The Axon is a personal research archive in neurology and endocrinology — long-form papers, written and set with care.https://theaxon.org/enhttps://theaxon.org/papers/how-does-chronic-short-form-media-consumption-destabilize-dopamine-and-serotonin-regulation-in-the-adolescent-brain/https://theaxon.org/papers/how-does-chronic-short-form-media-consumption-destabilize-dopamine-and-serotonin-regulation-in-the-adolescent-brain/This article argues that chronic short-form social media use destabilizes dopamine and serotonin regulation in the developing adolescent brain, as engagement-maximizing algorithms exploit the immature prefrontal cortex through reward patterns resembling behavioral addiction. Synthesizing recent neuroscientific and epidemiological evidence—including longitudinal fMRI, meta-analytic, and detox-intervention studies—it acknowledges unresolved questions of causal directionality while positioning social media as at minimum a powerful accelerant of adolescent mental health decline. It concludes that reversing this harm requires coordinated intervention across individual behavior, institutional policy, and governmental regulation.Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTNeurologyJan J. Labuc