By Jeremiah McKinney
North Cobb High School

A single notification. A quick glance at a phone. A few minutes spent scrolling through a social media feed. For millions of people, this routine seems harmless, yet it often turns into hours of continuous engagement. Social media has become deeply integrated into modern life, transforming the way people communicate, consume information and interact with the world around them. However, researchers have increasingly begun to question whether these platforms are simply tools for connection or systems deliberately designed to capture and maintain users’ attention. As rates of social media use continue to rise, scientists are examining the psychological and neurological mechanisms behind this behavior, revealing striking similarities between excessive social media use and other forms of addiction. Understanding the science behind social media addiction is essential for recognizing its effects on mental health, behavior and daily life.

“We’re all vulnerable to social approval,” said Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, in an interview with Big Think. Harris argues that social media platforms are intentionally designed to take advantage of basic human psychology, particularly the desire for connection, validation and acceptance. According to the Cleveland Clinic, social media interactions can trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure and reward. Each like, comment and notification provides a small sense of satisfaction, encouraging users to repeatedly return to their devices. The Cleveland Clinic also notes that these rewards can become habit-forming because they are unpredictable, resembling the reward systems commonly associated with gambling. Rather than simply serving as tools for communication, social media platforms have evolved into systems that continuously compete for users’ attention. As a result, what begins as casual social media use can gradually develop into compulsive behavior that many users struggle to recognize and control.

The consequences of social media addiction extend far beyond excessive screen time. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), heavy social media use has been associated with increased levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness among adolescents and young adults. Researchers suggest that constant exposure to carefully curated online content can encourage unhealthy comparisons and negatively affect self-esteem. These findings were reflected in interviews conducted with North Cobb High School senior Lidia Sidorova. When asked about a time she realized social media was affecting her life more than it should, Sidorova recalled the COVID-19 pandemic and the feelings of exclusion that came from constantly viewing the lives of others online.

“I knew that social media shouldn’t be making me feel bad,” Sidorova said.

Social media addiction can also affect students’ ability to focus and succeed academically. According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine, excessive social media use has been linked to decreased attention spans, lower academic performance and increased procrastination among students. The constant stream of notifications, videos and online interactions can make it difficult for users to maintain focus on schoolwork for extended periods of time. This concern was echoed by North Cobb High School senior Sebastian Zambrano, who said his frequent use of short-form content on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels contributed to a decrease in his attention span. When asked whether social media helps or hurts academic performance, Zambrano said it primarily hurts students because of how distracting it can be. While social media can provide educational resources and opportunities for communication, research suggests that excessive use often interferes with concentration and productivity, making it more difficult for students to perform at their full potential.

Despite the risks associated with excessive social media use, many researchers acknowledge that social media is not entirely harmful. According to the Pew Research Center, social media allows users to maintain relationships, access information and connect with communities they may not otherwise encounter. The impact of social media often depends on how it is used and the amount of time spent on these platforms. This perspective was shared by Sidorova once again, who said social media can have both positive and negative effects on mental health and academic performance depending on how it is used. While social media can provide opportunities for communication, creativity and learning, experts warn that problems arise when usage becomes excessive and begins to interfere with daily responsibilities, relationships and overall well-being. Understanding this balance is essential when examining the growing concern surrounding social media addiction.

As social media continues to play an increasingly important role in everyday life, understanding the science behind its addictive nature has become more important than ever. Research from organizations such as the Cleveland Clinic, the American Psychological Association and the National Library of Medicine suggests that social media platforms can influence the brain’s reward system, affect mental health and impact academic performance. The experiences shared by Lidia Sidorova and Sebastian Zambrano further demonstrate that the effects of social media addiction are not limited to research studies but are evident in the lives of students who use these platforms daily.

Although social media has transformed the way people communicate, learn and share information, its addictive nature cannot be ignored. The research demonstrates that social media platforms are designed to capture attention by appealing to the brain’s reward system, while the experiences of students such as Sidorova and Zambrano highlight the real-world effects these platforms can have on mental health, attention spans and daily life.

As social media continues to evolve, users must become more aware of how these platforms influence their behavior and develop healthy habits that promote balance rather than dependence. Understanding the science behind social media addiction is not simply about limiting screen time. It is about recognizing how technology affects human behavior and ensuring that people remain in control of the platforms they use, rather than allowing those platforms to control them.

By Kirsten Jolly
New Manchester High School

What makes a strong relationship? Perhaps mutual respect, affection or trust? What about whether you have ever met them in person? Or whether they are a person at all?

According to research from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), nearly 1 in 5 high school students either know someone who has, or have themselves been in a relationship with artificial intelligence.

As it seems, relationships are evolving. Not just in the way that they develop, but also in the way they are perceived and defined.

As technology advances, many are turning towards new avenues for romantic (and platonic) fulfillment. They are instead becoming more interested in exploring relationships through social media or Large Language Models (LLM) rather than pursuing interpersonal connections.

While responses to this information are polarizing, it does raise questions as to why many are feeling the need to turn to alternative solutions. In addition, what long-term effects will be inflicted upon society if these practices become normalized?

This future, filled with the normalization of AI relationships, is not as far away as it seems. Local high school student, Uriana Powell, recognizes differences in behavior in peers after they begin using AI. They consult LLM’s like ChatGPT to solve relationship problems, speak for them conversationally or for emotional support. Powell comments, “I mean, I love all my friends, but I do encourage her to be herself. Humans are way more creative than AI…we are unique in our own way,”.

So, why exactly is the youth being impacted in this way? As reported by The American Psychological Association, “Humans are hardwired to anthropomorphize, or ascribe human traits to nonhuman objects. Digital companions are purposely designed to evoke such a response…”. This outlines the possibility that the emotional bond produced between humans and Large Language Models is largely due to the intentional manufacturing of the AI chatbots, and not the fault of those affected.

Contrary to the development of AI companionship being relatively new, the integration of social media interaction has been around for a few decades, but has increasingly gotten worse. As stated in National Library of Medicine, “Social media, integral to contemporary life, offers significant connectivity and entertainment benefits… [it has] given rise to social media addiction, particularly among teenagers, characterized by excessive screen time, compulsive checking, and detrimental effects on real-life relationships…”

In conversation with high school student, Fiona McGaraghan, she spoke a bit about how she faced real F.O.M.O due to social media, “Fear of missing out is a big one, just seeing posts of other friends doing stuff, and wishing I was there.”

McGaraghan continues, “Social media, both using it, and the culture around it has had a negative impact because it feels like people are centered around it in terms of social behavior.” Later, McGaraghan recounted feeling excluded more often, due to her being able to actively see things she was missing out on online, not just conversations, but entire shared experiences.

While the technological integration of society is not entirely negative, the perception is that the way it negatively impacts others outweighs the way it positively impacts them. Sam Crumly, high school student, stated that he noticed clear differences in his behavior after using tools like social media and generative AI; specifically he noticed that the content he was receiving was largely tuned to him and his opinion so he felt as though he wasn’t being as intellectually challenged.

Crumly stated, “I understand that most of the stuff I am looking at is skewed to the way I would like to hear it, and my perspective…it just kind of numbs my brain a little bit.”

In reference to romantic relationships or situations, Crumly mentions that he felt a bit negatively impacted due to the use of LLM’s. “I think I asked AI for a pickup line, like once…they don’t know what they are doing…” Crumly continues, “I have taken advice from social media on some things, honestly most of the time it’s not really good.”

As the relationships of youth continue to evolve, the integration of technology will likely remain present. Only time will tell if that integration will be focused on prioritizing the mental state and health of the youth rather than their constant gratification, and addiction. Many hope that the direction that relationships take will be more geared towards emotional connection, rather than artificial fulfillment, and ultimately, rewarding those that foster strong human-based relationships.

Chattel slavery, which consisted of the violent capture and enslavement of Africans, commenced the dehumanization of black people around the world. 161 years later, what seems like a distant memory of tragic events continues to affect the black community.

“We may be five to six generations removed from the horrors of slavery, but the trauma of enslavement has been carried by African Americans through the ages” says therapist Dr. Erica Wilkins. “The system of slavery was predicted on the belief that African Americans are inferior, and that systematic inequality still persists today.”

But how does this tie into slavery? CapitalBnews writes in an article that “Enslavers went to great lengths to prevent physicians from treating enslaved africans ailments, frequently accusing them of “malingering.” It’s nothing new that black patients pain is ignored. That same article later states “It’s estimated that around 8.8 million black Americans died prematurely between 1900 and 2015 because of the racial health gap,” the same racial gap that had already deemed black people as “genetically different” for 100s of years.

The discrimination doesn’t stop at America, thousands of miles away in the continent of Africa, black africans continue to suffer due to slavery’s affects. The brutal capturing of 12 million young African men and women took away the possibility of development in Africa and replaced it with damaging systems put in place by colonizers. A Fairplanet article says “The most pronounced impact of slavery on contemporary Africa is racism and skewed value judgements that created class, social status and respect based on colour.” Another paragraph states that “Researchers argue that there would have been 112 million more africans if there was no slave trade.” This population would have increased Africas development but without it the continent fell behind.

400 years ago, the transatlantic slave trade began and with it came racism. Although this racism is still prevalent in today’s society, the black community continues to work toward healing. In 1964 Malcolm X said that “we declare our right on this earth, to be a man, to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, in this society, on this earth, in this day and night, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.” 62 years later the black community is still fighting for the respect Malcolm X spoke of, the peace black children dream of, and the end of a racist era black people still suffer from.

By Sam Crumly
Stonehaven Upper School

Have you ever walked into a cafeteria and seen so many good options for food that you just pick whatever food is the most familiar to you? If I’m being honest I don’t really like burgers and that kind of thing. If I’m in a massive food court with a bunch of cool options, I’m going to what is most familiar to me, even if I don’t like it that much. This phenomena can also be seen in day to day life with the way that people, particularly Gen Z, takes in information. Everyday you scroll on your phone, but how many of those reels can you remember? Seven? Five? Two? One? None? No one learns anything new, they simply reset to how they were before.

When asked multiple students said that they looked at around 200 short form videos per day. Only remembering 10 from that long scroll, and looking into none of those short form videos. They admitted that they found those videos interesting or worth looking into, but when asked one person said that she, “just didn’t see the point when I’m already seeing so much other stuff when I just scroll.” But people who only looked at 100 short form videos or less stated that they were more interested in the videos that they saw.

On average most people remembered around 12 to 13 videos, if they watched around 100 per day. Looking into two to three of those videos which they remembered. In my research those who were asked said they only watched around 100 reels, remembering significantly more than those who watch 200+, some even remembering 30 of the videos they watched. Out of the 30 videos they watched, they remembered only 10. The final person asked about this said that she only watched about 50 short form videos and remembered half of that, of the half remembered they looked into 15 of those stories told in those videos.

The more information that people consume the less, and less they can process. This concept is called information overload. When we consume lots of stimuli, like short form videos, and we process none of it, we learn absolutely nothing. It’s not that you can’t process that information, it is simply that you’re not giving yourself the time to think about what you learned. Lots of people will simply forget about all of the things that they saw, it is like spring cleaning for your brain. But nobody really wants to process information that much, because it’s not as stimulating to think about the cool stuff you’ve seen, it is stimulating, however, to see more videos which you will forget about in five minutes.

The professor for mass communications at Piedmont University, Joe G. Dennis. “Some people are overwhelmed, they just tune it out, retaining nothing.” he states, “The human mind is only ment comprehend so much. That is why a phone number is limited to ten numbers, because those are the ones we can call to memory instinctively. Because we have been processing those numbers for so long.” As we can clearly saw earlier, the more you consume the less you retain, and the less you care. The death of curiosity is when people think they know everything. Dennis also addresses this saying quote, “curiosity is human, however, just trying to get information told to them which they agree with, is not.” This is also a problem which has a made people generally more apathetic about the things they see around them.

They see so much and then when they look it up, they get a fluffy feel good answer. It makes people not care, because why would they? The answer they found on Google AI agreed entirely with their previous sensibilities, so they can just “trust their gut.” Dennis states that, “You will stop pursuing a difficult truth when ai or your for you page says exactly what you want to hear.” Causing people to become numb and not think critically, the death of curiosity is when no one cares, and when everyone thinks they are smarter than they are.

By Grace O’Rourke
Palos Verdes High School

Loneliness is killing people.

Not slowly, not quietly.

It carries the same heath risks as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

This epidemic is not affecting the younger generations sitting in their rooms on their phones, but targeting the generation that has been on this Earth much longer, the generation that has lived, laughed and loved. But now they spend their days trapped in facilities. For them the most exciting thing they get to hear is the background noise of a TV, the most exciting thing to see is the outside of a window. They yearn for somebody, anybody to care, to show up, and to just sit with them for even 15 minutes.

“Some days the loudest thing in my room is the TV, and I’m not even watching it, I just like to leave it on so it feels like someone’s there,” said Dorothy, 82, a resident at a senior care facility. “When someone sits down and actually looks at me, not through me, that’s my everything.”

Senior isolation has become one of the fastest growing public health crises in America. Studies link chronic loneliness to the same health risks as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, yet for many elderly residents, days pass without a single meaningful conversation. As families continue to grow busier and senior living facilities fill up, an entire generation risks being forgotten.

The reality is that these people are at risk of serious health issues, both physically and mentally. “People think loneliness is just sadness. It’s not,” said Marcus, 34, a caregiver. “I watch it affect them physically. They stop eating. They stop wanting to get up. It compounds everything. I have 12 residents on my floor, I wish I could sit with each of them for an hour. But that’s just not possible for me to accomplish alone, there’s not enough hours in the day.”

For Dorothy the isolation deepens after family visits become less frequent. “I have four grandchildren.” She said, “I see them at Christmas if I’m lucky. They’re busy. I understand that. But understanding it doesn’t make the quiet go away.”

Dorothy is not alone. Researchers estimate that more than one-third of adults over 45 report feeling lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults over 65 are considered socially isolated, numbers that only have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic forced care facilities to restrict visitation for months at a time.

Some volunteers are stepping in where staffing falls short. Linda, 58, began visiting residents once a week after retiring and quickly found the relationship went both ways. “I started coming once a week and now I can’t imagine not coming,” she said. “Dorothy saved me as much as I saved her, honestly.”

For Marcus, the solution starts with simply showing up. “Being able to talk to someone outside of these four walls, even for 10 minutes, changes a person’s whole day,” he said. “We just have to decide they’re worth that 10 minutes.”

By Addison Pendegraft
Johns Creek High School

From Duolingo to ChatGPT, AI has been festering itself in the educational field more and more everyday. AI promises a mix of both opportunities and dangers, but whether or not society will be able to properly regulate its use will determine the aptitude of generations to come.

“AI use longterm will be harmful to both student and teacher advancement,” said Kirt Jolly, an elementary school teacher for over 10 years. “The student will continue to lose important critical thinking skills due to its use.”

AI, specifically generative AI (GenAI), has become a prominent issue in schools. AI was first entered schools immediately after the public release of ChatGPT in 2022. By 2023, it was widespread among students to complete their homework, formal implementation and structured guidelines followed shortly after, with institutions officially incorporating GenAI into the curriculum.

“Over reliance on AI tools and platforms can put children and youth’s fundamental learning capacity at risk,” said a yearlong, global study conducted by the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education. The article went on to say that, “with limited safeguards and a risk of inaccurate information, can lead to diminished learning experiences.”

Brookings’ study went on to report a major concern on AI: it doesn’t just harm students’ cognitive development, but actively places them at risk of mental decline. This decline occurs from one of the main risks with AI, as students’ repeated use comes with the threat of developing a strong dependence, creating a vicious cycle to their maturation. As students use AI to “offload” their cognitive tasks, and a “positive feedback loop emerges where they see positive results in terms of grades and in time and effort saved.”

This increased dependency and lack of mental stimulation eventually results in “cognitive atrophy,” which has longterm consequences such as diminished critical inquiry, increased vulnerability to manipulation, decreased creativity and greater risk of internalizing shallow or biased perspectives.

This idea is supported by the National Library of Medicine, which reported that “reducing critical thinking as adolescents rely on AI tools instead of their own thoughts and ideas, which may inhibit young people’s cognitive development.”

But AI does hold some benefits in the education system, according to Brookings’ study, proper use can provide teachers with extra time in their busy days by taking care of menial tasks, “enabling more high-value interactions with students.”

According to the National Public Radio (NPR), AI can utilized to assist students with their reading development, especially for students that are learning a second language. “AI can adjust the complexity of a passage depending on the reader’s skill, and it offers privacy for students who struggle in large-group settings.”

However, AI has proven to be a very dangerous tool, especially to our youth, so society must be cautious about its utilizations if its to properly take advantage of its aid. “If regulated properly, it can be a great teaching tool…” Jolly agrees. “The unfortunate issue is things like this are never regulated with the precautions needed for it to be an effective tool.”