positive about. That instantaneous communication platform, 556 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: and that's what it was meant to be at its 557 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:10,800 Speaker 1: purest form, but it's really not that anymore. And although 558 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:13,600 Speaker 1: there are some good things, all of these good things 559 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:18,160 Speaker 1: are happening in a virtual environment that is deliberately creating addiction, 560 00:36:18,239 --> 00:36:21,520 Speaker 1: and it's hijacking our synaptic connections and our dopamine centers 561 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:26,360 Speaker 1: to essentially make money for big organizations through ad revenue, 562 00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,279 Speaker 1: and it's kind of running our minds and changing the 563 00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 1: very structure of our brains, like I said, and that's 564 00:36:32,640 --> 00:36:36,239 Speaker 1: obviously not going to change anytime soon. Like every year, 565 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 1: there's just more and more ways that our society kind 566 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:44,680 Speaker 1: of caters towards social media, like TikTok now is a 567 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: marketing platform. I was actually thinking this the other day, 568 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,919 Speaker 1: Like I don't see billboards for movies anymore. I don't 569 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,160 Speaker 1: see like ads in the paper, like I don't see 570 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:55,960 Speaker 1: like magazine articles about it. I see it on TikTok 571 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:58,319 Speaker 1: or I see it on Instagram. And that's how I know, 572 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:00,879 Speaker 1: Like you know, the Batman came out or something like that. 573 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:03,880 Speaker 1: Those are the kind of things that I'm talking about 574 00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:06,319 Speaker 1: of how it's changed how we relate to the world 575 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:10,319 Speaker 1: and communicate and how we get our knowledge. Anyways, I 576 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,960 Speaker 1: hope that you enjoyed this episode. I had a lot 577 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:18,319 Speaker 1: of fun researching this. I learned so much like and 578 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:21,400 Speaker 1: I think, especially with the social comparison ideas we've been 579 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:24,560 Speaker 1: talking about, it's really at least inspired me to take 580 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:27,960 Speaker 1: some time off social media, to turn off notifications, to 581 00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:31,680 Speaker 1: kind of limit how much I use it, how dependent 582 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,839 Speaker 1: I am on it, how much I posed, how much 583 00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:38,560 Speaker 1: I share. I just kind of spend more time in 584 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:41,640 Speaker 1: the present moment doing the things I love. Like when 585 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,080 Speaker 1: I was in Queensland recently, I would just try and 586 00:37:44,160 --> 00:37:46,560 Speaker 1: make a conscious effort to leave my phone in the 587 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,719 Speaker 1: car when I was going to the beach, because I 588 00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:50,920 Speaker 1: noticed if I brought my phone, I would literally be 589 00:37:50,960 --> 00:37:53,240 Speaker 1: sitting there in front of some of the most beautiful 590 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:57,120 Speaker 1: water and clearest guys a girl can find during Lenina, 591 00:37:57,239 --> 00:37:59,760 Speaker 1: and I would be on my phone and I wouldn't 592 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,840 Speaker 1: even remember what was going on around me. And I 593 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:03,959 Speaker 1: wouldn't remember what was going on on my phone either, 594 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:06,440 Speaker 1: And you just kind of blind to your life in 595 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:10,720 Speaker 1: that moment, aren't you, Eddie. How thank you for listening, 596 00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: Thank you for subscribing if you have, if not your choice, 597 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:18,920 Speaker 1: but please do it would be very lovely, and if 598 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,720 Speaker 1: you feel called to leave a review on either Spotify 599 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:24,680 Speaker 1: or Apple Podcasts, it's so lovely. I've been getting so 600 00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:28,200 Speaker 1: many reviews and it makes me so so happy, makes 601 00:38:28,239 --> 00:38:30,919 Speaker 1: me a very happy girl. So if you feel called 602 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:33,000 Speaker 1: to do it, please do it. Takes a couple of seconds, 603 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:36,760 Speaker 1: it makes my day. You'll feel good about yourself, unless 604 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:38,920 Speaker 1: you want to stop using your phone as much because 605 00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 1: of social media addiction, in which case, don't do it. 606 00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:45,480 Speaker 1: Stay away, but we'll be back next week. I'm going 607 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:49,480 Speaker 1: to talk about love languages because that sounds exciting, right 608 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,520 Speaker 1: and a friend of my one of my friends, and 609 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:54,319 Speaker 1: I were discussing it the other day and I was like, 610 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:56,480 Speaker 1: this is really interesting. I want to see whether there 611 00:38:56,600 --> 00:39:00,800 Speaker 1: is actually like research behind this, whether this is like legit. 612 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:03,399 Speaker 1: So that's what we're going to be talking about next week. 613 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:07,719 Speaker 1: Until then, we've got so many episodes on Spotify at 614 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:10,239 Speaker 1: the moment. If you want to listen back and just 615 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:13,440 Speaker 1: have a great week, enjoy your life, enjoy your enjoy 616 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:17,279 Speaker 1: yourself in the moment, and turn off Instagram. It will 617 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:18,040 Speaker 1: be good for you.