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AMERICAN
<br /> V AM PSY'CN^ OLOGICA
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<br /> There also is evidence that these features of social media may promote a psychological
<br /> affinity for dangerous and risk-taking behavior. For instance, a study of young high school
<br /> students revealed that adolescents' exposure to "liked" posts depicting alcohol use was associated
<br /> with changes in teens' perceptions of their peers' acceptance of alcohol use,which in turn predicted
<br /> these same teens' early engagement in heavy episodic drinking(i.e.,five or more drinks on a single
<br /> occasion) 12. Related research has demonstrated that individuals are more likely to "like" a post
<br /> that they see others have "liked" before them, and this may increase the likelihood of exposure to
<br /> similarly themed-posts,via AI-derived algorithms 13. These findings illustrate clear and powerful
<br /> ways that the features embedded in social media platforms may have an important and highly
<br /> concerning effect on youth mental health. Note, it is also possible that these same processes can
<br /> be used to influence peers towards positive behaviors; however, this has not been adequately
<br /> investigated.
<br /> Risks for Addictive Social Media Use. Youths' biological vulnerabilities also have
<br /> significant implications for "problematic social media use" or addictive behaviors; note that the
<br /> regions of the brain activated by social media use overlap considerably with the regions involved
<br /> in addictions to illegal and dangerous substances 14. As noted above, the developing brain is built
<br /> to increase a desire for social rewards (that social media delivers abundantly), without the ability
<br /> to show the capacities of inhibition and restraint capable among adults. This suggests that youth
<br /> may be at risk for extraordinarily frequent uses of social media. Several bodies of research reveal
<br /> that this indeed may be a very significant concern. For instance, data suggest that almost half of
<br /> 12 Nesi J,Rothenberg WA,Hussong AM,Jackson KM.Friends' Alcohol-Related Social Networking Site Activity
<br /> Predicts Escalations in Adolescent Drinking: Mediation by Peer Norms. J Adolesc Health. 2017;60(6):641-647.
<br /> doi:10.1016/j.j adohealth.2017.01.009.
<br /> 13 Egebark J,Ekstrom M.Liking what others"Like":using Facebook to identify determinants of conformity. Exp
<br /> Econ. 2017;21(4):1-22. doi:10.1007/s10683-017-9552-1.
<br /> 14 De-Sola Gutierrez,J.,Rodriguez de Fonseca,F.,&Rubio,G. (2016). Cell-Phone Addiction:A Review. Frontiers
<br /> in Psychiatry, 7(175) it��ias.:.//Lhrl c4rs?,/�Q)_338° /l�)sy,t,,,20J6 Q,Oi 75, Griffiths,M. D.,Kuss,D. J., &Demetrovics,Z.
<br /> (2014). Social networking addiction:An overview of preliminary findings.In K.P. Rosenberg&L. Curtiss Feder
<br /> (Eds.),Behavioral addictions: Criteria, evidence,and treatment(pp. 119-141). Elsevier Academic Press.
<br /> it��ias„ d i 21sg/M 0�6/11078 0 i 2 407724 9.00006 1.);Kirby,B.,Dapore,A.,Ash, C.,Malley,K., &West,R.
<br /> (2020). Smartphone pathology, agency and reward processing. Lecture Notes in Information Systems and
<br /> Organisation,321-329 it��;C.. //Llc4i_.r..Pj 0.i 007/078 3 030 60073 0 7..
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