The Somatic Impact of Social Media on the Human Nervous System.

Want to know the best somatic tool I’ve found for regulating the nervous system? Hint -delete social media, at least off your phone, and minimize tech use if you can help it; which most of us cannot. 

Myself, taking a bold move of recently quitting Instagram for the year of 2026 to gain ground and create space in my life for something more nourishing and beneficial. I am excited to create my first blog on this topic- a subject of passion of mine in recent years.

This is an article created for exploration--leaning on the side of negative impacts. There is no nice neat little bow of solution at the end. I believe in resting in the unknown, as we embrace the unfolding. We don’t know where the future is headed. I conclude with possible suggestions of ways in which we can navigate in the now and do our best to balance on the tight rope of what our digital climate looks like. I created this article to spread awareness, and share personal experience and insights.

Becoming Aware of the Impacts

I know technologies are here to stay, and they have connected the world in ways that is both incredible and terrifying. I do not believe tech, its self is inherently destructive; I do believe it has great capacity to create expansive connection. I do think there is a way in which we can use the tool that is unifying and powerful. This involves first becoming aware of how not to use it, and the damages that current platforms cause to the brain and nervous system. Most major social apps are designed to with a profit over people objective. Meaning they are designed exploit our attention and energy rather than give us what it promises; connection, belonging, and sense of purpose. Paradoxically stripping us of this reality. I do find it extremely important to address the facts of how it effects our mental, physical, and emotional health. 

The following information is based both in independent study of other authors, articles, and documentaries on the topic; as well as direct personal experience. Being an avid meditator and somatic practitioner, I spend a lot of time tuning into my own body + nervous system, and cant help but notice the impacts it's had on me personally. I find it completely necessary to address as a major component to our collective “overstimulation” and burnout. 

This doesn't just affect our mental health-- it's multidimensional; physiological, social, psycho-spiritual, individual, and collective.

The Entrapment of Social Media

So what is so bad about social media? I am not going to go into the platforms entire timeline birth, lifespan, and life story. I want to stay focused on when and how it got its hooks in us so deeply and why we have become so dependent. With the release of books such as Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport- eyes were beginning to open to the negative effects of social media and particularly how it degraded our ability to focus. After the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma in 2020. Thousands became aware of the atrocities social media is creating in our societal structure. Highlighting the algorithmic behavior modification and psychological manipulation. We gasped, and our stomaches dropped. However, part of us was already possessed. Captured in little fragments and held inside its grip. 

As the terror of the Covid-19 Global Pandemic set in, for many this was our only means of connection to the outside, and we were able to connect to the whole world. The loneliness of isolation, the pressure to “stay informed,” coupled with addiction to atrocity kept our eyes glued to the screens until they burned. 

Additionally to the need to stay informed, there were other hooks that latched deep inside our psyche. Many lost their jobs, their sense of purpose, time management, and their loved ones. To numb the grief, mitigate the the uncertainty, and find purpose in a time where what we knew to be real began to collapse, the tech addiction, and the rise of influencer culture came with it; myself included.

There came a trend of displaying vulnerability online as means of authentically connecting, airing your deepest struggles for all to see so "we all felt less alone." This allowed a way to connect to others who felt the same, and to feel seen in our suffering. Political and social movements condensed with the emotional charge of the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Creating space for collective pain to been seen in a way like never before. There was a lot of exposure during this time that I wouldn't argue was inherently negative. Becoming aware of the hidden undercurrents of oppression was needed.

On the influencer end, it was more like the teen years of social media. The need to discover and express yourself online and in the collective. Discovering your values, what you stand for, and how you want to identify and present yourself to the world.

Where Identification with Digital Presence Goes Wrong.

There was a type of charge in the air, a polarity amongst individual's that carried a taste of violence and burning rubber. This was no longer about personal beliefs or opinions, or expression. It was Us Vs Them. There wasn't a physical civil war, but here was a war beginning in our consciousness. I don't know the ins and outs of the micro shifts in the algorithm but I am aware of ho I felt during that time. The echo chamber that was created to convince you that everyone and everything thought just like you. Became louder than ever. The human ego became increasingly fragile and the identification with who you were online became more important to then how you were to other human beings.

We lost respect for one another. You were either a woke, mask wearing pretentious asshole who didn't care about rights and freedom; or a redneck uneducated bigot who didn't care about other peoples lives. The mask somehow becoming a political statement rather than a health precaution. With all this othering suddenly the space that had opened up for vulnerability and authentic expression of pain became twisted and collapsed into a volatile space where eggs-shells were the ground for every conversation both on and offline.

As influencer culture became increasingly aggressive so did the rates of suicide of teens and young adults. The CDC recored suicide rates of individuals ages 10-24 increase from 6.8 deaths per 100,000 to 11.00 from years 2001-2021. OHSU Center for Women's Health reports eating disorders significantly increased from 3.4% to 7.8% of the world population between 2000-2018. After the pandemic the number of hotline calls to the National Eating Disorder Association raised 75% from the previous year. Teens and young adults still in the formative years of their identity were not just comparing themselves to the girl next door, they were given a platform of the entire world-- most of the images extremely cropped, snipped, and edited. One cannot argue that our mental health had been severely jeopardized. Our sense of self worth, identity, and belonging in the world began to truly crack.

The Effects on the Brain and Nervous System.

So how does this effect an individuals sense of safety and connection, let alone overall state of health?

We are social creatures and our health doesn't just depend on how attuned our caregivers are from ages 0-7. It also depends on the status of our current relationships.

Co-regulation is proven to be essential for a mammals health and survival.

To co-regulate means to merge with another's nervous system, creating mutual sense of warmth, safety, and connection with another being. It not only induces safety in the body, but it improves digestion, boosts immunity, increases sleep, and regulates hormone production. Additionally it gives us a sense that we matter and we belong.

So if most of our relating is done online, we lose this felt sense experience of human attunement and contact. Further more if the humans we are in physical contact with have screens glued to their face the whole time and when they look up their eyes are hollow empty stares, we lose this even more.

So what happens to our physiology when we feel disconnected from ourselves and our environment? What causes this fragmentation and feeling of being split and unable to engage with whats around us when we look at our phones?

Limbic Hijack

From the lens of the Polyvagal Theory. Developed by Dr. Stephen Porges; the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is primarily activated and controlled by the Vagus Nerve running from the brain stem connecting down in the several major organs, such as the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. According to Trauma Therapy Institute the Polyvagal Theory is broken down into five major components responsible for social engagement and emotional regulation.

1. Three part hierarchal model

2. -Ventral Vagal complex- promotes social engagement and feelings of calm. (safe and social)

   -Dorsal Vagal triggers shutdown and immobilization- freeze response.

   -Sympathetic Response- encourages fight or flight response.

3. Neuroception- term created by Proges defining how our bodies asses for risk in safety in our environment influencing our social interactions.

4. Social engagement system highlight how vocal and facial expression foster and influence the development of our social relations.

5. The Vagus nerve being a primary component in the influence of the parasympathetic response allowing our organs, to function properly, and our body to enter rest and digest state.

https://www.traumatherapistinstitute.com/blog/Engaging-Polyvagal-Theory-Exercises-PDF-Available#:~:text=Key%20concepts%20of,our%20emotional%20responses.

So when we are isolated and then the primary source of what we are engaging with is emotionally triggering, how do you think our nervous system responds? Sympathetic response or constant anxiety-- unable to sleep, digest, or truly rest activates as the threats feel constant. It's this OR dorsal vagal shut down, we become depressed, immobilized, and passively disengaged; leading to further isolation and social atrophy.

Further more when everyone we come across around us is mirroring one or the other state- when then sync up with the collective nervous system, becoming that ourselves.

Are the people we are around and ourselves capable of showing signs of genuine interest, engaged and active listening by asking questions, and mirroring our thoughts and body language? are we able to display body language and eye contact open, curios and receptive? After a major emotional social ride of passive consumption?

When reels were released in 2021 social media took this rollercoaster to a whole different level. Most all the content made was made to be click worthy. The more emotionally intense, the more likes, views, and the longer you would be pulled in. This content was specifically designed specially to invoke the limbic center of the brain. The limbic center is responsible for three key functions; emotional regulation, memory, and motivation.

https://www.nhnscr.org/blog/understanding-limbic-system-function-what-you-need-to-know/#:~:text=What%20are%20the,drive%20our%20behavior.

So imagine being exposed to thousands of vocal tones, facial expressions, and events meant to trigger these responses in the brain and nervous system constantly day in and day out with no rest.

How do you feel after 60 minutes of scroll?

I know I feel drained, exhausted, disconnected, and hardly able to focus on anything or anyone. My attention span shot, nothing gives me satisfaction and basic life tasks like doing the dishes or waiting in line at the grocery store feel excruciating. Sometimes I find my attention even being pulled away from my best friend or partner as they are talking, as my mind seeks desperately for more stimulation. Iv'e suffered with depression and anxiety my whole life just as much as the next millennial. I could quote and bring up numerous studies that prove this, but I have enough links and facts and this isn't a research paper. It 's a blog. I can say from direct experience the symptoms are consistently and starkly exacerbated by social media use. Another reason I quit. How can truly be present for friends, family, partner and clients?

The Effects of Short Form Content

What happens to the brain when exposed to this much stimulation?

Let's talk about dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is essential for feelings of pleasure and reward. MD Anna Lembke's highlights the significance of this chemical being the root of all addiction and the rise of our technology at the center of it in her book Dopamine Nation. https://www.annalembke.com/dopamine-nation

Speaking directly from my own experience, and I am aware I am very sensitive to stimulation. When I consume short form content I do experience the term described as "brain rot" or "soul rot." The mental fatigue and fog is real. I don't know about you but I don't want to feel as if I have alzheirmer's or dementia in my thirties.

How does our body somatically register the trauma of the current times?

So do you notice the sleep disturbance from the blue light hitting you eyes?

It's also from the anxiety accumulated from too much much too quick.

We aren't meant to be THIS connected. The mind needs time and space to rest and reset. Just as the cerebrospinal fluid cleans your brain, rest, allows our entire nervous system to reset.

Our body is innately intelligent and will signal us through its symptoms. The persistent headaches or migraines, the chronic pain and fatigue, the looping thoughts about not being good enough, the past, the future and the ever ending uncertainty.

Most of all it's signaling us to slow down and reconnect in a real, felt sense way. To feel the air on our skin, to see the sight of a sunset or our friends laughter and smile, to feel the warmth of our pets and loved ones. To taste our soup. These are the simple pleasures that signal safety to us, that so easily get drown in the noise.

What We Can Do.

Nothing, tech isn't going away. Like I said in the beginning I don't have an answer. What I do know is that you cannot force yourself to change something that is ultimately on some level keeping your nervous system in what it knows to be safe. Allow yourself space to be in the unraveling. Trying to take hold and control you impulses will only boomerang back. Allow this information to sink in and then let it integrate. The more we become aware, the more we are able to edge ourselves towards something that feels healthy. The truth is we have experienced collective trauma the past five years, and things just keep getting faster. We don't need to add another thing to do or not do to our list of what will make us right.

Notice, witness, and pause to observe the avalanche you are trying to outrun. Because what we have to recognize is our cell phone use is an adaptation of our nervous system to keep us safe. I know, it's contradictory, but this is actually how our bodies have learned safety. Just as you would in an abusive relationship. What we know and feels familiar is the static. Even if we are aware of the harms, forcing ourselves quickly to change overnight will never be a permeant cure for any addiction. It is more so a slow exposure of realizing safety outside the screens.

I have decided to take a year off instagram to see what space can open up for me. It's already excruciating and uncomfortable, I find myself filling the emptiness with manic creation and pursuits, Substack, Youtube, and this blog. Maybe it's better for now, we will see.

If you enjoyed this article please send me you feed back. A bit of experimentation here.

Sending good vibes.

-Olivia