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Social Media Addiction

This article is about social media addiction. For social media, see Social Media. For social networking service, see Social networking service. For Addiction, see Addiction.

Social media addiction is characterized as a compulsive engagement in social media and social media networks despite adverse side effects and consequences. Social media is a web-based technology that enhances conversations amongst people by providing easily accessible outlets to communicate. Social networking sites provide individuals with the opportunity to experience an extreme form of networking. Examples of social media sites range from sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; Gaming sites and virtual worlds such as Club Penguin, Minecraft, and Habbo Hotel; video sites such as YouTube. Such sites have grown exponentially in recent years due to technological advancements which provide accessibility to these platforms and increase popularity. It is through frequent usage of social media that users begin to develop strong dependencies on these platforms which they are unaware of subconsciously.

Virtual Communities

Virtual communities consist of groupings of individuals on social media platforms who have the ability to communicate and/or connect with those who have access to the same platform. Involvement in a Virtual Community creates a false sense of belonging and is often pursued to fulfill social needs users are isolated from in real life Virtual Communities exist in a wide range of media platforms including social networking, online gaming, and school databases. The ambiguity of social networks allows adolescents to create an identity and reach a desired social acceptability without having to be subject to any scrutiny.

While non-depdents often use the internet and social media for functionality purposes, dependents focus on outlets used to meet, socialize, and exchange ideas with new people through these highly interactive mediums.

Addictive Properties

In a technological based world social media provides accessibility and efficiency to users. Often, social media is viewed as the optimal way to connect socially with others. The value of a network increases with the amount of users who visit it. Thus, in order to remain relevant, social networks offer different features to their users in order to further develop a sense of connection such as Notifications (see also Likes), the ability to tag other users. and chatting options within applications. These applications are ever-changing, as new incentives are offered daily such as filters to manipulate photos, the ability to live stream (see also Facebook Live), and the ability to post videos.

Interactions

Aside from message applications, social networks provide alternative ways of communication amongst their users. Comments and likes have become recognized as social interactions. Social media users receive a feeling of gratification when the people they connect with respond positively to the content they share. Increasing attention forces those seeking social connections to continuing posting content.

Characteristics

A number of studies show that individuals addicted to social media usage often possess similar characteristics. A study conducted by Huang Hanyun shows that social media addiction is often present in older male adolescents who lack alternative leisure activities and are more introverted or older female adolescents who use social media as an outlet to alleviate negative emotions. Often these females are considered self-absorbed but do not have exploitative tendencies. Adolescents seek gratification found from their engagement in social media, and use social media as an escape from real life drawbacks such as boredom, tension, or bother Researchers at McMaster University discovered 56% of students often spent countless hours on video streaming websites, 48% lacked self-control of social media usage, and 29% could not resist messaging applications. Commonly between both genders there is the desire to develop their identity within cyberspace while the desire to do so in offline activities is often not present. As health professionals are now beginning to realize, there is a strong connection between social media addiction and mental health issues.

Side Effects

Aside from poor time management (due to unintentional loss of time), proper internet usage for non-dependents is potentially harmless. Dependents often encounter issues in their personal and occupational lives due to excessive use thus social media addiction is comparable to addictions such as pathological gambling, eating disorders, and alcoholism.

Adverse consequences from social media addiction can result in poor school performance, depression, eating disorders, and sleep deprivation due to frequent usage. Studies show that dependent users are likely to use the internet anywhere from twenty to eighty hours per week, ranging in single sessions that could last up to fifteen hours. The excessive use results in disruptive sleep patterns interfering with daily life and impairing academic and occupational functioning. In extreme cases, caffeine pills were used to facilitate longer Internet sessions.

Eating Disorders

See also: Eating Disorder

Eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa show how an individual can refuse nourishment of their own bodies which stems from a problem far deeperthan mere vanity. It is indicated that: Social media only focuses on the social significance of beauty. Studies indicate that commonly body dissatisfaction is caused by negative thoughts and feelings towards one's body, such as belief that an individual is not thin enough. Body dissatisfaction caused by social media outlets forces individuals to conform to the thin-ideal. Social media can play a significant role in the etiology of eating disorder as it can trigger the illness in vulnerable individuals, by suggesting that being ‘thin’ also means being successful. This increasing trend in Western society has caused women to become evermore attentive to body image and size, spurring on the epidemic of disordered eating patterns.

The study conducted by Nicole S. Witton took 134 York University psychology majors between the ages of 17 and 29 and tested them on a number of scales and behavioral practices. The study incorporated a number of tests directly exposing the sampling group to different types of medium and self-perception based tests. Results showed from a questionnaire used for testing purposes that those students with restrictive dietary practices (chronic dieters) reported the greatest levels of media consumption and usage. Witton’s testing proves that disordered eaters (restrained eaters) do have a greater tendency to relate to media types that encourage curbed or altered states of dietary practices. Eating disorders directly ties in with the overuse of social media due to the overexposure of sickly thin models and celebrities.

Relationships

In an attempt to compensate for lack of real world relationships, introverts and individuals with low self-esteem who use social networking sites to are likely to be at risk. For dependents, often online relationships take precedence over real world ones. Spouses were often the most neglected when Dependents' online relationships turned romantic. Online affairs develop due to feelings of excitement and the perception that these interactions are harmless due to lack of physical intimacy and distance between those involved. Spouses of Dependents felt feelings of neglect for overtime it becomes evident that their spouse exerts all effort and focus into maintaining these online relationships. Ultimately deponents feel a need to remain connected to social networking sites and constantly socialize in order to ensure a connection is not lost with their online friends.

Financial Issues

As dependents increasingly become addicted to social media, financial issues can be a symptom of social media addiction due to a number of different factors. Due to the addiction, Individuals seek around the clock connection. Work-related issues arise when dependents begin to use work computers for online access or their phones while working to connect to social media. Since this is a relatively new addiction, employers may mishandle these types of situations: opposed to helping the employee the employer may ultimately suspend or dismiss them. Additionally extraneous charges such as data overages (due to exceeding usage outside of the permitted amount of data in their cellular packages) or monthly subscriptions to different networking sites such as Tinder can become extreme. Additionally purchasing the technology to remain connected can be costly as well. It must be noted that although these can be minor costs to a non-dependent those who are battling with an addiction can become carried away.

Cyber-bullying

See also Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying in which a victim is attacked through the usage of online and/or technological based methods such as social media. It is defined as the use of technology as a way to facilitate a personal attack through means of harassment or threats towards an individual or group. Often the attack is based on information or communication found within the social network and involves posting or sending cruel messages of graphics using technology. The ability to have full access to an individual’s personal life, due to social networking sites, allows bullies to execute their attack on a personal level. In addition, social networking sites provide the opportunity for bystanders to join in the attack easily due to easy accessibility within the virtual community. Opposed to traditional bullying which issues attacks against individuals considered targets due to characteristics such as obesity, physical weakness, and disability, to the bully any individual is the potential candidate for cyber-bullying. The anonymity of the internet gives bullies a false sense of security.

Social Media Reversion

Similar to a ny addiction, social media proves to be an issue when users believe that their usage is not problematic. Social Media Reversion is when an individual who initially attempts to quit social media relapses. Experiments show that reversion stems from a number of reasons. Often dependents felt socially isolated due to reasons of feeling left out (missing photos their friends posted or not receiving a notification to remind them of a birthday) or desperately cared what others thought of them. Additionally, those who found their addictions to be habitual often caved. Those less likely to revert back to social media often have healthy and active social lives in the real world, therefore do not feel completely isolated.

99 Days of Freedom

As part of a study's research, 99 Days of Freedom was launched. Users were encouraged to change their Facebook profile photo (to one created by the research group), create a countdown, and then avoid using the website for 99 days. In an attempt to assist users in realizing their dependency, this movement suggested that individuals successful in quitting social media would realize how harmful it really is. The study revealed that of the 40,000 participants that initially signed up for 99 Days of Freedom the response rate proved low when only 10% showed full participation.

Withdrawal

In addition to a number of physical and medical problems, deponents who attempt to quit social media also experience a number of withdrawal symptoms such as anger, mood swings, irritability, and loneliness.

Treatment

Field professionals have placed heavy blame on the media and have expressed deep resentment and hostility towards medium platforms for causing an assortment of social issues in the western world. Due to an increase in patients displaying an addiction to social media, there has been a significant demand for clinical treatments and facilities combatting social media addiction. Although studies suggest social media addiction is a symptom of depression or anxiety, a number of researches have argued that Internet addictions do exist. As social media addiction is still unrecognized by the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 as a diagnosable condition due to lack of research, often dependents are ignored by employers and medical professionals.

reSTART Life

A Washington based rehabilitation centre, reStart Life, offers counselling services and retreats to social media addicts with promise to cure their technological addictions. On their website they share: "Internet Addiction (IAD), video game abuse, and cell phone overuse issues plague roughly 10% of America's population". The rehabilitation centre suggests that problematic technology use stems from underlying issues (such as depression) that they assist Dependents in uncovering. Personally designed programs are created to cater to Dependents' specific needs. Methods of rehabilitation include: mentoring, stress reduction programs, programs focused on nutrition and fitness, spiritual recovery, and retreats. There is also mention of 12-step meetings.

ReStart suggests that rehabilitation will encourage people to practice sustainable lifestyle choices as opposed to unsustainable ones. Examples of sustainable life practices are: limiting time on technology, having control over digital technology, and balancing the use of technology. Unsustainable lifestyle practices are essentially effects that can occur from social media practices such as poor nutrition or lack of physical exercise, relationship issues, and sleep deprivation.

Main Stream Media

Many celebrities and media influencers alike have publicly broadcasted the effects they have personally felt due to social media addiction. As a result they have shied away from media platforms due to the overwhelming attention received from their fans and followers. While some public figures have quietly reduced their usage of social media, others have urged their fans to understanding the damaging affects social media addiction may have.

In 2016, Essena O'Neill an instagram model altered the captions on her photos to reveal the truth behind her social media addiction. O'Neill who was a paid Instagram model would receive compensation (either monetary or free items) to endorse items and services on her Instagram. Often sought out for their large followings and marketable appearances, companies hire Instagram models and celebrities to post sponsored content. Particular to O'Neill the high demand from these companies and her followers to post quality content caused her to become addicted to social media. The addiction overall caused her emotional distress as often Essena would go to extreme lengths to become Instagram famous. In an attempt to quit her social media addiction, O'Neill began changing her captions on past Instagram photos to confess the true backstories behind these misleading photos. Through doing this she attempted to remove the glamour and fame previously associated with her social media accounts and content. O'Neill realized the influence she had on her followers and thus wanted to reveal a much more realistic image of the harms of social media addiction. After facing accusations of self-promotion and receiving backlash from her public dismissal of social media O'Neill released a statement: "“I was lost, with serious problems so beautifully hidden … If anything my social media addiction, perfectionist personality and low self esteem made my career,” she said. “Over-sexualisation, perfect food photos, perfect travel vlogs – it is textbook how I got famous. Sex sells, people listen to pretty blondes, I just happened to talk about veganism a trending thing on YouTube."

FTC Intervention

See also The Federal Trade Commission

Often advertisements are cleverly hidden within social media posts celebrities are paid to endorse. Paid posts are made without any indication that the content is created with the intention to advertise a product or service. Instead the influencer posting a photo with a product misleads viewers into believing that they personally use or favour this product. The Federal Trade Commission plans to become stricter with paid advertisements in order to ensure consumers are not mislead. Potentially this could make paid posts less effective due to the consumer being informed that the influencer may not personally support what they are advertising. Aside from taking legal action against companies who refuse to abide, in order to fix this increasing issue The FTC has been hosting online conferences and creating guides to encourage manufactures to steer clear from hidden advertising.