WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA SO ADDICTING?
I really don't know why social media is addicting and obsessive for no reason. So while I write this blog, I will educate you and myself by doing some research. I hope the more I educate myself about social media, and the negative consequences, I will take that into account each day, and work on myself. The reason why this popped up in my mind is because this morning I woke up, sat on my phone for 20 minutes, just blatantly wasting my time. When I realized what I was doing I was so mad at myself. I could have used that time to dress up, make myself breakfast, arrived to school earlier, or even find a better parking spot.
The first place I decided to get some information on was the addiction center. What I have learned is that about %5 to 10% of the people in our country has a real addiction to social media. The reason why people are so drawn to it, is because apparently because they care about what others think of them through social media. It becomes an addiction when it impairs important life events. Common symptoms of social media addiction is letting ones mood be determined by the engagement of a post, or even withdrawal signs of not being able to log on for a certain amount of time leading to bad moods.
Now let's go back to the original question, why is social media so addicting? According to The Addiction Center "social media addiction can largely be contributed to the dopamine-inducing social environments that social networking sites provide." The big take away I got from the article I read from the addiction center is that people see "likes and retweets act as a reward to the brain that trigger a chemical acts as drugs." (addictioncenter.org) Often times I used to see myself scrolling to see who liked my picture and how many likes I got. I will admit I know I have stopped doing this significantly for two reasons, one the algorithm of instagram makes it hard for peoples post to be see, which means the engagement has gone down, and two I realized I was obsessing over something that I had no control over. It made me feel insane. The more I educated myself about social media the more I realized how awful the effects of it are. Next time you catch yourself constantly refreshing, remind yourself you can't control the internet, and it is awful for your mental health.
addictioncenter.com/drugs/social-media-addiction/
I have been actively trying to stop wasting time of social media also. It makes me feel guilty when I spend time scrolling through snapchat or instagram, because I know there are more valuable interactions I could be having with people right in front of me. I worry that our generation has become consumed by this social media monster and I also wonder if people are losing their ability to exist in real time, not several hours back on other peoples stories or posts. I think it is interesting the way the website discussing this addiction because it IS one. When I think of addiction, I think drugs, nicotine, and alcohol. It is surprising that right in front of my eyes, we are becoming dependent on a whole other thing. It seems to be human nature.
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