Social Media Addiction

Social media has become deeply embedded as a part of today’s American culture and lifestyles, changing the way people interact and communicate with one another. Americans use social media every day; to not only communicate, but to express themselves. These online media sites and blogs serve as entertainment for its users and give them a sense of a social life if they do not already have one. Some users become so obsessed with their online lives that they lose the ability to successfully communicate with people in real life. Their craving for the use of social media becomes an addiction to where they can spend countless hours on their social sites. Facebook, a popular social media cite, has been proven to cause Facebook Depression, a sickness in which a person is emotionally depressed and in self denial. Studies have shown that sites such as Facebook, are a direct link to an individual’s physical and emotional well being.

Andreassen, Pallesen, Griffiths (2015) argues the implications of social media on a person(s), being addictive habits which affect self-esteem and moods. They did a study proving over 23,500 participants (Andreassen et al. 2015) showed addictive behaviour; of which it was most associated with

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.

It is fascinating how the Internet is changing people's lives in today’s world. Anyone is able to promptly do research and gather information on the Internet. With the click of a button you can have the data you need in less than ten seconds by searching for it on a search engine, such as Google. Since just about anyone has access to social media in today’s society, it makes it very easy for students to get distracted while in class or while doing their homework. Our world has been given so many different aids of communication which makes its very easy for us to connect with anyone.

The internet, for instance, whose initial use was for the government and governmental operations, has turned out to be a tool for societal interaction as well as a way of making and finding numerous opportunities. It has been reported that the number of internet users doubles every year which shows an increased dependence on technology for the society. In addition to that, the use of technology is not only limited to opportunities and obtaining information but also on the ever increasing use of social media. In society today, the use of social media has become a platform for

While the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale has demonstrated its reliability and proved its valid psychometric properties across several studies when it comes to assessing behavior using addiction criteria, the authors used a generic version that captured the totality of all social networking sites. The authors did not discuss the generic version thoroughly nor explored its validity. Lastly, the generic version has not been used with other samples other than this study. Thus, the validity and reliability of the results are shaken and questionable.

The term “social media” is one that has been coined only since the beginning of the 20th century. In centuries prior, the earliest forms of communication were conducted through hand written letters dating back to 550 B.C. (Hendricks, 2013). Following this method of communication, the telegraph was invented, followed by the radio and telephone towards the end of the 19th century (Hendricks, 2013). It was not until the 20th century when the first versions of the “computer” were introduced. By the 1980’s, almost 100 years after the invention of the telephone and the radio, home computers and the use of email and online “chats” were beginning to be used (Hendricks, 2013). During the early 2000’s the popularity in social media sites such as

This study relied on survey data and was cross-sectional research. Future research could include a qualitative approach in order to better understand the levels of addiction to social media, and the severity of mental health amongst participants with depression and anxiety.

Today, technology and the media are unlike anything anyone could have ever imagined fifty years ago. In 2017, technology is defined by the user and how it can change lives for the better. With new advancements in medicine, allowing for increased lifespans, AI is making the roads safer to drive on and making menial and advanced jobs routine and unmanned. People today also have a connection around the globe. The internet lets everybody peer into history, current news, how other cultures live and gives them the ability to connect with friends, relatives, and strangers that they may not have ever talked to. Today, there are several social media providers to use to connect with others,

That brings us to the next point, depression. Internet Addiction has many different psychological effects. There are deficits in decision making functions, low self-esteem, potential for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), ADHD, social phobia, hostility, loss of sense of time, neglect for basic drives, withdrawal, anger, tension, low tolerance (always needing more), frustration, anxiety and irritability. The obsessive-compulsive symptom was found to be an independent factor that influenced the addiction (Jang, 2008). However, depressive symptoms seemed to have the biggest influence on internet addiction.

“As many as 1 in 8 Americans suffer from problematic social media usage,” according to Stanford University,” not only are people obsessed and over use it, but they are actually becoming addicted. There are several online social medias that people are becoming addicted to; the five most prevalent are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Dating sites and online gaming, in particular Warcraft. Anyone who has access to technology, a computer, smart phone etc. and access to the internet is at stake in this new-aged addiction, regardless of age, race or gender. Social Media Addiction is now being recognized as a psychological disorder all over the world, not just here in the U.S. In the 90’s studies were focused on Internet Addiction (IA), but the new decade with its advances in social media sites have now added yet another addiction to study.

The most genuine complication of social media is addiction. A reporter on Salem health characterized that text messaging is no longer the biggest teenage obsession, and enormous phone bills from lengthy phone calls are no longer the biggest doubts for parents. These teenage addictions still remain, but in our generation and in analogy to the Facebook mania, it’s quite insignificant. Facebook addiction is advised to be a disorder driven by a craving. Not being able to access Facebook creates anxiety among fanatics. It is one of the most prominent social networking sites and has over one billion users without exception. People detach themselves from family and friends. Further symptoms of Facebook addiction have been related with needy sleep patterns. Researchers have also attempted to evaluate certain personality traits to the obsession. Being in touch with friends and family might clarify the logic why people are unreasonably obsessed.

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.

Although many people are addicted to the internet and social media, one girl experienced it in a rather harsh way. The now fifteen-year-old girl started “acting out” when she was just thirteen in the year of 2015. Her parents then turned off the service to her phone and took it away; but she would just buy a old or used phone from her friends, any phone she could get her hands on. In addition, she would stay up until 4:30 in the morning just looking at her feed, she also had multiple accounts for each app and would block her parents so they couldn’t see what she was doing or posting. Also, her social media addiction lead to the use of drugs and alcohol. At one point, when she was 13, the police showed up at her house in California, to inform her family that she was involved in a blackmail attempt, which included her nude pictures. Along with that she wrote a suicide note which she posted on her social media, had ended up on her parents phones, but she received treatment for “excessive social media use, substance abuse, and mental health,” (“ np).

While such networks have made people, communities and groups with shared interests stay more “connected,” Internet addiction and social network addiction in particular also started being recognized as psychological disorders all over the world. While several 90′s studies focused on Internet addiction, the next decade saw the growth of a new addiction related to all manner of social networking sites, especially the current king of the jungle: Facebook.