Online habits rewire our emotional regulation and reward circuits (dopamine and gratification) in three ways:
- Comparison, and our natural wiring for “social ranking” which, in itself already feeds our status anxiety. Coupled with the Internet, this wiring is intensified, as far as altering how we perceive our own success.
- Passive influence, wherein our brain processes, logs and absorbs all the information, messaging and content we take in, even if we think we are only mindlessly or inattentively consuming. This eventually shapes our decision making and belief systems. (Yes, exactly how propaganda and disinformation campaigns work.)
- Increased emotional reactivity and volatility, wherein we react faster, harsher and with less control.