Easy and nearly unlimited access to information, the ability to communicate in real time with people on the other side of the world, and apps and features that simplify and enrich our lives in so many ways—it’s not hard to understand why smartphones have become such a hit. Lately, however, science has begun to draw attention to the other side of the coin.
The Dark Side
As social media users, we’re constantly bombarded in real time with news about events around the world as well as updates from the lives of our friends, celebrities, and idols. We switch from one app to another, participate in multiple conversations at once, “like” like there’s no tomorrow, and compete for the online world’s attention. Whether they’re thumbs-up, hearts, stars, or anything else, they all have one thing in common: the potential to be addictive.
Put that phone down for a moment!
So, let’s see: can you imagine spending a single day without the internet, any electronic communication devices, or even television, radio, and newspapers? Just under a thousand college students across continents, in the study “ The World Unplugged ” tried abstaining from media for twenty-four hours; those who lasted the entire day described their experience as a range of unpleasant feelings—panic, loneliness, boredom, emptiness, helplessness, anxiety, isolation, and so on. Quite a few study participants were confronted with what they described as their “addiction” and reported physical and psychological states similar to withdrawal symptoms.
From laboratory rats to flashing dopamine-dispensing machines
- F. Skinner was a leading figure in behaviorism (a school of psychology concerned with organisms’ responses to environmental stimuli). Like perhaps every scientist, he enjoyed confining animals in cages, and in this controlled environment, using rewards and punishments (food/water and electric shocks), he investigated which method of reinforcing the desired behavior worked best.
The most effective solution turned out to be reinforcement at a random ratio relative to the number of responses (variable ratio). Mice rewarded at random intervals pressed the lever inside the box compulsively, more often than the “participants” in the group receiving regular rewards.
We humans voluntarily carry our own Skinner box in our pockets. “ When we tap the red notification icons next to apps, we don’t know if we’ll find an interesting email, an avalanche of ‘likes,’ or, conversely, nothing at all. It’s that possibility of disappointment that drives our compulsive behavior ,” former Google employee T. Harris told The Guardian. He aptly compares the routine act of swiping down to the mechanism of slot machines—we never know what’s coming. Every minute we spend offline, we risk missing the moment when luck is supposed to smile on us and we’ll once again win the lottery of social recognition—measured, of course, by the number of hearts or replies under our post.
The neurobiological explanation for why we keep returning to our phone screens in search of social recognition is a neurotransmitter called dopamine. This substance, which occurs naturally in the brain, influences functions related to motivation, emotions, and the reward system. Dopamine provides the human body with pleasant sensations after we engage in an activity that benefits us. Rewarded behavior in the brain strengthens the association between the stimulus, the behavioral process, and the resulting reward; therefore, we return to activities that release dopamine so that we can once again feel pleasure and satisfaction. This can be anything—from the need for food, sex, or social interaction to seeking out another dose of drugs or gluing our eyes (and fingers) back to a phone screen.
Excessive smartphone use changes the brain’s structure
Addiction expert Mandy Saligari stated in an interview with The Independent: “ When we talk about addiction, people tend to focus on a specific substance or object—but in reality, it’s a pattern of behavior that manifests in various ways ,” and as examples, she cited not only smartphone addiction but also, for instance, an obsession with food or self-harm. This view aligns with the modern concept of so-called behavioral addictions.
In addition to “classic” addiction (a psychoactive substance and physical dependence on it), we therefore distinguish between behavioral or non-substance addiction, which is defined by manifestations of uncontrollable behavior, the presence of cravings, and a disconnect between feelings and behavior.
In a study published in February 2020, a team of scientists presented a fascinating yet deeply troubling finding. When comparing the brain structures of healthy participants and individuals who scored high on “smartphone addiction” tests ( smartphone addiction —a modern term describing addictive behavior related to smartphones and its physical and psychosocial consequences), significant physical differences were found. Analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans revealed reduced gray matter volume in the smartphone-addicted group, specifically in various brain regions involved in processing emotions, object recognition, and memory.
What exactly can we take away from this, and what further research will this finding lead to? We probably won’t have to wait too long for answers to these questions. If you’ve noticed a similar problem in yourself, don’t despair—you’re far from alone. You can read about how to recognize smartphone addiction and what steps to take to overcome it, for example, here .
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