Social media addiction is characterized when someone feels an extreme urge to use social media. Often, they are concerned about a particular platform, so they spend a lot of time browsing it. Social media addiction falls under behavioral addiction, where a person depends on a specific activity.
The forms of addiction that occur are:
- Having an urge to check social media
- Spending more time on specific platforms than offline activities
- Feeling strange when you do not open social media
Social media addiction is characterized when a person cannot be separated from social media.
Why social media is so addictive
Social media triggers a response in the brain to release the dopamine hormone responsible for feelings of pleasure. Usually, this is shown when receiving a like, comment, or retweet notification. This then causes someone to use social media more aggressively, i.e., addicted to using it.
Disadvantages of social media addiction
While using social media can improve a person's mood, it could cause psychological and physical symptoms if they are addicted, such as sadness, depression, or anxiety. Many can also develop health problems due to physical inactivity or insufficient sleep.
Other negative effects that may occur include:
- Low self-esteem because you think other people have a better life through their social media
- Tend to isolate themselves, feel lonely, to depression
- Mood swings when you don't open social media
- Fear of missing out (FOMO) that makes you use social media more and more
- Disruption of sleep patterns and reduced physical activity, affecting overall health
- Lower academic grades or job performance
- Ignoring real-life relationships
- Decreased ability to empathize with others
- Causing conflict with people because of negative comments
Social media can harm yourself
How do you know if you are addicted to social media or not?
It can be risky if it is difficult to distinguish whether this is just a preferred habit or is already an addiction. If you are unsure, consulting a professional may be better. Yet we can also ask ourselves as a form of identification. Try asking some of the following questions:
- Do I spend much time thinking about and/or using social media?
- Do I have a strong urge to use social media?
- Is it my goal to use social media to escape personal problems?
- Is it still difficult for me to cut back on my social media use, even though I've tried to?
- Will I get restless and restless if I don't use social media?
- Will this activity decrease my academic performance or work productivity?
Thus, social media addiction occurs when someone strongly urges to use social media. Being addicted to social media can negatively impact you, such as getting FOMO or comparing yourself to others, which could cause depression. Ladies, if you need help with an addiction, talk to Fitie first!