Aitken Anna, Jounghani Ali Rahimpour, Carbonell Laura Moreno, Kumar Anupam, Crawford Seth, Bowden Audrey K, Hosseini S M Hadi
Computational Brain Research and Intervention (C-BRAIN) Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
These authors have equally contributed to this work.
Res Sq. 2024 Dec 23:rs.3.rs-5604862. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5604862/v1.
As of 2023, 69% of adults and 81% of teens in the U.S. use social media. This study explores the immediate effects of social media consumption on executive functioning (EF) and emotion in college students, using a wearable fNIRS system to monitor brain activity in a naturalistic setting. Twenty participants were assessed pre- and post-social media use through EF tasks and emotion questionnaires. Results revealed 55% of participants were classified as addicted, with an average Instagram usage of 5 hours per week. Following social media exposure, significant impairments were observed in tasks like n-back and Go/No-Go, alongside altered brain activity. Specifically, increased medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity indicated heightened cognitive effort and performance monitoring, while decreased dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) activity were associated with impaired working memory and response inhibition. Inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activity reductions correlated with difficulties in inhibiting motor responses to No-Go stimuli. Emotional changes were minimal, except for reduced happiness in the control group. These findings highlight the negative impact of social media on EF, emphasizing the need for interventions promoting healthier digital habits.
截至2023年，美国69%的成年人和81%的青少年使用社交媒体。本研究利用可穿戴式功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）系统在自然环境中监测大脑活动，探讨了社交媒体使用对大学生执行功能（EF）和情绪的即时影响。通过EF任务和情绪问卷对20名参与者在使用社交媒体前后进行了评估。结果显示，55%的参与者被归类为成瘾者，平均每周使用Instagram 5小时。接触社交媒体后，在n-back和Go/No-Go等任务中观察到显著的损伤，同时大脑活动也发生了改变。具体而言，内侧前额叶皮质（mPFC）活动增加表明认知努力和表现监测增强，而背外侧前额叶皮质（dlPFC）和腹外侧前额叶皮质（vlPFC）活动减少与工作记忆和反应抑制受损有关。额下回（IFG）活动减少与抑制对No-Go刺激的运动反应困难相关。情绪变化很小，对照组的幸福感有所降低除外。这些发现突出了社交媒体对EF的负面影响，强调了促进更健康数字习惯干预措施的必要性。
