The Addictive Nature Of Social Media

The Problem

Admit it, you are guilty, just like me, of checking your Social Media Accounts to see how many Likes or re-Tweets you have received. On Pinterest, did anyone comment on your Pins, or follow your Boards? I actually disconnected some of my Social Media accounts from my Smart Phone. I was tired of hearing the notifications and people getting on me for not responding right away. I finally told them all, “If I don’t get back to you, just chill out, I do have a business and a life.”

Some were hurt and confused, while others understood.  Does this sound all too familiar?

Addiction – Facebook, Twitter, et al…

Social Media can be as addictive as coffee or cigarettes or crack cocaine. The addictive nature of social media has to do with the fear of missing out on something someone shares. I recently went to lunch with a friend that comes to my computer classes. She is an older woman in her 70’s. Throughout the lunch her phone would make noise and she would stop mid-sentence while talking to me to check her news feeds. Then she would turn the phone around to show me things, from people I don’t know. I have to hand it to her, she is one hip grandma and knows all the lingo, but I found this kind of rude and disturbing.

Another friend of mine is a Twitter addict. As soon as she Tweets something, she waits with bated breath for someone to respond to her Tweets. She gets depressed if it doesn’t happen within moments of her Tweet. If you ask me, I think some of it has to do with feeling lonely and isolated. Some of us mostly work from home. My interactions are mostly with my dogs and my husband. When I post something, and someone interacts with me, it is like feeling the love. I get the same feeling when I write an article for DCT and someone responds, either negatively or positively, it warms the cockles of my heart.

Social Media addiction is real and can ruin lives, damage careers, and turn you into someone that eats your meals at the computer, not wanting to miss anything.

YouTube is also very addicting. YouTube is much like channel surfing. You start on one video, and before you know it, you have wasted hours watching video after video. Did I mention that I learned how to cook an omelet from a YouTube video? My husband sits down every night and watches YouTube videos. He enjoys that and the videos he watches have taught him how to do a lot of home improvement tasks. So, it is a win-win in my mind.

Break the Habit

Try to set a time once a day and schedule it to check out all your Social Media Networks. Keep track of how much time you spend on each network. The networks you no longer use– why not De-activate those accounts?

See you around– I’ll probably end up seeing you in Group Therapy!

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