Yann Poncin, child psychiatrist, on how social media algorithms cause addiction: “that novelty is what keeps you there”
Social media algorithms are designed to keep you scrolling endlessly sapping attention but one artist’s TikTok videos are helping people reset their brains.
You don’t have to look far to see how effective social media algorithms are at getting people hooked. Just about everywhere you go you’ll see people just staring at their screens, walking down the street, on public transport, or having a coffee or a bite to eat.
“The algorithm is created in a way that it does feed you novel information, and that novelty is what keeps you there,” says Yann Poncin, a child psychiatrist and Yale School of Medicine professor speaking to USA TODAY. He explains that this addiction to our smartphones is caused by a rewiring of the brain seeking its natural feel-good hormone.
“If we over expose ourselves to these sort of easy dopamine hits, cheap dopamine hits when we’re younger, then we’re resetting our homeostasis where we can only feel good by having access to these items,” Poncin explains.
This endlessly scrolling is sapping our attention spans, keeping us constantly distracted and interrupting other tasks with new notifications. However, one Los Angeles-based artist is posting content on TikTok to help people reset and rewire their brains which is going viral.
Zendoodling videos provide attention rehab
Lizi Phoenix has over a half a million followers on her TikTok page where she posts videos that break the platform’s mold of ultra-short content. Viewers follow her brush strokes as she creates ‘zendoodles’ and ‘zentangles’ for upwards of eight minutes, but for them it seems like just a brief spell during which they are entranced.
Phoenix can relate to her viewers telling USA TODAY: “I’m someone who has lots of tabs open in my mind all the time, which is helpful, but it can be really, really draining. I see the zentangles as a moment where I’m able to recharge.”
“I kind of envision a bubble around myself, and while I’m zentangling, this is my safe space to work,” she adds. “I always say that being present is just as beneficial as being productive.”
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