The internet: whether someone loves it or hates it, teenagers' lives seem to revolve around it. According to a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2024, 96% of teenagers report using the internet on a daily basis. The study also reported that YouTube was the most widely used and visited platform, with 73% of teens visiting YouTube Daily. These statistics do not exactly correspond with data collected from The Bullhorn’s most recent survey that included 42 Léman students, since only 35.7% of those who responded to the survey commonly used YouTube. But 69% of Léman students who responded commonly used TikTok. Other commonly used platforms included iMessages (66.7%) Instagram (61.9%), Spotify (61.9%), Snapchat (50%) and WhatsApp (23.8%). Primarily, students use their phones for social media (38.1%), communication via text messages (26.2%), listening to music (21.4%), and entertainment such as watching television shows (7.1%). Although this survey does provide some data on how the school community uses technology in general, this data could be a bit inaccurate since only 42 students responded which is a small amount when compared to how many students attend school.
As seen through the data, the main use of students' phones is social media which can be useful for staying up to date with friends, celebrities, and family members. But scientifically, the brain is rewarded when social media apps are used since you are seeing what you want to see. This reward is seen in the activation of the dopaminergic pathway, which is a pathway that is controlled by the response or release of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Besides its involvement as a part of the body’s reward system, dopamine is also involved in attention, mood, learning, kidney function, blood vessel function, processing pain, sleep behavior, and cognition. This system is essential for our survival since we are rewarded for performing actions that allow us to survive, such as eating food or drinking water. Dopamine is produced at the base of the brain during a series of reactions which are controlled by enzymes. First, the amino acid tyrosine is converted into the amino acid L-dopa. Secondly, L-dopa is converted to dopamine. Overall, dopamine plays a crucial role in keeping us alive by rewarding us for actions that further our survival which goes past drinking beverages and eating food. One of these actions that our body can reward itself is by scrolling through social media because the content that one reads is showing them what they want to see and acts like a reward.
According to Léman’s IB Psychology teacher, Mr. Sotelo, “When we’re scrolling, and looking at these stories on Instagram or Tiktok…we get a constant rush of dopamine, so we’re constantly feeling this reward in our brains that can be very addictive, but that can also come with downside of dependency and a lack of motivation from other types of activities or experiences.” This dopamine rush from social media can impact adolescents’ mental health, including brain development, dopaminergic pathways, and overall quality of sleep.
Social media use can impact the dopaminergic pathways and can result in the pathway being more sensitive to the amount of dopamine that is needed to feel pleasure which requires an increased amount of stimulation to feel reward. Social media can feel addictive because as the dopaminergic pathway is used, the brain is removing other neurons, also known as pruning, which although it allows for making the pathway function faster it also impacts really important processes in the brain. This can impact processes in the brain controlled by the amygdala and the nucleus accumbens which will impact how emotions are controlled and how decisions are made, respectively.
However, an increased screen time doesn't just affect the brain’s dopaminergic pathways, it can also effect’s one’s sleep quality. A teenager's quality of sleep is incredibly important since one’s teenage years are of the most critical periods for a range of aspects of development such as physical, mental, emotional, social, and one’s own identity. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), a teenager needs 8-10 hours, sometimes up to 11 hours of sleep. But no matter a person’s age, their sleep is controlled by their circadian rhythm.
The circadian rhythm is the human body’s internal clock that follows a 24 hour day. The rhythm affects processes of the body, including hormones in the endocrine system and the digestive system. The rhythm lies in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is a cluster of cells found in the hypothalamus. The rhythm is set naturally with assistance from the brain so it can communicate with the body on when to be awake and when to be asleep. The SCN plays an important role in the rhythm since the genes in those cells send signals to control activity in the body and is influenced by light. For instance, when light enters the eye, the cells in the eye send a message to the brain that it can stop producing melatonin which allows for a person to begin their day. As children grow into teenagers, their circadian rhythm shifts. Therefore, instead of a child going to bed earlier, maybe around 8pm or 9pm, a teenager will probably go to bed around 10pm or 11pm.
Although teenagers are recommended to get 8-10 hours of sleep per night, a poll from 2024 done by the NSF shows that teens are nearly half as likely to get the recommended amount of sleep on school nights when compared to weekends. The study also reports that teens are over 3 times as likely to be dissatisfied with the amount of sleep they get on school nights when compared to the weekends. These statistics, although they do not directly correlate/correspond with data collected from The Bullhorn survey conducted in March 2025, are still significant when considering that 72.5% of a portion of the 42 Leman students who responded to the survey, feel that technology has an impact on their quality of sleep.
Besides an impact on the circadian rhythm, technology can also impact sleep quality because of how blue light is emitted. Blue light is a part of the visible light spectrum and is found in the 380 to 500 nanometer range. There are a range of sources that emit blue light but the biggest source is sunlight. Other sources of blue light are artificial and come from many of our technological devices. Sources of artificial blue light include fluorescent lights, LED lights, smartphones, televisions, computer screens and monitors, tablets, E-readers, alongside video games. Although the blue light exposure from screens is a small amount, human eyes are the best at blocking this light so almost all of it passes through the front of the eye where it then reaches the retina, which are cells that convert light for the brain to process what you are actually seeing. Over time, constant blue light exposure could damage retinal cells and cause vision problems.
Although blue light does surround us constantly which could cause vision problems over time, it does play a huge role in keeping us alert since it stimulates parts of the brain that elevate body temperature and heart rate. Therefore, exposure to screens that emit blue light during the night, can disrupt one’s sleep pattern and circadian rhythm since it affects when the body produces melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that plays a large role in sleep and overall control of the circadian rhythm by making people feel drowsy. The production and release of melatonin is controlled by the time of day. Therefore, melatonin production and release is increased in the dark but decreased in the light. When one exposes themselves to blue light in the evening, that tricks the brain into thinking that it’s still daytime. This disrupts the circadian rhythm and leaves people feeling alert instead of tired which then inhibits their ability to go to sleep.
As previously mentioned, increased screen time and social media use over a long duration of time can be dangerous and harmful for teenagers. These dangers were addressed by New York City mayor Eric Adams in this third state of the city address. Mayor Adams stated:
Companies like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook are fueling a mental health crisis by designing their platforms with addictive and dangerous features. We cannot stand by and let big tech monetize our children's privacy and jeopardize their mental health. That's why today, Dr. Ashwin Vasan is issuing a Health Commissioner Advisory, officially designating social media as a public health crisis hazard in New York City
This marks New York City as the first city to declare an advisory that deems social media as a public health crisis.
If, after reading this article, you are concerned about the implications of how you use your phone and how that affects your brain, there are many useful tips that you can choose to implement. But let’s be clear here: it is impossible to completely detach yourself from technology because a majority of tasks in the world around us are controlled by a screen. Luckily, I believe it is possible to achieve a balance between both analog and digital tasks.
Author – Recommended:
Using 5 to ten minute breaks to do other activities – socializing with friends or your teach, drawing, or reading a book
Using lunch to socialize with friends
Have meals without screens
Be more present with others
Let your mind wander
Avoid using screens that emit blue light before bed
From Mr. Sotelo:
Limit screen time
Turn off notifications
Make lunch a screen free zone
Look for more face to face interactions
Engage in hobbies that do not require a phone (ex: art, playing sports, taking walks)
At the end of the day, it’s important to consider that, as Mr. Sotelo said, “Everything can have positive effects, but it depends on the use we give it and I think setting boundaries is important in being aware of the downsides as well.”