Not An Addict? Guess Again!

Not an addict? Guess again!

Social media addiction is the obsessive use and focus on social media websites and apps, even though the use causes negative consequences such as relationship issues, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
What Is Social Media Addiction?
Social media addiction is a behavioral addiction that is characterized as being overly concerned about social media, driven by an uncontrollable urge to log on to or use social media, and devoting so much time and effort to social media that it impairs other important life areas.

Checking and scrolling through social media has become an increasingly popular activity over the last decade. Although the majority of peoples’ use of social media is non-problematic, there is a small percentage of users that become addicted to social networking sites and engage in excessive or compulsive use. In fact, psychologists estimate that as many as 5 to 10% of Americans meet the criteria for social media addiction today.

Addictive social media use will look much like any other substance use disorder and may include:

Mood modification (engagement in social media leads to a favorable change in emotional states)
Salience (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional preoccupation with social media)
Tolerance (ever-increasing use of social media over time)
Withdrawal symptoms (experiencing unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms when social media use is restricted or stopped)
Conflict (interpersonal problems ensue because of social media usage)
Relapse (addicted individuals quickly revert back to their excessive social media usage after an abstinence period)
The phenomena of social media addiction can be largely attributed to the dopamine-inducing social environments that social networking sites provide. Social media platforms produce the same neural circuitry that is seen in those with a gambling addiction and recreational drug users. The goal is to keep consumers using their products as much as possible; this has resulted in an increase of people displaying symptoms of TikTok addiction, Instagram addiction, Snapchat addiction, Facebook addiction, and even YouTube addiction.

Studies have shown that the constant stream of retweets, likes, and shares from these sites cause the brain’s reward area to trigger the same kind of chemical reaction seen with drugs like cocaine. In fact, neuroscientists have compared social media interaction to a syringe of dopamine being injected straight into the system.