THE HUMAN BRAIN AND MEDIA: THE EMERGING PARADIGM OF INTERACTION

Abstract [English]

The intangible nature of the ideological markers that “constructs” and “propagates” social media usage, the nascent nature of the academic research on neuroscience and the behavioural patterns that influence social media behaviour provides both a challenge and an opportunity to explore human behaviour on social media. The present study attempts to provide a paradigm on social media usage, interaction and impact, unearthing the hibernating “subtexts” of socio-cultural and psychosomatic nature, which are slowly gaining acceptance in academic circles as major stakeholders impacting human behaviour in the virtual world.
The “neurobehavioral” roots of the ideological and affective components that govern social media usage make them susceptible to the various hegemonic practices ingrained in the capitalistic base structure which controls and manipulates social media platforms. For instance, the human dopamine system, the development of the frontal cortex, and the presence or absence of certain genes – all of these which have a profound impact on social media behaviour across age groups and cultures are susceptible to varying degrees of psycho-social manipulation. The nature of “experiential selection” which holds that our life experience literally shapes the connectivity and function of the human brain attains a greater significance in the context of social media usage. Rather than a quantitative analysis, the study hypothesizes social media usage's cultural and neurobiological roots and its reciprocal impact on the former.