Are You Obsessed With Social Media?

Social media? Obsession? Do both ring a bell? Being In an age, where two in every three humans own a phone globally, the hook of social media is in every office, school, home and street. It is hard to get away from the likes, comments and endless scrolling. Human obsession with social media has gotten so serious that concerns have been raised about the relationship between mental health wellbeing and the negative impact of excessive use of social networking.  

The worry is especially targeted at young people like you and me. Most of gen Z and the whole of gen Alpha, have grown up with social media at their finger-tips. We really must ask ourselves, am I spending too much time on social media and is it impacting my life in a negative way? Obsession can cost you relationships, jobs, and an education if you spend too much time online. As a student, I see this first hand in my education. 

I believe it is a serious issue which has many short and long-term implications within society and your personal life.   

There is a lot of research and science out there that does suggest obsession and addiction around social media. In studies, psychologists have found a small population of us who use social media significantly have damaging effects on our daily lives. These effects include the impacts on real-life relationships, academic achievement and productivity. And more studies have shown that obsessive use of social media can be associated with psychological problems such as depression, addiction, anxiety, loneliness and ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.)  But a social media addiction can only be diagnosed by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.  

One cause of this problem is the 'fear of missing out' or FOMO. It means the person is excessively checking their social media feeds to see what their friends, family and colleagues are up too. People are more inclined to join social media sites such as Facebook because everyone is there; their family, friends and colleagues.  

Another reason is the apps itself. The biggest tool in social media addiction is the algorithms filtering. Google+, Facebook and Twitter, tweak their algorithms. So they can then monitor the response of our usage to see if the tweak they made, makes us stay on the site longer. Hence why we always need to update our social media apps.  YouTube has its own tricks to increase users surfing their app. The YouTube videos trick the human brain into thinking we have a personal relationship with the YouTube creator and the YouTube creator is talking directly to us. These actions are making me and you, the users, obsessive and compulsive. 

The notification number is an element also used to get you hooked on. As soon as you open your home screen on your smartphone the notification number appears on the app icon. It is the same psychological trick as clickbait headlines.  

Personally, I think that social media and the time that we spend surfing it is scary. The average person in their lifetime will spend 5 years and 4 months on social media. More than eating and drinking (3 years and 5 months). My advice to you is, really think about the time spent on social media, who knows what can happen when you look up from your feed and view the world.  

If you are seeking support...... 

Parent Help – 0800 568 856 for parents/whānau seeking support, advice and practical strategies on all parenting concerns. Anonymous, non-judgmental and confidential. 

Youthline – 0800 376 633, free text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat 

Kidsline – 0800 54 37 54 (0800 kidsline) for young people up to 18 years of age. Open 24/7.