Social Media is an Addiction
Addiction refers to the circumstances where a person has a craving for something up to the point that the thing becomes a necessary part of that person’s life.
Social Media Addiction:
by: Atif Javed
Addiction refers to the circumstances where a person has a craving for something up to the point that the thing becomes a necessary part of that person’s life. An addict cannot fancy his life without that particular addiction. Social media addiction refers to the feeling where a person constantly desires to use social networking sites irrespective of whether that use is necessary or not. Social media has become an important part of a person’s life. It has shortened distances and has literally transformed the world into a global village. These sites allow people to interact with each other and help them to keep in touch like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit and many many more…..
It is a platform where people can communicate
Social media has become a platform to convey information of any kind without any hesitation. It is a platform where people can communicate with people of all communities irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. Moreover, some social networking sites are a platform for people to showcase their hidden skills like acting, modeling, photography, singing etc.
The use of social media has increased so much
The use of social media has increased so much that according to Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, an average person spends almost 50 minutes a day on Facebook. 50 minutes a day seem pretty reasonable but if we consider the fact that a person spends just 17 minutes a day on reading, it explains the current situation of social media addiction.
The addiction is caused due to a chemical named ‘dopamine’ that generates the craving to constantly scroll through social networking sites. A person would love to receive notifications about likes, reacts or comments on his posts. The notification would stimulate a feeling of satisfaction for him and he would desire to receive more notifications whether they are relevant or not.
Social media addict in the same way as the drug
The sound or vibration generated by that notification would act for a social media addict in the same way as the drug acts for a drug addict. Some people are addicted to social media to an extent that they cannot sleep without getting their regular dose of dopamine i.e. using social media. This disturbs their sleeping pattern and it becomes difficult for them to sleep when they are deprived of that dose. The addiction is common among the young generation as they spend a lot of time scrolling through these apps without any proper purpose. It is important for a person to limit his daily use of social media to a safe limit so that the addiction does not affect his routine tasks.
Read our article on Social Media Resolution