Visual Stimuli on the Mind

December 16, 2025

Safa Ahmad

Brooklyn Technical High School

11th Grade

Introduction

Visual stimuli refer to a multitude of objects, images, and colors that appear in our line of sight. Whether it be a walk through the city, an art project you’ve been working on, or a single notification popping up on your phone, the stimuli are in constant competition for your attention. With technological businesses targeting teens, everyday students are overwhelmed with more and more visual stimuli. How does this affect the brain? How much stimuli is too much stimuli?

How do visual stimuli relate to our phones?

With visual stimuli being anything that our visual system processes, an object many of us are affected by is our phones. Social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok are examples of repetitive visual stimulus, having distinct repeating properties. The acts of scrolling, liking, reading comments, and viewing stories are familiar stimuli that have become muscle memory.

Social media can most definitely be a source of fun and an opportunity to see different parts of the world we can't physically reach, but the ongoing addiction teens are developing leaves little margin throughout the day for less visually stimulating activities. These constant screen interactions, with bright colors and changing content, negatively impact the brain, shortening attention spans. Research shows that in 2013, the average human attention span was 8 seconds; for reference, the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. 

12 years have passed since 2013, and social media has only skyrocketed. The constant dopamine hits of new visual stimuli that are so readily available are affecting brain development and functionality. In order to better the world and succeed as a population, we need the brightest minds possible. Willingly impeding our development by attaching our eyes to a screen is sabotaging our future selves, who need strong-minded doctors, lawyers, politicians, and scientists. 

How does too much visual stimuli affect school performance?

Experts recommend no more than 2 hours of screen time per day for 5-17-year-olds, excluding educational purposes. Breaching this limit can impact grades and test-taking abilities by deteriorating memorization skills, worsening active recall abilities, and decreasing the amount of time students stay on task during the school day.

In a study by the National Institutes of Health, it was reported that teenagers spending more than two hours on their phones daily scored lower test scores. The study also showed that by the time of school entry, 1 in 4 children lacked many important traits, such as motor skills, communication, and socioemotional health, needed to prepare for the beginning of their academic careers. These circumstances relate directly to increased usage of devices, as the majority of homes in the United States have access to an internet-powered device, and children average more than two hours of screen time a day. If this issue is not properly addressed, the academic gap will only widen over time, leaving behind capable minds who have the potential to reshape society. 

Conclusion

Visual stimuli can be beautiful in many different ways. It lets us see the stars, the people we care about, and works of art, but also the increasing reliance on technology for everyday tasks. Although electronic device usage has shown its negative impacts on our society, there will always be ways of improvement. By choosing to put our phones down and let our minds and bodies entertain us, we can reconnect with what makes us human and bring us towards better understanding and more human connection.