00:00Exactly likely if you are watching this video or you or someone very close to you
00:04be completely hooked on short videos, whether on one social network or another, it doesn't matter.
00:08And it's sadly normal to be hooked.
00:11In several articles we see how the average is almost two hours a day.
00:14And as you can imagine, this intensity of videos and videos and videos takes its toll.
00:19It's not free for your health.
00:21You do it on the bus, before bed, every time you relax, in the bathroom...
00:24But what is just entertainment for you is quite harmful to your brain.
00:29Today in this video we are going to see exactly what happens inside your brain when you are watching those mini videos,
00:34how they affect your mental health and what you can do to get out of there.
00:37This is a companion video to our three-part series on the impact screens have on us.
00:43And to tell you all about it, we have the great and wonderful Iris Martínez, the spiritual psychologist on Instagram.
00:48Follow her. Let's do it!
00:50The digital casino
00:51Although it may not seem like it at first glance, every time you move your finger to change video,
00:58At the brain level, the same thing happens as when you press the button in the casino to see if you get the three cherries.
01:04Iris tells us about it.
01:05If we look at evolutionary biology, we see that dopamine is not actually meant to make us happy,
01:11but its real function is to help us seek those uncertain but necessary rewards.
01:17For example, food, water, a partner, things like that.
01:21And that means it's not just activated when we find those rewards, but it's activated earlier, in the anticipation phase.
01:28It pushes us to action, to get up and to search.
01:31And that's what has actually made us such efficient explorers.
01:33If dopamine were only released when eating, we wouldn't look for new ways to feed ourselves.
01:37In this way, that same neural circuit that was activated before to give us those rewards,
01:43It is now activated every time you sweep any social network, looking for that source of gratification.
01:48Every new video is a potential meal that could save our lives.
01:52Or so your brain sees it.
01:54Poor.
01:54Sometimes the next video will be funny, sometimes it will be boring.
01:57But your brain always anticipates that the next one will be better.
02:00The result is that you stay hooked for hours and hours and hours.
02:04As if we were exploring a forest non-stop 10,000 years ago.
02:07And apart from getting us hooked, it affects us in something else.
02:09Well, we're going to see that right now.
02:11Can you repeat?
02:15When you scroll non-stop, you're training your brain to change stimuli every few seconds.
02:20This affects your attention span, especially the controparietal network and the hippocampus's ability to consolidate memories.
02:28And what does this translate to?
02:29A lower capacity to retain information and maintain attention, thus sending much less information to long-term memory.
02:37Imagine the implications this has for your learning.
02:40In an interview with Microsoft, Gloria Mark, a social computing scientist, explained how attention span in digital environments increased from 2.5 minutes in 2003 to 47 seconds in 2023.
02:51Our dronal network is unable to assimilate so much information and simply rejects it.
02:55The problem is when we apply that healthy strategy that your brain uses with overwhelming to reality.
03:01We had a harder time reading, we forgot what we were doing.
03:05We find it difficult even to follow an IKEA instruction book.
03:08We lose track, we end the day mentally exhausted.
03:11And not only that.
03:12Our emotional brain, the limbic system, is activated as if it has found a small reward with each reel.
03:17But the prefrontal cortex, which is actually responsible for saying enough and calmly deciding what information it wants and what it doesn't, is left out of this equation.
03:27And that's how we end up spending way more time than we expected or wanted, scrolling through videos non-stop, even feeling anxious when we don't find one that hooks us.
03:37It's not that you can't stop, it's that social media is actually blocking this option by hijacking your self-control.
03:42And this leads us to have much more impulsiveness, less ability to control ourselves, and much more anxiety.
03:48But we are on my channel and here you know that there is always hope.
03:50What can you do about all this? Is there a solution? How can you help your children?
03:55Well, we're going to see it right now.
03:56But before continuing, please like, subscribe, and activate the bell if you enjoy these types of videos.
04:01Remember, here we're staying away from bad vibes, gossip, and lies, and we're simply trying to explain how science and spirituality are closer than ever.
04:10We upload videos every week showing you that everyone can find balance again.
04:15Now, let's see how to solve this whole mess.
04:18What goes up must come down.
04:21The brain is plastic. We've known this for almost 100 years.
04:25Just as the brain enters a habit, it can break it. The key is how.
04:29Scrolling shapes your brain by fragmenting your attention and making you more forgetful.
04:34But this can also be trained to maintain attention and focus concentration much more effectively.
04:38And of course we have many ways to achieve this.
04:41Mindfulness meditation, for example, is one of the best for this.
04:44For decades, we've had studies confirming that mindfulness helps maintain attention and greatly assists with concentration and working memory.
04:53The key to all of this is to regain control.
04:56And aside from mindfulness, other practices that help you enhance your awareness, such as contemplation, writing, or simply observing impulses, are very useful.
05:06Re-establish your topamine balance.
05:08Be yourself again, without dependencies, free.
05:12The world pushes us toward a loss of self, but you have the tools to find yourself again.
05:17And if not, you have plenty of people who have those tools and can share them with you.
05:21Like Iris Martínez, who dedicates her life to helping people regain their balance.
05:25I'll leave his contact information in the description.
05:27Thank you so much, Iris, for being part of this little video and for guiding so many people toward their overall well-being.
05:32Now it's your turn.
05:33Are you hooked on Reels?
05:35Do you think it's possible to get out of there?
05:37Would you do a dopamine fast?
05:38I read you in comments.
05:39Remember that everyone can find balance again.
05:42And we upload videos every week on YouTube and other social networks.
05:46See you next week with more Science from a Human Perspective.
05:49Bye.
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