The wrong rils: how short videos affect the psyche
On holidays and weekends, the time spent surfing the Internet increases dramatically. The main leisure activity for users is watching videos. Short video stories are addictive, and their fascination turns into addiction. How harmless-looking rils affect mental and physical health and whether it is possible to abandon this type of leisure — in the material of Izvestia.
Quality of life
Video content addiction is already called addiction. But in order not to throw around terms, but to reasonably draw the line between the norm and pathology, it is important to evaluate not the behavior itself, but its consequences, says Daria Serebryakova, clinical psychologist, deputy head of the rehabilitation program at Dr. Isaeva Clinic.
— This principle is universal — we also look at eating behavior, sports, and the use of psychoactive substances, — says Serebryakova. — The main criterion of addiction is the impact on life. If after watching the reels a person gets inspired, a surge of energy, he gets productive ideas, communication improves, studies or work go well, then obviously this is a hobby, a hobby.
A positive example is when a student, after watching rils, became interested in a certain topic, read a book, and went to a museum. In this case, according to the expert, we are not talking about pathology, but about leisure, which is beneficial. "But, to be honest, given the mechanics of short content, such a constructive influence is not common," Serebryakova complains.
If, instead of the desire to act, apathy, irritation and loss of strength arise, and a person loses time and money on "videos", then we are talking about an irresistible craving with negative consequences. With addiction, the quality of life worsens, sleep is disrupted, and the physical condition suffers.
Dopamine Gum
How do people get hooked on rils? The mechanics of exposure, according to Serebryakova, are simple: short videos actively stimulate the dopaminergic system based on the principle of instant reward.
—Short content saves cognitive resources and at the same time replaces more complex mental work," Serebryakova warns. — The first negative consequence is the deterioration of attention, memory, and the ability to concentrate for a long time. Nowadays, many people, both adults and children, have difficulty concentrating and quickly get tired with mental stress. This is a syndrome of attention deficit, difficulty concentrating.
Passive consumption of "chewed up" information weakens critical thinking and deprives a person of the ability to build their own complex cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena and events, the expert believes. People, receiving a lot of superficial knowledge, feel only the illusion of competence. But they sincerely think that they are "aware of everything." As a result, what started out as light entertainment content can turn into addictive behavior, accompanied by a deterioration in mood, self-esteem, and the ability to concentrate.
"In addition to harming sleep, concentration, and general intellectual decline, rils have a pronounced negative effect on critical thinking," Serebryakova comments. — People are starting to think in a formulaic, cliched way, and believe in a variety of tall tales that are broadcast in these short videos. This is a gross violation of the ability to independently analyze and evaluate information.
These are the physiological consequences of loving rils. In addition, people's eyesight suffers, as short videos are accompanied by constant flashes, flickering, and frequent changes of angles. All this, according to the expert, increases visual tension and eye fatigue. And prolonged exposure to the position with the phone in hand worsens posture, causes blood stagnation in the neck and collar area, which affects overall well-being and even the blood supply to the brain.
— And finally, a small but clear motivator (especially for women): when we sit for a long time, bent over the phone, the so-called second chin is formed. So even from a purely aesthetic point of view, long—term hanging in rolls is not good," sums up Daria Serebryakova.
How to deal with stress
After watching short video stories without control, a person does not get joy, but experiences an oppressive feeling of emptiness, apathy and loss. This is due to neurophysiology, says Sergey Volkov, a clinical psychologist, body therapist, and psychosomatologist.
"Normally, when a person has a certain desire, dopamine is produced, a neurotransmitter that creates the feeling of desire itself," explains Volkov. — At this moment, we experience pleasure and enjoyment. And then, when the desired is achieved, our body gets stressed. And then, to activate muscle activity, adrenaline is produced, which, along with dopamine, is "processed" during movement.
According to the psychosomatologist, while scrolling through the tape, our brain also receives a huge amount of stimuli. They generate a lot of desires, sometimes not even realized. But it's impossible to achieve something desirable in this case - it's just content, not real life. There is not a feeling of satisfaction, but a subconscious feeling of grief and loss. Or there is a feeling that everything seems to be fine, but something is going wrong. This unpleasant condition is aggravated if the content is tragic, unpleasant, or creates anxiety. A person cannot influence a change in the situation, besides, he is subconsciously involved in the anxiety of the described situations.
— We experienced a similar condition in very early childhood, — says Sergey Volkov. — Neurology in this case has one effective mechanism for solving the situation — to freeze and suppress activity. In fact, to become infantile, not to make decisions, to give up the initiative and "wait for mom" — that is, to expect a solution to the problem expressed in the information.
Even if the disturbing content does not directly concern a person, suppressed activity and a veiled lack of resolution of the issue leads to a decrease in the quality of life, the expert emphasizes. All consumers of entertainment content, without exception, are at risk of falling into the "dopamine pit" due to the abundance of meaningless activities that do not end in achieving anything.
How to avoid negative effects
"People who have an active life outside of gadgets are least affected by social media," suggests Volkov. — They are helped by personal achievements and awareness of these achievements.
To reduce the risk of apathy and emptiness from scrolling, the psychosomatologist advises moving more, walking and communicating with real people. And for people for whom watching social media is a job, you need to remember that after work you always need to rest. It is possible to protect yourself from burnout: you must strictly follow the work and rest regime, in particular, take breaks for physical activity every 40 minutes. For example, it's enough to go for coffee for five minutes or at least just stretch.
The main reason why people prefer to scroll through the feed is convenience, the expert emphasizes. Watching a video is easier than, say, reading a newspaper. But, in addition to convenience, there is always a question of the quality of information.
— It requires a lot of content that is updated every day, — says Volkov. — In such conditions, it is impossible to create high-quality material, all the time you have to sacrifice its intellectual value in order to expand the audience and speed of production. Content that has intellectual value, is built on a support system and does not use shock, fear, or intimidation to attract attention has long been paid or niche.
The psychosomatologist believes that it is impossible to give up rils: inventing social networks is equivalent to inventing a wheel or opening fire.
— Anyone who refuses them simply drops out of society. This is a fact that cannot be ignored," says Volkov. "But just like with fire, people have to be careful with rils. There are already many requests from customers related to the safe and environmentally friendly management and use of social networks. And every year there are more and more of them, which means that their conscious use will also grow.
Rails are just a tool, how to use them is only a human responsibility, the expert summarizes.
The trend on paper
However, according to Serebryakova, we can already talk about some positive microtrend. People began to notice the negative effects of excessive consumption of short content and to be critical of it.
"When I asked my son how he felt about rils, he said, 'It's a form of leisure, but in fact it's brain rot, brain rot,'" shares Daria Serebryakova. — This term is already widespread among the users of rails themselves and quite accurately reflects the effect of constant consumption of short content.
Zoomers even have a trend for "paper" — they willingly read ordinary books. This gives hope that people will return to more serious leisure activities than watching entertaining video content.
— It's not a fact that there will be a massive return to paper media, but even the transition to other content formats, but longer, is already a positive moment. Online, you can find school textbooks, lectures, and podcasts in audio format. If a teenager is able to listen to them attentively, then this is already a step forward," says Serebryakova.
A clinical psychologist advises you to remember that the key skill directly related to success in any field of activity is concentration of attention. And it is formed primarily through reading and taking notes. Therefore, it is useful to read texts without pictures, even on a tablet. The main thing is to formulate your own thoughts, your own original ideas.
— Try to add value to this process. Explain to yourself and your loved ones why it is beneficial — how it strengthens thinking, improves emotional state, affects the quality of work and financial well—being," Serebryakova comments.
Withdrawal period
How do I switch my attention from watching rils to more intellectual activities?
"As with any addiction, a coping strategy requires certain limitations, strong—willed efforts, and perhaps even a period of withdrawal," warns Daria Serebryakova. — There is no need to be afraid of this — this is the normal mechanism for getting out of dependent behavior. And that's okay. It is important to simply overcome the first difficult stage. Sometimes it's worth consciously "replacing" rails with something exciting: live meetings, board games, creative hobbies.
Parents should not be afraid if the child gets annoyed at first, shows aggression and protest. Daria Serebryakova considers this behavior to be a natural reaction. But most often, this is how children behave, who also have difficulties with volitional regulation in other situations. For example, when they are forced to study, do household chores, or learn social skills. Therefore, there is nothing to be surprised about.
Serebryakova advises adults who are "stuck on the phone" to gradually switch to longer formats — to watch popular science videos and documentaries. The most difficult thing, from the expert's point of view, is to overcome the first moment of resistance. It is only necessary to start.
— It is worth mentioning separately about the practice of mindfulness — mindfulness, — Serebryakova comments. — This is a scientifically proven way to train attention. You can start with simple monotonous activities.: folding puzzles, drawing, sculpting, knitting. All this restores the basic cognitive function — attention, which suffers the most today and directly affects success in school, work and communication.
The algorithm for logging off the Internet is simple — more offline contacts, joint events, and long-term content (audio or video), the expert emphasizes. All this should be combined with regular concentration exercises.
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