Dopamine in the Digital Neighborhood

Featuring innumerable compliments for their signature red profile icon, Stetson’s Asian Pacific American Coalition’s (APAC) social media is a feast for the eyes. Dedicated to highlighting the culture and beauty that can be found in this group’s events and traditions, is the wondrous presence of Asmaa Ali ’26. Between her work for APAC, the Peer Advisory Council for Title IX, and the mountain of responsibilities that come with being a full-time student, Ali estimates that she spends up to 3 hours out of her day scrolling on social media.   This may be something a great deal of her peers can relate to. Some would say that the true birth of social media came with its steady popularity and rise in the early 2000s. Although this makes the hefty majority of these sites barely older than most students on campus, they have become an integral part of our lives. Social media has permeated every discipline, from professor Joel Davis’ English studies to the historical studies of Stetson professors, Martin Blackwell and Michael A. Denner. Consequently, psychologists have dedicated ample amounts of time and energy to dissecting “digital neighborhoods” and they are not alone. Often called digital communities, this meta space has enabled us to connect with more people than ever before. Finding like-minded individuals is now only a click away– but is this instantaneous connection stopping us from searching deeper?

 “I do get information from [social media],” said JaimyLee Jesus ’26. “ I sometimes get some pretty valuable information from there, but I also get misinformation a lot more.”  In our search for commonalities, it can be easy for social media to instead serve as a source of confirmation bias. If you want to find a specific answer, you will– regardless of whether it’s right or wrong. Coupled with our penchant for dopamine, this can have unintended side effects. We have all been guilty of opening up an app searching for the latest drama. Sometimes, this can fill a momentary splotch of boredom in our life or it can distract us when our personal lives are rather active. Either way, in the process of scrolling a multitude of avenues open up and the excitement is unlike any other. Whether you’re the social media troll or a bystander enjoying the fallout, forming an opinion is inevitable. Stetson English Professor Joel Davis expressed with concern, “social media is decentralized and so it’s very hard to control a message.” While talking to Jesus ’26, she managed to emphasize Davis’ point, as President of Stetson’s Latinx Student Union, she has a unique perspective on how social media can impact the reputation of organizations. 

Money & the Illusion of Truth

Jesus recalled an alleged reaction by an unnamed campus organization, on the social media platform, Yikyak, to unsubstantiated rumors circulating. While recognizing that she could not verify the organization’s involvement due to the app’s anonymity, she admitted her opinion of the organization has still been negatively impacted and has made her less likely to interact with them in the future. False information can make a larger impression than the truth when we’re on social media. The fantastical nature of rumored deviant behavior can multiply the temptation to keep sharing all of the salacious details. The inevitable repetition of these details plays into the phenomena of the illusory truth effect. Joel Davis unintentionally explained this effect in simple terms, saying of mass media “Most people look at it and go, ‘I’m being preached to. I’m not going to buy into it.’ If you keep doing it over and over again, you can sort of convince some people of things that aren’t true.” The repetition of information is not on its own a bad thing. Social media has made it much easier to disseminate information, but it does not amplify all voices equally. 

“I am kind of worried about what type of content Stetson students are digesting on their phones,” Visiting History Professor Martin Blackwell poignantly remarked on the selectiveness of the algorithm. “They inevitably bring in, sort of extremist views… That’s what gets amplified on social media.” It can be easy, in this case, to assume the worst of things that are unfamiliar, because we see the negative extremes over and over again. This does not necessarily mean that we can not use social media to inform our opinion. Rather Blackwelll feels, “The bigger problem is simply that people really should not be digesting short amounts of information, thinking that that’s like the end of the story, right? There’s a lot more.” As we search for the truth and form an opinion, it can also be helpful to know what drives the media we’re consuming.While Ali ’26, a philosophy major is proud of her dependence on news-based sources and tries to avoid getting information from social media, Jesus ’26 a marketing major, looks at news outlets through the guise of economics. 

Jesus is no stranger to the field of publicity. From her understanding, marketing can often be more about your ties to well known names and brands than the content of your message. “I feel like just because news outlets are a lot older, we value them more or because they’re tied to organizations,” Jesus shared. “If you strip away the way we view things like ABC,..What makes that company more reliable than “Fulala” from the corner? The money? I think that makes them less reliable, really. So I feel like they’re on the same plane.” She makes a valuable point. Our trusted news anchors may be just as likely to tell us what we want to hear, as our peers on social media. They may also take things a step further and say something outrageous (and untrue) to attract clicks and new viewers. 

Hatter Nation Truths

So who is a part of our digital neighorhood, and how may it be connected to our physical one? While talking to Martin Blackwell, he had some thoughts and hesitancy over our tendency to unionize under the moniker “Hatter Nation.” “What if you’re not a Hatter, right? Well, we want to help you. We want to be, you know, open, open to others, and inviting to others, and welcoming to others,” said Blackwell. This sentiment extends to all of our comfort zones. We need to be open and welcoming to others outside of our separate Greek organizations, outside of our athletic teams and take a deeper look at who is showing up outside of our usual spaces. Who are you inside anonymous chatrooms, like Yikyak? Would you be able to recognize individuals based off of the rumors you’ve heard about them, and more importantly, would you recognize yourself? Professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Michael A. Denner, posits, ““Here’s the thing, I think nobody wants to see themselves as the aggressor and the bad guy, and so-we’re very amenable-to media that tells us what we want to believe.” It is easy to stay in our comfort zones when we assume the worst. While this can be a protective mechanism, it can also be harmful to those on the other end of our screens. 

The Bias in Opinion

Social media is a space to let loose and have fun. It may also be an extension of our relationships within our real-life communities, with us direct messaging the same people we see in our third period.  Ali, who enjoys curating posts that accurately represent the interests and actors in her organization, is no stranger to an active social life. However, her own insights into melding the digital neighborhood with our real life community. Ali wants us all to remember that when our days get too hectic, at the very least, “We can still connect over the phone.” The digital space has become a strong connection between our community and neighborhoods. This is why we should be as diligent with our words and assumptions, as we would with our real-life neighbors. We have to share this space, and talking things through will save us the hardship of an awkward community reunion. Let’s do our due diligence, and follow up with the organization or individual to see what’s behind the rumor and make sure your digital neighborhood is as diverse in opinion as your real world.