Facebook AddictionTop of Mind with Julie Rose • Season 1, Episode 51, Segment 6
Apr 28, 2015 • 23m
Guest: Ofir Turel, one of the co-authors of the recent study, "Examination of Neural Systems Sub-serving Facebook 'Addiction'." Dr. Turel is a Professor of Information Systems and Decision Sciences at the College of Business and Economics, California State University, Fullerton, and a Scholar in Residence at the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California
Psychologists in recent years have documented a condition called "Fear of Missing Out" that's made amplified by social media. That compulsion we used to feel only when the little pop up on our screen told us "You've got mail" is now a constant urge to see what's new on our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feeds.
Maybe you consider all this compulsive Facebooking a harmless distraction - at worst, a waste of time? But scientists at California State University, Fullerton have taken a look at the brain on Facebook and found that it looks a lot like brain on drugs.