Social Media Addiction
Social media refers to the collection of websites and applications that people use to share what they are doing and their thoughts through posting photos or statements. Social media is unique as it helps the users to post their content easily and in real-time. The internet started to become really significant in 1990 when Tim Berners-Lee invented and created the famous World Wide Web (www). However, the most vibrant social media sites started to come up in the 2000s. Facebook Inc. was created by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 in the United States, while Twitter was invented in 2006 (Fiegerman). The two are the social sites that are the leading ones in the number of subscribers. As of the end of 2017, Facebook was reaching the mark of 2 billion monthly users (Fiegerman). On the other hand, Twitter experienced an increase in the number of monthly active users (MAUs) in the first quarter of 2017. As of April 2017, Twitter had 328 million MAUs (Trefis Team). The large user base for these two social media sites poses a risk of widely spread impacts and threat of social media addiction that negatively influences human’s life.
Causes of Social Media Addiction
One of the causes of social media addiction is the love that most people have for notifications. The social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter normally send notifications to users when there is an incoming message or someone reacted on the user’s posts. Whenever one sees such notifications, small volumes of dopamine are normally released from a person’s brain (Bethune). Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that makes a person feel good. Every time an individual sees notifications from his or her social media accounts, dopamine gets released and the trend continues. The continuous release of dopamine eventually leads to addiction (Bethune).
The other reason why people get addicted to social media is the notion that it gives one a better sense of self-worth. When social media users see many people sharing or leaving positive comments on their posts, they feel good. Theoretically, the good feeling makes most people have a better sense of self-worth (Nauert). The feeling is considered theoretical, since the fact that one has many followers on social media who approve of them does not necessarily mean that the likes and comments are out of genuine people. It is possible for one to have many followers on social sites with very few of them being people he or she knows in person.
Over-reliance on smartphones and the internet for social interactions is the next major cause of addiction to these sites. Nowadays many people believe they can easily interact and engage their friends through online platforms due to internet inventions. Such people argue that the internet has made everything including interactions easier than it was back in the days. The tech-savvy population, especially the youth, swiftly get addicted to social media platforms when they realize nearly everything is possible online (Nauert).
The Effects of Social Media Addiction
Social media addiction makes people highly vulnerable to cyber-bullying. Social media websites and applications majorly rely on the internet for the users to be able to enjoy their services. The internet is a vulnerable technology that makes it easy for people who do wrong to get away with their deeds. Someone can create an account with any of the social media sites using fake details, and then use the account to bully other users. Those being addicted to social media are most likely to fall into the traps of cyber-bullying since they frequent attend the sites and they usually have many accounts (Rosen 1243). In the twenty-first century, one of the leading causes of mental health complications is cyber-bullying. Threats and distorting posts on social media put a lot of people into state of depression and stress. For instance, there are cases of people committing suicide after being bullied online on social media platforms.
One of the most important negative impacts of social media addiction is a reduction in productivity. Addicts channel a lot of time and other resources on being active on social media platforms. Such focus mostly affects other activities that these addicts have to handle. For instance, people who utilize most of their productive hours tend to exploit their energy before starting their work, thus becoming less productive in their job activities. On the other hand, those who stick on social media till late hours also get affected at work since they mostly arrive late at the job. Some of the addicts arrive at work less energetic since they did not have enough time to rest during their non-working hours (Rosen 1243).
Existing Solutions to Social Media Addiction
One of the common remedies that social media addicts are usually referred to is the use of schedules when planning to visit the sites. Those being addicted to social media platforms usually find themselves spending a lot of time browsing the sites, as some of them also end up socializing online even when they should be working. Over the years, therapists have suggested the use of schedules to plan when one should be socializing online and when to focus on other things (Tarsha 23). Based on the plans, one should only be on the social media platforms for a specified period. However, this solution has not been completely successful due to the fact that it is the same addict that is responsible to ensure adherence to the schedule. The addicted parties are found of not being strict in following the plans.
The other solution that many people opt for when dealing with addiction to social media is the setting of timers. This remedy is considered the last resort by many therapists. If an individual has tried all the possible solutions but the addiction to social media persists, experts argue that one should consider timing oneself when using the online socializing platforms. Setting an alarm is the most preferred option, since it alerts a person in addition to letting one know the amount of time consumed. The success rate of this remedy has not reached 100% because there are some people who are too addicted to obey their alarms (Tarsha 23). However, some argue that annoying alarms can be effective to some extent. Despite how much an alarm tone is annoying, one is free to silence or snooze it. Therefore, the technique is not completely compelling.
Proposed Solution to the Problem
It is recommendable that people who are addicted to social media try adopting the technique of temporarily withdrawing from online social sites. The withdrawal will be in terms of the user temporarily deactivating his or her account with the respective social media company. One can start with deactivating the account for one week or two, then later even for a month. In such cases, an addict can collaborate with a friend or family member who will act as the monitor. It is important to have penalties issued when one fails to abide by the set policy. For instance, one can be punished by having his or her main gadget for accessing online sites being hidden. Another way of penalizing oneself for failing to meet the targeted number of days without social media can be by increasing the next probation period without visiting a social media site.
The implementation period of this solution should cover six months before an assessment is done to establish the progress. The first eight weeks should be broken down into three sets of two-weeks with one-week intervals. During the two week period, one will temporarily deactivate his or her social media account, and then reactivate it during the one-week period. The two spans will be alternated for the eight weeks. For the last four months, the addict will only have one week per month to access social media according to the regulated number of hours recommended for a day. The option of having temporary withdrawals from social media is expected to work because when one will be away for some time, one is likely to find another hobby. Therefore, a social media addict will gradually detach from internet social sites and find alternatives such as camping and hiking.
The Impact of Social Media Addiction
The social media addiction is one of the most important problems influencing our society. It is the illness that prevents people from communicating with real interlocutors, spends a huge part of their productive hours, thus reducing their job productivity and badly affecting their health condition. Social media addiction also poses a threat of mental disorders caused by numerous cases of cyber bullying in the networks. Therefore, numerous techniques are used to control the time one spends online, thus alleviating the addiction.
Works Cited
Bethune, Sonja. “Causes of Social Media Addiction " Illness.” Ashford University, 14 December 2017. https://www.ashford.edu/online-degrees/student-lifestyle/causes-of- social-media-addiction-illness. Accessed 6 Dec 2018
Fiegerman, Seth. “Facebook is closing in on 2 billion users.” CNN Business, 1 February, 2017. https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/01/technology/facebook-earnings/index.html. Accessed 5 December 2018
Nauert, Rick. “College students ‘addicted’ to social media, Study finds.” Live Science, 23 April 2010. https://www.livescience.com/9888-college-students-addicted-social-media-study- finds.html. Accessed 6 December 2018
Rosen, Larry D., et al. "Is Facebook creating “iDisorders”? The link between clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders and technology use, attitudes and anxiety." Computers in Human Behavior 29.3 (2013): 1243-1254.
Tarsha, Amir Adam. "The Role of Existential Therapy In The Prevention of Social Media- Driven Anxiety." Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis 27.2 (2016).
Trefis Team. “Twitter's Surprising User Growth Bodes Well For 2017.” Forbes, 27 April 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/04/27/twitters-surprising-user- growth-bodes-well-for-2017/#526c20b72e11. Accessed 5 December 2018
