Social Media is for Addicts…
Addictions come in all shapes and sizes. According to the NHS, one in three of us are addicted to something, which all tend to have devastating consequences in one form or another.
Sadly, we’ve now entered a new era where there’s less emphasis on cigarette or alcohol addictions (although, they’re ever present) and Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have become the new trend. There is no official Medical term to refer to the overdosing/craving of the same Media behaviour, disruptions to daily life, and the resulting effects on our mental health and wellbeing. The diagnosis: a Digital addiction. Forget ‘square eyes’, from too many hours spent in front of screens, people now can be considered to have a Social Media Disorder.
Some of the symptoms may include:
Social skills are being lost which may soon be irreversible, despite social networking suggesting quite a lot of communication.
Loss of individuality due to constant desire to fit in with what is trending on the Internet.
Inability to remember how to cope with daily routines without checking social media.
Jokes of addiction to scrolling social feeds, but unwilling to face the problem and detox
I feel I’m a self-proclaimed addict (partially) when it comes to social media (my mum would certainly say so) but, I think there’s a fine line between addiction and enjoyment/boredom!
I can control my use but so many others can’t. However, it’s so hard to know when enjoyment for an activity becomes a dependency and breaks into the realms of addiction.
Am I an addict?
Studies have shown that Media cravings are stronger than for any other substances. People are in need of another ‘hit’ but of a total different kind.
Is scrolling through your social media as you sit on the toilet or do your daily plank challenge considered an addiction?
Does looking at your phone to kill time waiting for public transport or lecturers to arrive mean you’re addicted?
Does snapchatting everywhere you go reflect the traits of an addict or simply that you enjoy taking photos?
Does updating your location on Facebook signify you’re addicted or just find pleasure in telling people who, what, where, how and why about your life…
All these are unanswered questions, but I’m pretty sure you are guilty of one of them and realise that the time has now come for you to stare around at the faces in the fellowship. Share your experience, strength and hope to solve a common problem and recover from your ‘socialism’- your Social Media addiction.
When does a problem become a REAL problem?
Social media is creating this race of idiots. You can sit down in any waiting room and look around to see people staring aimlessly at their phones. Lost in the Social media world.
People now reach that time in life where, if their post doesn’t receive enough exposure, it’ll be deleted.
On the topic of times, there are endless web pages telling you when the best time of the day/week/ month of the year to receive maximum reassurance when posting on social media.
Speaking of reassuarance, people now seek it in the shape of likes/comments/ shares.
None of the above= delete post and so, the vicious cycle continues…
This is evidently damaging to our mental health as we’ve become a world reliant on feedback and comparison. One example which constantly fills my feed (out of choice) is the uncountable amount of female gym goers, posting their progress and their exercise videos. Inevitably, this leads to people comparing their success and gains with other peoples’ who clearly have used photoshop, good lighting and angles which lowers viewers’ self esteems.
Who knows what is distorted and what is real life? Is anything real? Post-modernism at it’s finest.
Stars in our eyes.
If people are so willing to follow in the Social media footsteps of famous stars then why aren’t they following the likes of Star Wars star Daisy Ridley, supermodel Megan Fox and superstar Ed Sheeran, to namedrop just a few, who have deactivated their social media accounts. Some maybe just for a few days, or even forever, due to its obvious effects to mental health.
If you won’t listen to them, then who will you listen to?
Me? No, probably not, I’m not even going to go there.
With thanks to Nicky Bargiela
