Science tries to explain Twitter addiction

Social networks as a whole are accused of addictive users. It will be no different with Twitter, which receives around 400 million visitors per month. The numbers are impressive because this social network has an average of 1 billion tweets a About every five days. The current record is 8900 tweets per second. All this can go through the schedule of many users. It was the thought of these unusual numbers that the researchers decided to conduct a more in-depth study. So science tries to explain Twitter addiction from these records.

These scientists from the University of Winchester, UK, conducted the research based on observing the behavior of ten Twitter users. They decided to prevent these people from accessing and using this social network for four weeks. The result was not the best. According to the researchers, the users studied ended up distancing themselves from their family and friends based on feeling “isolated from the world”.

Science tries to explain Twitter addiction

The work was conducted by psychologist David Giles. He then pointed out that most users who are addicted simply play a perfectly social role. Also, there is another factor. There are many people who feel compelled to have a social network as if it were necessary to exist and define their place on this planet. So it is as if their lives have no meaning except through the use of social media.

According to this study, social networks operate on the same process as reward-based learning. This is one of the oldest processes known to mankind. It mainly consists of offering positive and negative reinforcements, as appropriate. So it is precisely these reinforcements that create Twitter addiction. At least that was the explanation given by Dr. Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist and specialist in mental addiction, at a conference on the topic.

How does it work for such a bonus

Action, behavior and reward. This is exactly how Twitter builds its social algorithm in a process that relies on natural rewards. Thus, addiction arises in this social network because it is directly related to Dopamine release in the user’s brain. As if accepting others through your tweets is the mechanism of acceptance by the rest of the community. Users are satisfied with the complete acceptance of their friends, acquaintances and family members, even with the issue of physical distance.

via Five news