Feenin’ for Dopamine

 I mentioned The Social Dilemma in a previous blog and its assertion that social media uses the reward loop to stimulate dopamine.  That point continues to rattle around in my dopamine dependent brain when considering my own social platform use and our semester’s work with social media in learning design.  

Diving further into the dopamine relationship, I found an explainer article from Harvard that contained a compelling quote:

Although not as intense as hit of cocaine, positive social stimuli will similarly result in a release of dopamine, reinforcing whatever behavior preceded it. Cognitive neuroscientists have shown that rewarding social stimuli—laughing faces, positive recognition by our peers, messages from loved ones—activate the same dopaminergic reward pathways. Smartphones have provided us with a virtually unlimited supply of social stimuli, both positive and negative. Every notification, whether it’s a text message, a “like” on Instagram, or a Facebook notification, has the potential to be a positive social stimulus and dopamine influx.

We’re in cocaine and casino slot machine territory when we do it for the likes on Instagram.  Worse, even the potential for getting positive feedback can result in a “hit.”  

What does that mean for the movement toward social learning?  I and many others have proffered the concern that using social platforms that have an entertainment slant can make educational use still trivial - a descent into edutainment.  Now with dopamine manipulation, designers should consider…are we potentially making attention or pleasure addicts unwillingly by tying their learning to social interaction?

In the quote lies some of the ways we can counteract that pitfall.  All rewarding social stimuli is part of the dopamine loop.  Think about it - even though the social media platform is infinitely more accessible than a campus classroom, would the like from a tweet be more addicting than a high five or an appreciative nod from a peer in a live cohort?  So long as the same meters and parameters apply proportionally (learners spending equivalent energy and time interacting on platform as they would be in traditional learning) the benefits should outweigh the risks.  

Additionally, designers should consider personal responsibility in their considerations.  A learner could overuse any platform — traditional or social — and instructors and members of the learning community will continue to address it.  We’ve all endured the one student who is overeager to contribute to every discussion, live or in-person.  In the social space, instructions ultimately also have to check-in on how learners interact with each other and gently call in learners who should slow down.  Take a break.  Touch some grass, as the Internet kids are saying.  Using social media as the powerful tool it is means recognizing when too much can truly be a good thing.