Social media makes children insecure, study finds trends now
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Social media is reprogramming children's brains and creating a generation of thin-skinned adults, a study suggests.
Youngsters see regions in the brain that control feelings of reward and punishment become overreactive compared to their peers who are not always online.
Researchers say the changes indicate that social media-addicted kids will grow up to become 'hypersensitive' to feedback from others.
It comes amid concerns the pandemic has made more children than ever addicted to social media. A study last month suggested lockdowns damaged their ability to stand up straight because they spent so much time engrossed in technology.
Scientists warn that social media-addicted kids could grow up 'hypersensitive' to feedback from others (stock image)
Dr Eva Telzer, assistant professor in developmental psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-author of the study, said: 'Our findings suggest that checking behaviors on social media in early adolescence may tune the brain's sensitivity to potential social rewards and punishments.
'Individuals with habitual checking behaviors showed initial hypoactivation but increasing sensitivity to potential social cues over time.
'Those with non-habitual checking behaviors showed initial hyperactivation and decreasing sensitivity over time.'
The researchers studied 178 12-year-olds from three public middle schools in North Carolina, US.
Each participant reported how often they checked popular social media
