Habitual social media use may be associated with heightened sensitivity to social rewards, scan study suggests

According to the New York Times (1/3, Barry), “children who habitually checked their social media feeds at around age 12 showed a distinct trajectory, with their sensitivity to social rewards from peers heightening over time,” while “teenagers with less engagement in social media followed the opposite path, with a declining interest in social rewards.” Researchers arrived at these conclusions after conducting “successive” functional magnetic resonance imaging “brain scans of middle schoolers between the ages of 12 and 15, a period of especially rapid brain development.” The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/health/social-media-brain-adolescents.html “Ellen Barry, The New York Times, January 3, 2023

Posted in In The News.