Cell Phones are the New Cigarettes: How the Brain Reacts to App Notifications and Why They’re So Addictive

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Notifications, likes and infinite scrolling on networks are pleasurable, but affect impulse control. Digital addiction can lead to burnout disorders such as FOMO and Burnout. Understand why cell phone notifications addict the brain Checking notifications, likes and social media feed are already common habits for anyone who has a smartphone in hand. The simple sound of a notification can feel good, but at the same time affect our impulse control. And, just like cigarettes or other vices, constant cell phone use can also become a dependency. Share this news on Whatsapp Share this news on Telegram All this is a chemical process, which takes place inside our brain through dopamine. Stimulated by comments and likes, the neurotransmitter is released, causing pleasure and satisfaction. ⚠️ Alert: Only dopamine addicts. Checking your cell phone all the time, clicking on notifications, endlessly scrolling through timelines without looking for something specific, can generate a highly dangerous looping for your health. “The more the person comes into contact with these stimuli that cause quick and immediate rewards, the greater the tendency to increase the behavior. And then she starts to miss it when she’s not near her cell phone”, summarizes psychiatrist Julia Khoury, master and doctor in Molecular Medicine from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). In this report, you’ll learn more about: 🧠 How the brain reacts to notifications 📲 How digital addiction affects health 🧘 What to do to completely disconnect (or a little, at least) Digital addiction can lead to attention and exhaustion disorders Reproduction / TV Diary 1 – Notifications inside the brain Julia Khoury, who has a master’s and doctorate in digital addiction, says that the digital world is an inexhaustible source of quick stimuli, capable of giving us small doses of relief in face of real life. “People go in search of those quick stimuli that generate pleasure to get rid of bad feelings or to have small pleasures throughout the day”, says the psychiatrist. You may not realize it, but when you receive a message from “crush” or an unexpected compliment in a photo the posted, a neurotransmitter begins to run inside the brain: it is dopamine; Dopamine, then, moves to the central part of the brain and, when released there, immediately causes sensations such as pleasure and satisfaction in the person; But it also goes to the front of the brain. When released, it inhibits the functions of this region, called the prefrontal cortex and responsible for controlling impulses, moderating behavior and making decisions; With that, it can cause impulsiveness and affect the control of use – in this case, cell phone use. The process is the same in other types of addictions, such as gambling or drugs. “Smartphone addiction is caused by this kind of quick reward,” says the psychiatrist. “As we have quick stimuli on the cell phone, the brain no longer trains to concentrate for a longer time. And that decreases the ability to concentrate”, says Julia. How the brain reacts to contact with the cell phone Wagner Magalhães/Arte g1 2 – When digital addiction happens The smartphone is a slot machine, says psychologist Cristiano Nabuco. “On the machine, when you put the chips in, it gives you a lot of points at the beginning. From the moment you start playing longer, you start to lose”, he compares. “Your brain can also create a tolerance, and a vicious cycle begins to be installed. The objective of the notifications is to ‘train’ the user in a way that he can, deep down, become more and more connected”, explains the psychologist. An example is infinite scrolling: the habit of picking up the cell phone (without receiving any notification), opening an application and scrolling through the feed with the thumb, from bottom to top – mainly in moments of idleness and procrastination. “I will offering you, offering, offering, creating a looping effect where, at a given moment, you no longer have the notion of the time you’ve spent. The individual enters a condition of ecstasy, compulsively looking, without rationalizing”, says Nabuco. “This created a type of continuous stimulation, in which people’s mental health is not being observed”, says the psychologist. But how do I know if I am digitally dependent? According to psychiatrist Julia Khoury, one of the main signs of those who abuse technology ogy or are addicted to it is the FOMO syndrome. The word is an acronym in English for “fear of missing out”, which, translated into Portuguese, would be something like “fear of missing out”. FOMO: learn more about the fear of missing out syndrome The entire time a person receives a notification, it is an invitation to a ritual of regular checking, because they keep looking at the screen, especially when they receive a notification, for fear of missing out on things information that she considers important. The consequence is the development of anxiety symptoms and attention problems, which can evolve into more serious conditions, such as Burnout Syndrome, caused by mental exhaustion, or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). “The person feels overstimulated all the time, unable to rest”, explains the psychiatrist. “We have seen an increasing prevalence of people with difficulty concentrating”, she also says. LEARN MORE: Brazilians are the ones who spend the most time a day on their cell phones, says survey Burnout syndrome is recognized as an occupational disease Burnout: See the differences between the syndrome, stress and depression “What we have seen is a silent epidemic , where the search for that dopamine has become almost a worldwide disease, in which, the more I use the screens, the more a certain type of operation is recruited in my brain”, says Nabuco. 3 – What to do to “disconnect” (completely or not) For those who want to try to get away from their screens a bit, especially in their leisure time, or even escape digital dependence, experts give some tips: Seek balance : those who need to keep an eye on their cell phone due to their profession, for example, should be aware not only of the amount of use, but also of their relationship with the device; According to psychiatrist Julia Khoury, people who are at leisure, away from work, and cannot disconnect, have a greater risk of addiction than those who use it for a long time, but only when they are working; Establish boundaries between work and personal life: one of the alternatives is to concentrate the exchange of work messages on a different cell phone than the one used for personal purposes; Technology-free zones or digital detox challenges: with family or friends, establish environments or periods where the cell phone cannot be used, such as on a trip, for example; Offline life is also good: outdoor activities, physical exercise and sports, or meeting friends in the real world, away from the cell phone, are also allies. “A boss or a client sends you a message and you are at rest. Then he writes: ‘You don’t need to look now, it’s for when you get back’. This has already taken your mind off rest and taken you to work, because you stopped resting to remember a problem that, even if you don’t solve it at the time, you keep thinking about it”, says Julia. There is no problem using the screens: but you must be careful that access is not simultaneous to other platforms. This happens, for example, when you are focused on a task and stop everything to check a message received in applications. According to psychologist Cristiano Nabuco, the best thing is not to be interrupted. “It takes you 23 minutes to regain the same concentration level as before receiving the message.” Turn off notifications: in leisure time, it softens the effects of cell phone use; Enjoy idleness: it’s important to enjoy the moments idly, without the notification beeps. According to experts, the break – real and digital – is important to rest the mind, stimulate creativity and brain development. “We need downtime. Look at the window during a trip and not at the screen of a tablet”, says the psychologist. Research warns of damage when children and adolescents abuse time on cell phones and tablets

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