The 'Dopamine Hit' of Social Media Isn't The Problem

Our propensity for social media emanates from the same drive that helped humans evolve into the dominant species of the day. The issue is the message, not the (neuro)messenger.

Social media is developing a reputation for being detrimental to the human condition and society generally. Certainly, given its current overall impact, such a reputation seems warranted. But it wasn’t always that way. And it needn’t be that way.

The dopamine addiction theory induced by excessive use of social media has gained much attention. While the theory holds - that social media has an addiction-forming potential -, the fact we get a dopamine hit from using social media isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it reveals an aspect of the human brain that stems from the very reason human civilisation has grown to be so ‘successful’.

Dopamine is a vital neurotransmitter. It excites neurons, allowing us to think, move and react. It is associated with the reward centres in the brain and acts as a signal to the overall brain that something is pleasurable. This generation of a pleasurable ‘feeling’ is meant to lead us towards actions and environments (even thoughts) that are good for us, that promote our survival, that help us fulfil whatever functions the brain is meant to fulfil.

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Dopamine and Human Success

It goes wrong, sometimes, of course. Indeed, the propensity for humans to get on the wrong side of the dopamine high is explicitly tied to our very advantage over other species.

The dopamine system has never been as advanced as it is in modern-day humans. In no other animals are dopaminergic neurons so abundant and pervasive. Unlike any other species, dopamine neurons are not only present in the reward centres of the brain, they are abundant in our speech and language centres, and even our prefrontal cortex, where our most advanced brain functions reside.

Leading theories posit that human dominance over other species has been due, at least in part, to the extent of dopamine’s presence in key brain areas for reward, speech, and higher cognitive abilities such as empathy, moralistic weighing, and norm biases. We must feel good about doing good for our shared community. The theory is solid.

There are, of course, other aspects of the human brain that have separated us from other animals, including the level of brain connectivity and the presence of other neurotransmitters and enzymes such as serotonin and tyrosine hydroxylase. But make no mistake: we would not be as clever or as socially adept if it were not for the pervasiveness of dopamine neurons.

It is by connecting what we say and how we act in the social plane to this dopamine high that enables humans to socialise and is why we are drawn to socialising. It is, in part, where the sense of reward for peace, fairness, and cooperation stems from. It is where the value of social connection is realised.

Feeling good about connecting with other people on social media is not a bad thing. As the ‘likes’ mount up and other people feel so moved by your contribution that they take the time and effort to comment on your offerings, it feels good, as it should. We are doing what humans do best. We are connecting.

The issue isn’t so much the connection and the dopamine hit that comes with it. The issue is the content we are connecting over.

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Context of Content

Belonging is important. To feel like you belong to the tribe is, at its basic level, good for survival. The validation is helpful. We each feel a certain way and think certain things are important. When that is recognised by others in our community it is reassuring and comforting.

The ‘fault’ in the dopamine system is that it can be triggered by many different things. It in itself is not the harbinger of what is right or wrong. That, I’m afraid, is a bit more complicated.

Our sense of right and wrong is in a big part dependent on how we are nurtured as we grow up. Our dopamine systems are in essence (beyond basic needs) programmed by our upbringing. We are not rewarded for swearing or stealing or not finishing our vegetables. We are rewarded for playing well with others, for doing well in school, and for being polite and civil. These will be the rewards our dopamine system seeks out in everyday life.

Of course, some are rewarded for being greedy, narcissistic, attention-seeking elitists, and that then will be the context upon which they will seek their dopamine high. I think you get my point. How the dopamine system is programmed dictates what dopamine highs we will pursue in later life (this is largely modifiable).

Now to the shared problem. The world is not right. The vast majority of us are fair and decent folk. Indeed, studies have shown that children as young as three-and-a-half years old automatically default to equity and sharing rewards. Further, these children will continue (with a child unfamiliar to them) to see a task through to its completion even when they have already received their reward, all so the other child will also get the reward. The point here is that most of us sense there is something wrong with the world. We appreciate that fairness is often lacking. We recognise that ‘we’ are not living up to the agreement human civilisation is based on. Poverty is wrong (in the ‘it doesn’t make sense’ aspect of the word, not the purely moralistic sense). Inequality is wrong. Failing to recognise the boundaries of our environment is wrong. This general sense that something is wrong and something needs to be done sits with us all (most of us). It is in this sense that we (many of us) seek to get validated. Are we right that the world, our civilisation, isn’t right just now? “Like”, “Comment”, “Repost”.

In relation to social media, I don’t have a solve. Plenty of us have found and are discovering our niches where we can find helpful validation of why we feel this way and what we can do about it. Unfortunately, much of what we are exposed to not just on social media but in legacy media, TV, films, celeb culture, etc., tells us that there is a different reason for that sense that something ain’t right. The paid hacks and shills and grifting influencers will happily validate you if you submit your sense of what is wrong to what they are telling you is wrong with the world. Sadly, the dopamine pathway doesn’t really mind that you’ve fallen for a false narrative, the hit will come anyway.

So, don’t feel bad about feeling good on social media. But do remember that how much of a buzz you get off it does not determine whether you are on the right track. A solid moral base will do that. If you were unfortunate enough not to get a solid moral base - the honing of your dopamine pathways - when you were growing up, then find that moral base now; retrain your dopamine pathways.

Most of all remember that, in the main, social media won’t fix those things in the world that feel wrong. Only you can do that.

Photo by Shawn Day on Unsplash