Effects of Social Media Use on Brain Dynamics in Young Male Adults: Multistage Concurrent...

Noninvasive brain stimulation may alleviate social media addiction, but its efficacy requires accurate individual targeting and real-time brain monitoring. The neural mechanisms underlying the effects of social media use (SMU) remain unclear, limiting the development of interventions. Understanding how different levels of SMU modulate brain activity could guide personalized neuromodulation strategies.

This study investigated a cohort of young adults using a multistage design, with concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the effects of SMU on brain activity. It aimed to characterize static and dynamic neural changes at baseline and after a standardized SMU task in individuals with different daily SMU durations.

Participants were all male and were divided into a heavy social media users (HSMU) group and a light social media users (LSMU) group based on self-reported daily SMU duration. All participants underwent baseline fMRI scanning, followed by an EEG-fMRI session immediately after a 2-hour controlled SMU task. Analyses were performed on the static and dynamic amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations (sALFF and dALFF), static and dynamic functional connectivity (sFC and dFC), and EEG microstates.

At baseline, compared with the LSMU group, the HSMU group showed lower dALFF variability in the middle frontal gyrus. After the immediate-effect task, the LSMU group exhibited increased sALFF in the temporal lobe and decreased sALFF in the middle and superior frontal gyri. The HSMU group showed increased sALFF in the middle temporal gyrus and decreased sALFF in the inferior temporal gyrus, superior parietal gyrus, and prefrontal cortex. Regarding dALFF variability, the LSMU group showed a decrease in the superior medial frontal gyrus, whereas the HSMU group showed a decrease in the middle frontal gyrus and an increase in the calcarine cortex. sFC analysis revealed increased connectivity across nearly all networks in the LSMU group. Conversely, the HSMU group showed reduced sFC between the visual and default mode networks. The HSMU group showed significantly shorter duration of microstate A, shorter duration and lower coverage of microstate C, and longer duration and higher coverage of microstate D.

This study is the first to characterize the distinct neural patterns associated with different levels of daily SMU, using both EEG and fMRI to assess sALFF and dALFF alterations, widespread functional connectivity changes, and EEG microstate reorganizations. These findings demonstrate the unique value of multimodal assessment in identifying potential neural targets for personalized neuromodulation in social media addiction. Future studies should explore whether modulating these identified neural markers can effectively alleviate addictive behaviors and improve clinical outcomes across diverse populations.