Social Media is one platform that we use to express our views and keep in touch with fellow netizens. But then, is this Social Media controlling our lives in the recent few years? If you thought that the answer was 'NO', then you are wrong! Social Media has taken over our life significantly and knowingly or unknowingly we are caught up in a web of different applications and social networking sites. Today I am going to discuss with you a few critical stages of social media addiction that are changing your brain right now.
5 to 10% of Social Media users are physically unable to control how much time they spend on the net. Even though this is a psychological issue as opposed to a drug addiction, MRI scans of such people's brain show impairment to regions similar to those with drug addiction. The internet provides you maximum results with hardly any effort, so the brain tends to rewrite itself and hence, tends to crave for more. So the more you use the Social Media the more you get addicted to it.
Phantom vibration syndrome is the new psychological syndrome among those groups of people who are social media dependent. The brain reacts to stimuli like a physical phenomenon such as an itch and hence people think that it's their phone that is vibrating.
Low level of Multi-tasking
As the common perception goes a person who is well-versed with the social media will be very equipped at multitasking, but that is a false notion as social media users are unable to block out unnecessary distractions and hence and not able to commit things to memory. They are totally unable to multitask.
Using social media we find it difficult to commit things to our memory. Due to the large influx of too much information we receive from social media we just filter off the excess and in the process we are not able to retain the useful stuff too.
Social media users trigger the release of Dopamine which is a feel good chemical. According to MRI scans of such people the reward centers in the brain are much more active when they talk about themselves rather than listening to others views. Because 80% of social media communication is self-involved, so practically we are rewarding ourselves for bragging about us.
Use of social media makes you distracted as you always keep checking your messages and your email. So even when on a vacation you are working.
People addicted to using social media tend to upload too many pictures of their own online. Seen especially among teens, people relate their self-esteem to these pictures and tend to get obsessed with getting a maximum number of likes online. This may lead to emotional turmoil's among kids about who gets more likes
The use of social media is not that bad! It has been estimated that partners tend to like someone better when they meet them online rather than a face to face interaction. Using social media has helped to keep people who are physically separated, close to each other and hence it's very useful to those who matter in your life.
People who are addicted to social media are not able to connect personally or emotionally with other people. The more they connect online, the more they disconnect with people. They prefer getting messages rather than attending phone calls.
People who are social media addicted tend to panic if their phones are not nearby. And are not at ease if they are kept away from their phones.
It is important to stay offline for at least a few hours every day and that does not include the time you sleep. While it may seem impossible initially, with determination and practice, you can help yourself learn to use social media sparingly.
About the Author: ANAKHA is a Content Writer at Code9 Technologies , PaperMarker.com and Altadigital.ca. She is well-experienced in software design and also a passionate about music, reading and writing non-tech articles. She also works on some freelance marketplaces.