At the risk of being unnecessary, I want to bring the stress response experience to the average reader who can look at these words with interest or concern. While carrying our cell phones we have the possibility of constant, often redundant checking. Elevated stress and tension sometimes comes with the price of technology.  Excessive social media exposure can wreak havoc with well being? It is true.

“Each notification or update triggers a mini stress + reward cycle—what the author calls a kind of adrenaline dependency.” Sefton 2014

When human beings become fixated with having all the updated information there becomes an overload of sensory stimuli including images, text and integrated multimedia.  In times of national emergency people stay connected to sources of information like CNN, the Washington Post, or other national media source.  I had a police officer tell me that each time we look at our cell phones it is like a hit of “crack cocaine.”

The long-term consequence of technology is unclear.  The human cost is measurable in terms of information overload and digital dump.  Some believe our brains adapt to the instant gratification of social media and develop a graving for the deluge of tweeted stimuli or some instagrammed image.  Slowly, the body learns to habituate the barrage of stimuli selecting only that which is most novel or unique using a form of cognitive triage.  In the process of habituation people seek more and more stimuli to raise the digital threshold for avoiding boredom, stagnation, and falling prey to yesterday’s news.

Arguably, this can save our lives and bring us valuable information and needed instruction at times of national crisis.  At the same time, being tethered to technology reinforces adrenaline junkies like never before.I think of the Window of Tolerance as the ultimate compass for the healing journey. Most trauma survivors spend a lot of time on a superhighway to hyperarousal or hypoarousal. Much of this can be lowered by taking time away from our technology. This winter, I spent time in Mexico and at the end of the first week my a iPad told me I had 11 hours of screen time in one day. I chocked that up to having time to read and spend time on my writing. But it was far too much.

During sensational events like the Boston Marathon bombing, or some other high profile event, people weren’t just passively receiving news—they were actively scanning for threats. Every refresh, every alert, every rumor triggered the brain’s fight–flight–freeze system. That system is designed for short bursts of danger, not prolonged exposure.

• Rapid emotional shifts (“0 to 100”)
  When your brain perceives uncertainty or threat, it prioritizes speed over accuracy. That’s why you jump quickly from calm → anger → panic → numbness. It’s not randomness—it’s your nervous system trying different survival strategies.
• Information overload + lack of resolution
  Constantly refreshing for updates creates a loop:
  • anticipation → no new info → frustration → more checking
    This mirrors addictive reinforcement patterns (variable reward), which is why it can feel compulsive.
• Distorted or conflicting data
  When information is unreliable or contradictory, your brain works harder to “solve” the situation. That increases stress rather than reducing it.
• Aftereffects
  Once the immediate intensity fades, the body doesn’t always reset right away. That’s when you can feel:
  • drained or fatigued
  • unfocused
  • irritable
  • emotionally flat or even depressed

What’s important is that this isn’t a personal flaw—it’s a biological response being overused in an environment it wasn’t designed for (24/7 digital input). It takes work to find the healthy baseline.

If you’re connecting this to your own experience, a useful shift is learning to interrupt the loop:

• limit how often you check for updates (set specific times)
• notice the urge to refresh rather than automatically acting on it
• give your body a signal of safety (slow breathing, stepping away, movement)

That helps your nervous system move out of constant alert mode. When doing that you body is permitted to rest and renew.

This report was written with the help of Chat GTP.