Social media addiction — Less Cocaine, More KitKat
Oh, a notification. 20 likes on my Instagram photo. Ah yes this is great, sweet, sweet dopamine. Checkmate insecurities and low self-esteem. See, people do like me.
What’s the first word that comes to mind when describing the brain behind this thought? Young? Impressionable? Addicted?
Often plastered across headlines and articles, the society-shaking epidemic of ‘phone absorbed ‘tech zombies’ addicted to the drug of social media, has been cited by countless commentators. Everywhere from The Conversation and The Guardian, to Forbes and The New York Times publish articles comparing social media users to drug addicts. Often portraying frequent leisurely use as a hollow cesspool of addiction, depression, insecurity, and isolation, this picture of social media users is painted with a broad cynical brush and is an oversimplification of research on the topic. With a number of studies conducted since social media’s inception, varying positive and negative conclusions have been made on the influences of these digital platforms on our behaviour and wellbeing.
Positive findings include those from a 2016 study which concluded that those with more Facebook friends experience higher levels of wellbeing, and 2007 research that found Facebook was beneficial for platform users with low self-esteem. On the contrary, a 2015 study linked the intrusion of Facebook on a person’s life as a predictor for depression, with a 2017 psychology review of research also finding social media has a connection to issues such as depression and addiction for a small number of individuals, with the majority immune.
Given the diverse responses and reactions from participants in this social media research, it is misleading to broadly label social media as addictive or damaging. Unlike scientific research consensus such as the link between smoking and cancer, we aren’t able to conclusively say regular social media use is overwhelmingly harmful or beneficial.
Provided that, most of us aren’t addicted to social media, but have instead formed obsessive habits around regularly checking platforms for updates. Thus, frequent social media use is more akin to the bite of a KitKat rather than a line of cocaine, in that it can be enjoyed regularly and responsibly.
Although social media use often takes up a portion of most people’s spare time, this is commonly stigmatised and portrayed as a waste. Much of the media coverage fails to acknowledge the positive side to the social media coin. The positive effects of social media as an ecosystem for growing relationships, debate, education, protest and community, and the rewards for social health, are very rarely cited. Instead coverage opts to push a narrative of drug-like addiction and consequence, unhelpful to healthy social media consumption. While initially a similar reaction occurred in response to frequent TV consumption, the educational and leisurely benefits of the technology in moderation is now widely accepted. The reasons we return to social media however, may be different.
In attracting users to their apps, platforms use various tools, some have compared to gambling machines, to create the desire to consume. When tapping that notification, or following the notification icon bubble, we are essentially biting at the hook platforms have cast out to their users, taking Instagram’s hand and allowing it to take us down a path cut using algorithms and research, and lined with our favourite things and people.
While several techniques are helpful when reeling phone users into an app, I think in the end we tap on that icon, not just because we are baited, but because of our countless positive past experiences when following the platform led journey. For many of us, this doesn’t mean we are unable to stop, we just don’t want to.
Considering this, when leisure time on social media begins to feel like work, diminishing the offline lives of its users, time away from social media can be healthy. A number of apps and programs exist to assist those struggling with moderation or distraction. Yet, digital detoxes, phone-free holiday’s, deletion of apps and boycotting of all social media, fail to consider the value of moderate regular social media consumption.
In spite of the headlines and exaggeration, don’t feel guilty when going on a leisurely social media binge. Don’t feel as if it’s the first turn in a downward spiral into depression and anxiety, or feeding an insatiable growling addiction within. As social media is not innately bad for its users, a scroll or tap is not always problematic, but often therapeutic.
Similar to a television, movie or magazine binge, diving deep into the waters of platforms, basking in the tides of memes, articles and communities can be an enlightening, wholesome and joyous experience. Casting aside contradictory research and panic inducing articles, sometimes it’s okay for social media to grasp the strings of our leisure time, leading us down pre-cut paths. Sometimes being warmly guided turn by turn down a ‘like’ filled road isn’t a bad thing, sometimes it’s just nice.
