Social Media Addiction

Social media is killing you! I know that got your attention, but it is taking your time. Nowadays, a lot of people are using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on. Social media is a bad thing for use, so I’m going to be exhibiting to you all about it. Since the Internet has propagated rapidly, social media has progressed a lot. The generalization of the internet makes us to live conveniently and fast. People are using smart phones, laptops or comfortable devices which can access to internet. These equipment’s allow us to use social media easily. It helps contact friends, family, and other people even though they live far away. It could be, however, abused, if you don’t use properly. Especially, it is important that we understand and regulate the use of social media for young children.

Report provides evident that social media have an influence on underage drinking. Social media have more effect on boys than it does on girls. Report shows (a) that (20%) boys and 10% girls under the age of 21 experimented with alcohol drinking after viewing alcohol contents on social media, (b) that (40%) boys and (25%) girls under the age of 21 are willing to experiment with drinking alcohol, and (c) that (80%) boys and (90%) girls did not drink any alcohol after the experiment.

Addictions may seem like simple pleasures at first. Unfortunately, that's the trap with any addiction. It starts out at a pleasurable interest. Gradually, it can turn into something that's life-altering and all-consuming. Not only can it alter your own life, it can ruin your family life. When it comes to addiction, most people think about the most popular ones like drug and alcohol addictions. However, there are many addictions that fly under the radar.

A concerned expression emerges upon her face as the constant beeping and buzzing from the neighboring room drifts into her ears. Knowing her obligation as a parent, she rises from her bed and heads toward the room of the noises. When she enters the room, she finds herself facing a disaster; his head is tilted forward, his eyes are fixed on the screen of his iPhone, his fingers are moving rapidly, and all of his attention is wrapped around nothing else but the activity he’s doing on his iPhone. The disaster that appears before her is the teenager of modern day. In the article, “Antisocial Networking?,” the author, Hilary Stout, claims that social media is inimical to adolescents due to the fact that youngsters who use it become less interested

Media has a lot to do with adolescent substance abuse. Many times in advertisement, adolescents see people drinking alcohol and having a great time. Media spends over $25 billion dollars on advertisement yearly. Many celebrities are seen smoking or drinking alcohol in movies, TV, and on commercials. This makes adolescents think that drinking, smoking, and taking drugs are cool and will make them popular. Over 5000 deaths yearly are caused by alcohol consumption. (Strasburger, 2010)

Not only does the overuse of the internet and social media cause mental problems, but increasing behavioral problems in the relationships of adolescents has been observed. The article “Understanding the Role of Technology in Adolescent Dating and Dating Violence” by Charlene Baker and Patricia Carreño discusses how the use of online forms of social media stunts the normal development of romantic relationships in the young, allows for people to harass others without facing consequences, and even molds what will develop into mentally and physically abusive relationships. A study done on adolescents showed, “…adolescents rely on technology for communication with, establishing control over, verbally abusing, seeking help, and reconnecting with

It’s no coincidence that a 16-year-old teenage girl, who thought she was meeting with her teenage pen pal, met with a 43-year old man and came up missing the next morning. It’s also no coincidence that a 13-year-old homosexual boy, who was constantly harassed with cruel messages online, hung himself last night. CNN reports that teenagers in the US spend approximately nine hours on social media a day. That’s over 250 total hours of average social media usage a month! Meanwhile, within the countless hours that the typical teenager spends online, it only takes one second for trouble to transpire. The large amount of time that teenagers spend online paired with the millions of users on major networks leave the door for social media abuse wide open.

Underage drinking has become one of the largest social issues among teenagers in America today. Although more than half of high schoolers drink on a regular basis, the problem is that they’re not aware of how dangerous alcohol can actually be. The reality is that alcohol is often the cause of many issues among many teenagers today. Simply saying alcohol is what’s ruining many young adults’ lives. Drunk driving, clubs losing their licenses, and the individual losing control of their own actions.

Social media gives the impression that alcohol usage is normative among young individuals. Adolescents may develop a perceived social norm of alcohol use among peers of varying ages because ages of individuals on social networking sites vary greatly. In an experiment conducted by Dana M. Litt and Michelle L. Stock, they examined the roles and impact of social networking sites perceived social norms of alcohol usage of adolescents. Their results show

In the article, “The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good of kids Use of Social Media,” Jim Taylor gives us a definition of the phrase internet addiction. He states, “Internet addiction is commonly characterized as excessive use of internet that interferes with daily functioning and that can lead to distress or harm,”. The addiction from the internet surely has a price to pay. Internet addiction is harmful psychologically, addictions to the internet shouldn’t be our only concern when it comes to social media, and internet addiction has no age limit.

This assertion was bolstered by one of my research participants who will remain nameless. In asking him what was biggest factor that led to him starting to drink, unsurprisingly he stated that his flagrant consumption of social media and television as a child began him to start to consider drinking by the age of 14. More specifically he stated that the social settings shown in commercials led him to believe that drinking was ok at any age as long as you were with a large group of people. Out of the 3 people I surveyed 2 stated that social media had a moderate to strong factor in the beginning of their drinking habits while the remaining one recognized how much their everyday life was commercialized by alcohol.

Most parents believe that it is just either school or friends as to why teenagers get into drugs and alcohol (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). The one thing parents do not think about at to why their teenager is involved in drugs and alcohol is social media, and it could be a big reason (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). Parents talk to their children on how to make the right decision related to drugs and alcohol, but forget they need to address how to make right decisions on social media (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). It was found that teenagers who use social media regularly are much more likely to abuse illegal substances (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). Some teens might also feel pressured by

In today’s society almost every individual has some type of social media, whether it is Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, or Twitter, People have accustomed to utilizing these types of social media and it has become part of their life and daily use. According to the essay “Students Addicted to Social Media” by the International Center for Media and Public Agenda, the study from the University of Maryland claims “American college students today are addicted to media” (Signs of Life in the USA 403). The university discovered that when these students are restricted from using media it is similar in terms of drug and alcohol addictions. During the study that the university conducted, students discuss how boring it is without media and how it gives them anxiety about not receiving information through social media. Other students claimed that texting and IM'ing gives them comfort and if they do not have these items then they feel alone and isolated from the world ( Signs of Life in the USA 404). Students are not the only ones who have an addiction of media but also parents and non-students. However, the International Center is accurate in some aspects and the responses students gave are very relatable which some people can agree with.

There is not a clear stated definition of digital addiction however Shaw and Black (2008) characterize Internet addiction by excessive or poorly preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding computer use and internet access that lead to impairment or distress. However as the term addict is a strong description DA is seen as a general misuse of the internet in various forms, as no formal definition exists the author sees the disorder as problematic computer usage resulting in negative consequences. According to Young et al DA is a broad term covering a wide variety of behaviours and impulse control problems. K.Young (1999) also categorised DA into five subtypes of DA, they are cybersexual addiction, cyberrelationship addiction; net compulsion (e.g. gambling or shopping on the internet); information overload (e.g. compulsive database searching); and computer addiction (excessive game-playing). This project highlights social network addiction which falls into the category of cyberrelationship addiction but also contemplates all other types.

Today’s youth generation, has a strong attachment to the online world. Many adolescents spend most of their time online versus offline. Therefore, one can consider these adolescents as a social network addict, a person who spends a fair amount of time on one or many social platforms. Throughout the three articles, “Social Networking Addiction: An Overview of Preliminary Findings” by Mark Griffiths, “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship” by Nicole B. Ellison and “Taking Risky Opportunities in Youthful Content Creation: Teenagers’ use of Social Networking Sites for Intimacy, Privacy, and Self-expression” by Sonia Livingstone, show how this addiction has changed people’s communication among people. While there are