ˆּ๋᳝ٞׄ🦋ֻּּֽۣ֬. this is your brain on Instagram (and it’s kinda scary)

Given that doom scrolling on your

phones is a very relevant topic nowadays,

I wanted to explain the neural mechanisms

of an addition to you. This is more of an

educational post than a studying tip corner today. Nonetheless, I hope you'll enjoy it. :relaxed:

Addiction is more than just a bad habit

or a lack of willpower. It's a neuropsychiatric

condition that exploits the brain's natural

reward-processing systems. At the heart

of this exploitation lies a well-known

neurotransmitter: dopamine, particularly its

phasic release in regions of the brain

involved in motivation and learning.

Seminal animal studies have demonstrated

how reward signaling becomes distorted

during the progression of addiction,

showing us how drugs can hijack the

very circuits that help us learn, pursue

goals, and experience pleasure.

Evidence suggests that repeated

smartphone use can become habitual,

automatic, and disengaged from conscious

goals. As phone use becomes overlearned,

behavioral control shifts from goal-directed

to habitual striatal mechanisms.

Back in 2012, Willuhn et al. did

something wild (or not that wild if

you're into science): they put tiny

electrodes into rats’ brains and

gave them a lever to press that would

give them cocaine. When

the rats pressed the lever, their brains

got a jolt of stimulation (not istered

by the researchers but a result of

getting reward, which, in this case,

was cocaine) in the reward center

- mainly a region called the

ventral striatum, which is heavily

involved in processing pleasure

and motivation.

Needless to say, the rats absolutely

loved it. Some pressed the lever

thousands of times an hour, skipping

food and sleep. It was the first clue

that certain brain circuits, especially

those involving dopamine, could

drive intense, even compulsive,

behaviors. If you think about it, this

is not far from the behaviors humans

show when they are heavily addicted

to something. Have you heard of those

hikkikomori that lock themselves in

their apartments without any care

for their human needs because they

need to play a video game? It probably

sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Fast forward to today, and those same

reward circuits that caused rats to

press the lever are still doing their

job, but now they’re getting triggered

by something you hold in your hand

all day: your phone.

Research on drug addiction has

shown that the early phase of use

lights up the ventral striatum (VS)

- basically, the brain saying “this

feels good, let’s do that again.” Over

time, though, something changes.

The dopamine response starts moving

to the dorsal striatum (DS), which is

more about habit and repetition.

This shift, from goal-driven to automatic

behavior, is an important component of

developing an addiction. People stop

using phones because they want the

dopamine hit and start using them

because their brains are wired to repeat

the behavior, even when it’s not rewarding

anymore. Now think about your phone.

At first, checking your phone might be

intentional because you're replying to

messages, looking something up, or

just killing time. But before long, you’re

unlocking it without even realizing.

It becomes a reflex. Doom scrolling

without any real intention, opening

Netflix even though you have nothing

specific to watch... This is how your

dopaminergic system hacks your mind.

Every ding, buzz, or red dot is a cue

that maybe, just maybe, there’s a reward

waiting. It could be likes, messages,

memes, whatever. These cues cause

phasic dopamine release, short bursts of

dopamine that teach your brain to

anticipate a reward. And the more random

the rewards (some posts are boring,

some are amazing), the more powerful

the habit becomes.

It’s the same principle behind slot

machines, and yes, rats pushing

levers in labs.

Frequent phone and social media

s show increased activity in the

ventral striatum when they see cues

related to social media. And over time,

just like with drugs, there’s a risk the

behavior becomes habitual, involving

the dorsal striatum, meaning you keep

checking your phone even when it’s

not fun anymore.

"Okay, but aren't you describing

studies done on rats? With drugs?",

you might ask. Alright, phones aren’t

drugs. You’re not snorting your

Instagram feed. But they can still hijack

the brain’s reward system, which evolved

to help us survive by seeking out food,

connection, and novelty. The problem

is that phones pack all that into one

glowing rectangle. And just like in drug

addiction, this can lead to...

All of these suggest that phone use

may follow similar neural patterns to

substance addiction, even if the

consequences are less extreme.

Note:

1. Frequent phone s exhibit increased

ventral striatal activation in response

to social media cues (Meshi et al., 2013).

2. Excessive s show deficits in

executive control, implying top-down

regulation from the prefrontal cortex is

weakened, also observed in substance

addiction (He et al., 2017).

Your brain is doing exactly what it

evolved to do: learn from rewards and

repeat behaviors that feel good. But in

a world of digitalism, endless notifications,

infinite scroll, and algorithm-driven

content, the system can get overwhelmed.

Phones aren't inherently evil, but

they’re built to engage the same reward

and habit systems involving dopamine that

drugs do. Understanding this isn’t

about fear but about awareness. If

you're picking up your phone and

wondering, “Why did I just do that?”,

now you know. It’s not just you.

It’s dopamine...

Recognizing this doesn’t mean we

have to give up our phones, but it does

mean we can start using them more

mindfully - aware of how tech companies

design them to keep us hooked, and

how we can take back control. So the

next time you pick up your phone, keep

in mind - your brain can't keep up with

technological advancements and needs

time off the screen, as the dopamine

turns scrolls into habits.

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