By Ling

The Body on Social Media

We have all heard of the physical effects of social media through phone usage, such as sore eyes, headache, and bad posture. Apparently, however, the consequences of social media lie beyond that.

As of January 2022, it is reported that there is about 204,7 million Indonesian social media users, out of the population of about 275,77 million people1. Indonesia, noted as one of the countries with the most social media users, proves the advancement of internet in this dear motherland has been rapid. Unfortunately, while social media and the internet both serve a purpose in society, its health impacts have to be taken into caution.

All so familiar blues

It is no surprise that the use of social media is closely related to phone usage, implying an indirect correlation to sore eyes via long hours of social media. Based on a research done during the pandemic2, it was found that in fact increased screen exposure had a higher risk of eye strain. Although this was probably due to the necessity of e-learning and working from home back then, it is possible that rampant social media usage was another culprit as people needed alternative sources of entertainment3 4.

This may be due to the blue light exposure that comes with an extended screen time. This 415-455 nm length of shortwave light of the visible spectrum is one considered with a high energy5. Like anything else with high energy, this light can penetrate the eyes, thus causing symptoms like dry eyes, visual fatigue, worsened eyesight, and eye strain6.

How exactly it does this is by penetrating the cornea. It is suggested that blue light stimulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) which then causes oxidative stress in the cornea. This results in cell death and inflammation of the corneal epithelial cells, which then further stimulates cell death, clinically presenting itself as dry eyes7 8. The cornea has pain receptors9, so it is possible that these dry eyes also stimulate the feeling of soreness or pain in some people.

Penetrating the lens of the eyes, there have been hypotheses that blue light could contribute to cataract formation by increasing the production of a certain yellow protein-based pigment, which although protects the lens from blue light, turns it into a murky yellow10. Also again, there are suggestions of it stimulating reactive oxygen species (ROS) which stimulates oxidative stress11 12.

In the retina, although debatable, it was found in animal models that blue light damages the outer layer of the retina 13 14. This damage causes a release of proinflammatory factors which stimulate swelling and also damage the blood retinal barrier function, thus increasing blood flow into the retina, consequently for more inflammatory factors to access and further damage the retina15. This swelling might explain the eye discomfort some people experience.

You may have heard how blue light exposure is associated to poor sleep quality and so on. It is true that blue light has been shown to affect melatonin secretion in the pineal gland. The same melatonin that regulates cortisol expression and the circadian rhythm16 17 18. Too much of this light can inhibit melatonin secretion, which is detrimental for a good night's sleep because that is what makes eepy 19.

A decreased melatonin secretion is usually followed by a corticosteroid surge, which stimulates stress in some cases, and might be a part of what contributes to a worse sleep quality18. This also reduces parasympathetic activity, reducing tear secretion, causing dry eyes as a result. Although this dry eyes may also be due to the extended period of time leaving the eyes open from lack of sleep6.

Shrimp fried rice? A shrimp back fried my rice

Social media browsing is usually done on the phone by placing the device close to the waist or lap and lowering the head to have a view. And people would do this for an extended period of time sometimes, about an average of 145 minute per day worldwide by 202020. Doing that for a longer time, or daily, surely does no good for the body posture.

There are many causes of neck pain, although social media as a contributing factor can be seen in 24% of the adult population in the US, 20% in the European Union, 15% in Brazil and 12% in Russia21. Another study done in a sample of about 26,000 students found that about 72,3% reported an increase of neck and shoulder pain during the COVID-19 pandemic due to an extended use of electronic devices, although it is not directly implied whether social media usage is included22. Another research towards 2,000 Italian students before and after the lockdown found that about 43.5% reported neck pain and 33.5% experienced lower-back disease, however it was suggested that this was due to the reduction of physical activity during that period23.

Compared to report-based studies which can be faulty, some that decide to take on a more objective approach by using measurement devices also found similar results. One that measured the forward head posture based on craniovertebral angle (head to spine angle) and rounded shoulders based on the processes of the shoulder bones, found an increased forward head posture and rounded shoulders in extended periods of phone usage24 as people tend to bend their necks to look at smaller screens. Another one that implements parameters and machine-learning algorithm to determine cases of neck problems, confirmed that neck pain can be found in people with prolonged social media use25.

There have also been correlations of neck and back pain to headaches, although the relationship is unclear. There have been suggestions of pain sensitivity as a main contributing factor as people with tension-type headache or migraine seem to have lower pain thresholds and more feeling of tenderness26.

Brainrot and burnt synapses

There is this neurotransmitter called dopamine which functions for reward regulation in the brain, more precisely motivation, punishment and reward, mood, and attention as well as learning27. Surely, this thing is naturally only supposed to be released after rewarding activities such as working out, eating, interacting, sleeping, engaging in hobbies, and so on28. These things need effort, and the effort balances out the pleasure that comes afterwards. Apparently it can also come from the most simple things like cocaine, amphetamine, nicotine, and many more29, and scrolling through social media30.

The pleasure surpasses the toil of moving a few fingers and minimal cognitive activity. Easy feel good. And to feel more of that good, the body wants to do more of that activity. The brain will adjust its baseline towards the level of this dopamine over time as it grows more and more desensitized towards the same amount every time31. Meaning, to stimulate the same feeling, more amount of the same action has to be done to release more of the same substance in the brain.

What exactly is appealing about social media that makes it feel good to scroll through is its novelty31. When you post something, you don't know what reward you'll get: another like, another comment, or another repost. The same goes to scrolling, you don't know what you'll get: funny meme, cute kitty cat, pretty cosplayer girl, goofy ahh reels, someone texting you out of the blue, bro sending another reel - the possibilities are endless.

Unfortunately, unconstrained social media interaction has been correlated to lower dopamine synthesis ability32, and also a reduced ventral striatal gray matter volume33, one of the brain area in charge of dopamine release. This disruption of the natural reward system may be a contributing factor in social media addiction. This lowered dopamine synthesis is also coincidentally found in those with ADHD34. What that implies is up for interpretation but it is interesting.

It was also found that the neurological and psychiatric test results on active social media users show similar results to that of alcohol, cigarette and drug addicts, and that symptoms of depression, death and suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, loneliness and social isolation, were higher in Internet addicts. The researchers also suggested that this addiction problem was linked to dopamine and its major involvement in the reward regulation system35.

Immune system slayyy

People with decreased social media use were found to have an increased immunity of up to about 15%, although this was based on a research on the respondents' reports of experiencing less flue and cough in the timespan of decreased social media use during the span of 3 months36. It was hypothesized that users experienced less stress with less social media exposure, and its influence towards mental health possibly affected the respondents' motivation to also work out. Both decreased stress and more workout is what leads to a healthier body, in turn a stronger immune system37 38.

Another research that recorded the respondents' CRP also increased in those with more activity of social apps39. The same C-reactive protein (CRP) that experiences increase when the body detects inflammation and is involved in pathogen and dead cell removal of the body40. The cause of this heightened CRP is unclear but extended periods of a heightened CRP puts a person at risk of developing certain illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other degenerative diseases41 42 43 44. The body picks up this CRP as a need to release more inflammatory cells, in the process destroying everything because it thinks something is wrong45 46 47 when in reality none of the other cells really need any help or modification.

What do?

Social media is bad but we need it. Essentially, go outside, touch some grass, get some sunlight, go for a walk, lift the feels. Specifically, reduce your phone usage, set a timer if needed. Use some sort of glasses with blue light blocking if you think its causing you sore eyes. Give your eyes a break from time to time. Fix your posture if you think it's shrimpy. Do some stretches or workout. Find alternative methods of entertainment, I don't know, maybe books, movies, games, hobbies and so on, and if you grow that much aversion towards social media in this short span of time, you could use it only use for work in the future. There are many more useful tips than this out there.

Afterword

The industrial revolution and its consequences have indeed been a disaster for the human race48 but it is that climate that we are now unfortunately forced to inhabit and adapt to, as uninhabitable as it is. The human brain and its innovations evolved faster than the body could to the advancements our revolutions brought - at least I think that makes the most sense.



#liquor-cerebri #medicine

  1. Andi Dwi Riyanto (2022). Hootsuite (We are Social): Indonesian Digital Report 2022. [online] Andi.link. Available at: https://andi.link/hootsuite-we-are-social-indonesian-digital-report-2022/[Accessed 25 Jan. 2024].↩

  2. Bhattacharya, S., Saleem, S. and Singh, A. (2020). Digital eye strain in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: An emerging public health threat. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 68(8), p.1709. doi:https://doi.org/10.4103/ijo.ijo_1782_20.↩

  3. Pellegrini, M., Bernabei, F., Scorcia, V. and Giannaccare, G. (2020). May home confinement during the COVID-19 outbreak worsen the global burden of myopia? Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 258. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-020-04728-2.↩

  4. Wang, G., Zhang, Y., Zhao, J., Zhang, J. and Jiang, F. (2020). Mitigate the effects of home confinement on children during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lancet, [online] 395(10228), pp.945–947. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30547-X.↩

  5. Bi, W.M. and Sun, K. (2014). Light-induced retinal damage and potential benefits and side effects of blue light-filtering intraocular lens. Recent Advances in Ophthalmology, 34(2), pp.289–293.↩

  6. Zhao, Z.-C., Zhou, Y., Tan, G. and Li, J. (2018). Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes. International Journal of Ophthalmology, [online] 11(12). doi:https://doi.org/10.18240/ijo.2018.12.20.↩

  7. Zheng, Q., Ren, Y., Reinach, P.S., Xiao, B., Lu, H., Zhu, Y., Qu, J. and Chen, W. (2015). Reactive oxygen species activated NLRP3 inflammasomes initiate inflammation in hyperosmolarity stressed human corneal epithelial cells and environment-induced dry eye patients. Experimental Eye Research, 134, pp.133–140. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer.2015.02.013.↩

  8. Lee, H.S., Cui, L., Li, Y., Choi, J.S., Choi, J.-H., Li, Z., Kim, G.E., Choi, W. and Yoon, K.C. (2016). Influence of Light Emitting Diode-Derived Blue Light Overexposure on Mouse Ocular Surface. PLOS ONE, 11(8), p.e0161041. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161041.↩

  9. McKay, T.B., Yashar Seyed-Razavi, Ghezzi, C.E., Dieckmann, G., Nieland, T.J.F., Cairns, D.M., Pollard, R.E., Hamrah, P. and Kaplan, D.L. (2018). Corneal pain and experimental model development. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, [online] 71, pp.88–113. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.preteyeres.2018.11.005.↩

  10. Xue, L., Bo, Y.U. and Hong, X. (2003). The establishment of a rat model for experimental retinal photic injury and observation of pathological changes in the retina. Chinese Journal of Optometry & Ophthalmology, 5(1), pp.29–32.↩

  11. Xie, C., Li, X., Tong, J., Gu, Y. and Shen, Y. (2014). Effects of white light-emitting diode (LED) light exposure with different Correlated Color Temperatures (CCTs) on human lens epithelial cells in culture. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 90(4), p.n/a-n/a. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/php.12250.↩

  12. Babizhayev, M.A. (2011). Mitochondria induce oxidative stress, generation of reactive oxygen species and redox state unbalance of the eye lens leading to human cataract formation: disruption of redox lens organization by phospholipid hydroperoxides as a common basis for cataract. Cell Biochemistry and Function, 29(3), pp.183–206. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/cbf.1737.↩

  13. Geiger, P., Barben, M., Grimm, C. and Samardzija, M. (2015). Blue light-induced retinal lesions, intraretinal vascular leakage and edema formation in the all-cone mouse retina. Cell Death & Disease, 6(11), pp.e1985–e1985. doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2015.333.↩

  14. Jaadane, I., Villalpando Rodriguez, G.E., Boulenguez, P., Chahory, S., Carré, S., Savoldelli, M., Jonet, L., Behar-Cohen, F., Martinsons, C. and Torriglia, A. (2017). Effects of white light-emitting diode (LED) exposure on retinal pigment epitheliumin vivo. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, 21(12), pp.3453–3466. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.13255.↩

  15. Zhao, L., Ma, W., Fariss, R.N. and Wai Yeung Wong (2011). Minocycline Attenuates Photoreceptor Degeneration in a Mouse Model of Subretinal Hemorrhage. American Journal of Pathology, 179(3), pp.1265–1277. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.05.042.↩

  16. Münch, M., Nowozin, C., Regente, J., Bes, F., De Zeeuw, J., Hädel, S., Wahnschaffe, A. and Kunz, D. (2016). Blue-Enriched Morning Light as a Countermeasure to Light at the Wrong Time: Effects on Cognition, Sleepiness, Sleep, and Circadian Phase. Neuropsychobiology, [online] 74(4), pp.207–218. doi:https://doi.org/10.1159/000477093.↩

  17. Scheuermaier, K., Münch, M., Ronda, J.M. and Duffy, J.F. (2018). Improved cognitive morning performance in healthy older adults following blue-enriched light exposure on the previous evening. Behavioural brain research, [online] 348, pp.267–275. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2018.04.021.↩

  18. Gabel, V., Reichert, C.F., Maire, M., Schmidt, C., Schlangen, L.J.M., Kolodyazhniy, V., Garbazza, C., Cajochen, C. and Viola, A.U. (2017). Differential impact in young and older individuals of blue-enriched white light on circadian physiology and alertness during sustained wakefulness. Scientific Reports, 7(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07060-8.↩

  19. Costello, R.B., Lentino, C.V., Boyd, C.C., O’Connell, M.L., Crawford, C.C., Sprengel, M.L. and Deuster, P.A. (2014). The effectiveness of melatonin for promoting healthy sleep: a rapid evidence assessment of the literature. Nutrition Journal, [online] 13(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-13-106.↩

  20. Dixon, S.J. (2024). Daily social media usage worldwide. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/#statisticContainer.↩

  21. Widmer, R.J., Mandrekar, J., Ward, A., Aase, L.A., Lanier, W.L., Timimi, F.K. and Gerber, T.C. (2019). Effect of Promotion via Social Media on Access of Articles in an Academic Medical Journal: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, [online] 94(10), pp.1546–1553. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000002811.↩

  22. Otaibi, B.D.A., Alamri, R.D., Alzahrani, M.A., Albalawi, R.M., Alzhrani, K.A. and Alzahrani, K.T. (2021). Neck Pain among Medical Students during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Questionnaire Based Study. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International, 33(50B), pp.178–184.↩

  23. Roggio, F., Trovato, B., Ravalli, S., Di Rosa, M., Maugeri, G., Bianco, A., Palma, A. and Musumeci, G. (2021). One Year of COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: Effect of Sedentary Behavior on Physical Activity Levels and Musculoskeletal Pain among University Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), p.8680. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168680.↩

  24. Jung, S.I., Lee, N.K., Kang, K.W., Kim, K. and Lee, D.Y. (2016). The effect of smartphone usage time on posture and respiratory function. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 28(1), pp.186–189. doi:https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.28.186.↩

  25. Al-Naami, B., Badr, B.E.A., Rawash, Y.Z., Owida, H.A., De Fazio, R. and Visconti, P. (2023). Social Media Devices’ Influence on User Neck Pain during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Collaborating Vertebral-GLCM Extracted Features with a Decision Tree. Journal of Imaging, 9(1), p.14. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/jimaging9010014.↩

  26. Al-Khazali, H.M., Lotte Skytte Krøll, HÃ¥kan Ashina, Melo-Carrillo, A., Burstein, R., Faisal Mohammad Amin and Sait Ashina (2023). Neck pain and headache: Pathophysiology, treatments and future directions. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 66, pp.102804–102804. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msksp.2023.102804.↩

  27. Calabresi, P., Picconi, B., Tozzi, A. and Di Filippo, M. (2007). Dopamine-mediated regulation of corticostriatal synaptic plasticity. Trends in Neurosciences, 30(5), pp.211–219. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2007.03.001.↩

  28. Julson, E. (2018). 10 Best Ways to Increase Dopamine Levels Naturally. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-increase-dopamine.↩

  29. US Department of Health and Human Services (2016). THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF SUBSTANCE USE, MISUSE, AND ADDICTION. [online] Nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK424849/.↩

  30. Goldman, B. (2021). Addictive potential of social media, explained. [online] Scope. Available at: https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2021/10/29/addictive-potential-of-social-media-explained/.↩

  31. Lembke, A. (2021). Dopamine Nation : Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence. New York: Penguin Publishing Group.↩

  32. Westbrook, A., Ghosh, A., van den Bosch, R., Määttä, J.I., Hofmans, L. and Cools, R. (2021). Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity reflects smartphone social activity. iScience, 24(5), p.102497. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102497.↩

  33. Montag, C., Zhao, Z., Sindermann, C., Xu, L., Fu, M., Li, J., Zheng, X., Li, K., Kendrick, K.M., Dai, J. and Becker, B. (2018). Internet Communication Disorder and the structure of the human brain: initial insights on WeChat addiction. Scientific Reports, 8(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19904-y.↩

  34. Ludolph, A.G., Kassubek, J., Schmeck, K., Glaser, C., Wunderlich, A., Buck, A.K., Reske, S.N., Fegert, J.M. and Mottaghy, F.M. (2008). Dopaminergic dysfunction in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), differences between pharmacologically treated and never treated young adults: A 3,4-dihdroxy-6-[18F]fluorophenyl-l-alanine PET study. NeuroImage, 41(3), pp.718–727. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.02.025.↩

  35. Macit, H.B., Macit, G. and Güngör, O. (2018). A research on social media addiction and dopamine driven feedback. Journal of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Economics and Administrative Sciences Faculty, [online] 5(3), pp.882–897. doi:https://doi.org/10.30798/makuiibf.435845.↩

  36. Reed, P., Fowkes, T. and Khela, M. (2023). Reduction in Social Media Usage Produces Improvements in Physical Health and Wellbeing: an RCT. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 8, pp.140–147. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-023-00304-7.↩

  37. Nieman, D.C. and Wentz, L.M. (2019). The compelling link between physical activity and the body’s defense system. Journal of Sport and Health Science, [online] 8(3), pp.201–217. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2018.09.009.↩

  38. Dhabhar, F.S. (2014). Effects of Stress on Immune Function: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful. Immunologic Research, [online] 58(2-3), pp.193–210. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12026-014-8517-0.↩

  39. Lee, D.S., Jiang, T., Crocker, J. and Way, B.M. (2022). Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 25(2). doi:https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.0188.↩

  40. Du Clos, T.W. (2000). Function of C-reactive protein. Annals of Medicine, 32(4), pp.274–278. doi:https://doi.org/10.3109/07853890009011772.↩

  41. Poole, E.M., Lee, I-Min., Ridker, P.M., Buring, J.E., Hankinson, S.E. and Tworoger, S.S. (2013). A Prospective Study of Circulating C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin-6, and Tumor Necrosis Factor α Receptor 2 Levels and Risk of Ovarian Cancer. American Journal of Epidemiology, 178(8), pp.1256–1264. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwt098.↩

  42. Trichopoulos, D. (2006). Plasma C-Reactive Protein and Risk of Cancer: A Prospective Study from Greece. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, [online] 15(2), pp.381–384. doi:https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-05-0626.↩

  43. Edward T.H. Yeh (2005). A New Perspective on the Biology of C-Reactive Protein. Circulation Research, 97(7). doi:https://doi.org/10.1161/01.res.0000186188.38344.13.↩

  44. Pradhan, A.D. (2001). C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin 6, and Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. JAMA, [online] 286(3), p.327. doi:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.286.3.327.↩

  45. Muresan, S. and Slevin, M. (2024). C-reactive Protein: An Inflammatory Biomarker and a Predictor of Neurodegenerative Disease in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease? Cureus, [online] 16(4), p.e59009. doi:https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.59009.↩

  46. Banait, T., Wanjari, A., Danade, V., Banait, S. and Jain, J. (2022). Role of High-Sensitivity C-reactive Protein (Hs-CRP) in Non-communicable Diseases: A Review. Cureus, 14(10). doi:https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.30225.↩

  47. Sawada, H., Oeda, T., Umemura, A., Tomita, S., Kohsaka, M., Park, K., Yamamoto, K. and Sugiyama, H. (2015). Baseline C-Reactive Protein Levels and Life Prognosis in Parkinson Disease. PLOS ONE, 10(7), p.e0134118. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134118.↩

  48. Kaczynski, T. (1995). Industrial Society and Its Future. [online] Available at: https://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/materials/Industrial%20Society%20and%20Its%20Future.pdf.↩

#liquor-cerebri #medicine