From the “dopamine hit of scrolling” to comparison anxiety: why young people pay the highest price—and what we can do, together, to protect them
Abstract: The digital world is no longer a simple tool: it has become an all-encompassing environment that shapes our time, our relationships, and the way we perceive ourselves. In this continuous flow of notifications, images, and social comparison, attention grows weaker and identity—especially among younger people—risks turning into an external measure made of likes, approval, and visibility. Algorithms, designed to keep us engaged, fuel powerful emotional dynamics: intermittent rewards, comparison anxiety, psychological vulnerability, and even forms of addiction and isolation. The response cannot be limited to “digital detox”: we need a new educational alliance between families, schools, and platforms—one that can guide young people with responsibility, listening, and awareness. Because the real challenge is not turning off the screen, but regaining our inner compass and staying human in a hyperconnected world.
Keywords: #EthicaSocietas #Digital #Algorithms #AttentionEconomy #Awareness #DigitalEducation #Adolescence #Identity #PsychologicalWellbeing #ComparisonAnxiety #Doomscrolling #SelfEsteem #Cyberbullying #EducatingCommunity #Family #School #SocialResponsibility #DigitalHumanism #InnerFreedom #TruePresence #PaolaLaSalvia #EthicaSocietas #EthicaSocietasMagazine #ScientificJournal #SocialSciences #ethicasocietasupli
Paola La Salvia: is a former lawyer and senior officer in the Italian Guardia di Finanza, she lectures in economic and legal subjects and is an expert in anti-money laundering and organized crime. A Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, she is also the author of several works. Her latest book, I Malacarni, focuses on mafia-related crime. LinkedIn profile.
Digital is no longer a tool — it is an environment
Digital reality no longer simply accompanies us: it surrounds us. It has transformed the way we experience time, build relationships, and perceive ourselves. We are immersed in a constant flow of notifications, chats, and images that makes attention an increasingly fragile resource: meetings move onto screens, presence becomes connection, and direct experience gives way to a filtered, continuous reality.
In this flow, the boundary between real and virtual grows thinner: it is no longer just technology, but a mutation of our way of being. And as we scroll, click, and share, one question becomes inevitable: are we still the ones choosing how to live, or is the network doing it for us?
Key points
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Digital has become an all-encompassing environment
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Fragile attention = a new vulnerability
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The central ethical question: freedom or external control?
Adolescence — Identity under pressure
Among young people, all of this is especially evident. Daily social media use has become a ritual that often leaves a bitter aftertaste: perfect photos, dream trips, flawless smiles—carefully curated lives that seem to flow without obstacles and trigger constant comparison.
Giulia, 17, describes it like this:
“Not because I want to look like influencers, but it feels like everyone has a perfect life except me.”
This is not an isolated case: according to a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, 40% of adolescents experience “comparison anxiety” after spending time on social media.
Key points
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Constant comparison = erosion of self-esteem
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Displayed perfection becomes the norm
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Adolescent vulnerability is amplified
Algorithms and dopamine — The mechanism of emotional dependence
Algorithms, designed to capture our attention, fuel this silent yet persistent comparison. Every scroll is a small dopamine hit: likes, hearts, views—intermittent rewards that resemble the logic of gambling. Satisfaction is fleeting, then emptiness returns, and the search for another gratification begins again.
In younger people, whose identity is still forming, this mechanism can foster anxiety, loss of self-esteem, and sleep disturbances, also through doomscrolling. Studies indicate that heavy social media use increases depressive symptoms by 27% among adolescents, with a peak among girls aged 15 to 19.
Key points
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Algorithms = the attention economy
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Intermittent rewards = dependence
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Effects: sleep, anxiety, depression (especially girls 15–19)
Global social comparison — Strong emotions as fuel
Social comparison is nothing new, but social media has made it continuous, visual, and global: today we compare ourselves not only with classmates, but with influencers in Los Angeles or models in Seoul.
Algorithms favor content that triggers intense emotions—envy, anger, astonishment—because those emotions keep attention engaged. Platforms do not aim to create unhappiness, but they have no incentive to promote well-being: if content keeps users longer, it gets boosted regardless of its emotional impact.
Key points
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Endless, worldwide comparison
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Strong emotions = a strategy for retention
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Well-being is not the system’s goal
Concrete consequences — Measured self-worth, exposed fragility
From here, real consequences arise: one more or one less like becomes a metric of self-worth; a photo without comments can generate a sense of rejection; for those already emotionally fragile, the risk is a downward spiral.
Moreover, the dynamic is often gendered: appearance- or sexually-based cyberbullying more frequently targets female profiles, creating pressure to look perfect in order to gain approval—along with the fear of being judged. Boys, on the other hand, are more exposed to comparison around success and status.
Viral challenges worsen the picture, turning the desire to belong into emotional blackmail and pushing some young people toward risky actions just to gain visibility.
Key points
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Quantified self-esteem
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Risk of emotional spirals
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Gender differences in harm
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Challenges = belonging turned into blackmail
Digital detox — Useful, but not enough
In recent years, digital detox has become popular: turning off notifications, deleting apps, taking breaks. But it is not enough. It is not only a matter of time online, but of how we live it—and of who supports young people along the way.
Adults, and parents first of all, must truly be there: not only to control, but to listen. Taking interest in what young people see and feel, explaining how algorithms work, and showing one’s own vulnerabilities can turn adults into real points of reference—not silent guards.
Key points
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Detox ≠ a complete solution
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We need guidance, not surveillance
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Listening + awareness = real protection
School — Digital education and emotional literacy
School plays a crucial role: we need concrete pathways of digital education and emotional literacy, spaces where students can share their online experience without judgment.
Collaborations with school psychologists, associations, and local organizations can turn schools into places of listening and prevention.
Key points
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School as a hub for prevention
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Non-judgmental spaces
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Local network: psychologists + associations
Platform responsibility — Protection, not only engagement
Finally, those who design platforms must take responsibility: it is urgent to equip digital services with tools that protect younger users—easy-to-set time limits, filters for harmful content, and mechanisms that promote constructive content rather than engagement alone.
Digital “rewards” must be rethought to foster real well-being and growth, not dependence.
Key points
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Design responsibility
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Concrete protection tools
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From “keeping users” to “helping them grow”
Ethica summary — Community as guidance, not control
If parents, schools, and platform designers work together—listening, educating, and regulating responsibly—we can restore centrality to family and community: not as controllers, but as patient guides who accompany step by step.
Social media is not absolute evil, but without awareness it can become an emotional trap.
Key points
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An educational alliance
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Community as protection
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Awareness = freedom
The real detox is inner
The challenge is not to return to the world of before, but to live within a hyperconnected world without losing our inner compass. The real detox is not turning off the phone, but starting to look within again—not only through a screen.
Ultimately, we need to reconnect with ourselves. Bringing our gaze back inward is the only way to inhabit the real world with the same intensity as the digital one: aware, curious, and free to be enough.
Because no like, no follower, no notification will ever replace the power of a gaze that listens, stays close, and says: “I’m here, and you truly matter.”
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