People are fond of talking about social media use as an " addiction ," and even describe the process of weaning ourselves off using it as " withdrawal ." Research does suggest that social media use can produce a dopamine release in the brain's reward centers, and that it is particularly appealing for people (a) who have a generally less organized approach to life [low "conscientiousness" personality trait], and/or (b) have higher than normal levels of narcissism. Extroverts and introverts can both be heavy social media users, although for different reasons: Extroverts do it to enhance their self-perception or their own reputation, while introverts do it to compensate for difficulty connecting with people in other ways. Excessive social media use does have some documented negative effects, particularly for adolescents in terms of sleep deprivation, impaired academic performance, and increased suicidal ideation or behavior. High levels of social media
The corpus callosum is a thick bundle of neural fibers that runs down the middle of the cortex, at the bottom of the longitudinal fissure (the long fold in the brain that divides its two hemispheres). Because of the longitudinal fissure, signal traffic between the left and right side of the cortex is limited. The corpus callosum is the superhighway through which most of that traffic flows. Signals can still get from one place to another using side routes, of course, again much like a road system. But it's a lot slower and less efficient to go the long way around, and fewer signals can make it through that way. Note that only the brain's cerebral cortex is divided in this way -- the "gray matter" that forms the outside of the brain, and where we like to think that our "higher thinking" resides. The "white matter" on the inside of the brain doesn't have the same left/right dichotomy, only the cortex does. You might recall that I argue for a