A new study by Durham University looked at physiological changes that happen to our body when we get an urge to look at Instagram and what happens when we resist scrolling. The study only looked at the effects of using Instagram on our body because it is one of the most widely used social media apps. The study tracked what happens inside our body when we want to scroll, and it was found that our body produces deep attentional immersion and reward-based arousal when we use Instagram. For the study, 54 Instagram users were monitored for skin conductance, heart rate, and subjective feelings for 15 minutes in three phases each. In the first phase, participants were asked to do baseline reading on Instagram, while they were asked to browse on Instagram in the second phase. In the third phase, the participants were asked to completely halt their Instagram usage, but they would still have to receive notifications.
It was found that during the browsing phase, the participants experienced a decrease in their heart rate but an increase in skin conductance which indicated an increase in pleasurable arousal. This showed that the participants entered a distinctive mental state while also experiencing an increase in arousal, which shows how powerful social media is.
The most interesting part of the study was the effects of completely stopping yourself from using Instagram. When participants were asked to stop their Instagram usage, but they could still receive notifications, the participants reported an increase in heart rate and skin conductance, which led to higher levels of anxiety, stress, and social media cravings. This shows that all these changes happen inside millions of people when they halt their activities on social media sites, and it also raises questions about how much effect social media sites have on us.
This discovery is comparable to what many psychologists refer to as “motivated attention,” which means an increase in focus on information that is informationally significant. Scrolling on Instagram feels so good because we get emotionally connected to the content. But when we stop this scrolling and our activity on Instagram, we undergo stressful conditions, and this produces a problematic cycle in individuals.
Image: DIW-Aigen
Read next: Want to Be Less Empathetic? Just Keep Phubbing
It was found that during the browsing phase, the participants experienced a decrease in their heart rate but an increase in skin conductance which indicated an increase in pleasurable arousal. This showed that the participants entered a distinctive mental state while also experiencing an increase in arousal, which shows how powerful social media is.
The most interesting part of the study was the effects of completely stopping yourself from using Instagram. When participants were asked to stop their Instagram usage, but they could still receive notifications, the participants reported an increase in heart rate and skin conductance, which led to higher levels of anxiety, stress, and social media cravings. This shows that all these changes happen inside millions of people when they halt their activities on social media sites, and it also raises questions about how much effect social media sites have on us.
This discovery is comparable to what many psychologists refer to as “motivated attention,” which means an increase in focus on information that is informationally significant. Scrolling on Instagram feels so good because we get emotionally connected to the content. But when we stop this scrolling and our activity on Instagram, we undergo stressful conditions, and this produces a problematic cycle in individuals.
Read next: Want to Be Less Empathetic? Just Keep Phubbing
