Study: This Is Your Brain On Instagram

Researchers from Durham University mapped out how our brains respond to Instagram use. The team found that brief moments of Instagram engagement triggers a reward-based “rush”, and closing the app triggers a stress response. “Scrolling away on Instagram led to a marked slowing of participants’ heart rate while, at the same time, increasing their sweating response,” Dr. Niklas Ihssen said. When participants were forced to stop using the app, their heart rates increased and they reported increases in stress and anxiety. “Social media taps into basic human needs: we all want to belong and to be liked,” Dr. Ihssen noted. (Study Finds)