Written by: Saman Khalid
Posted on: July 22, 2024 | 
| 中文
Interconnected distance is an effect of social media
A 5-minute study break turning into an hour-long scrolling session. A perpetual stream of swipe-ups and clicks with no end in sight. If that sounds familiar, you are likely stuck in the clutches of social media that seems to be eating up this generation. The psychology of social media addiction is a complex topic that needs to be understood by users at large. In this article, we will break down the effects of the hyper stimulation caused by social media platforms on the human mind.
Certain activities activate the pleasure center of the brain, leading to the release of "feel-good" chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins. This natural mechanism is essential to ensuring mental well-being and emotional balance. However, overexposure to scintillating stimuli can radically increase the rate of production of such hormones. As a result, the brain's reward system undergoes major changes; it gets rewired to crave more of the same stimulus repeatedly. These constant urges can lead to overindulgence and compulsive behaviors, often at the expense of time better spent engaging in productive tasks. Over time, the nervous system develops a high tolerance limit; it requires increased doses of dopamine to achieve the same level of satisfaction. Social media is the perfect example to illustrate it in action. In fact, social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook are especially curated to play into this innate psychology in order to keep people glued to their screens for as long as possible. The advanced algorithms analyze the user's viewing patterns and modifies the feed to appeal to the individual's greatest interests, emotions and desires. The endless scroll is occasionally rewarded by a "jackpot", which is basically just a piece of content that resonates with the viewer.
Social media has invisible chains of addiction
Short form content like reels have completely upended the attention spans of the current generation. A vast majority of teens is so attuned to 5-10s videos that they find it hard to commit to a full-length movie, let alone higher-order tasks requiring cognitive thinking. Needless to say, this is an extremely concerning dilemma that doesn't seem to be taken seriously enough. It also extrapolates to the overall intellectual degeneration seen in daily social media trends, most of which are mindless and reductive.
The most immediate and guilt-inducing consequence of a crippling social media addiction is the massive wastage of time that results from it. It isn't uncommon for addicted individual to spend hours on end doing nothing but scrolling through thousands of reels. At a certain point, the activity stops being pleasurable, and instead turns into a dark rabbit hole that spirals totally out of control. As a result, daily life activities are affected to the point that victims start losing their grades, finances and even relationships.
Insecurity and depression are the product of social media addiction
Social media provides a safe bubble of pure entertainment cut off from real world issues. It gives an illusion of perfection and safety, thus isolating the users from reality. People addicted to social media often find it hard to form connections, approach people and navigate relationships. Instead, they prefer to form parasocial relationships with influencers and transient online personalities. Not only is this unnatural, but it is also borderline toxic. Young and impressionable minds compare their lives to the filtered realities being broadcast on Instagram. This causes them to feel insecure about their own circumstances, and over-idealize the unrealistic standards set by social media. In the long-run, such people develop mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
Social media users create para social reality
Social media is essentially a giant echo chamber where everyone seems to be feeding into the same mentality. Every other week, a new trend takes over the internet, thus eliciting an unlimited stream of content that is almost fully uniform. With so much white noise around, original thought seems like a foreign concept. Unique ideas and new concepts have turned into a rarity.
Social media is the biggest echo chamber
The key to breaking any addicted cycle is discipline. In this day and age, it is neither practical nor wise to completely cut oneself off from the world of social media. However, it is important to establish clear boundaries and abide by them. Here are a few tips and tricks to get rid of a paralyzing social media addiction:
Most apps allow you to set a daily time limit. This feature helps you keep track of your social media usage and be mindful of the content you are consuming. It also saves you from hours upon hours of unproductive scrolling with no end in sight.
If you feel that a certain app is adding no value to your life, it is a great idea to delete it altogether. By reducing the number of social media apps on our phone, your addictive tendencies will automatically decrease.
Excessive use of social media results in disturbed sleep cycle
Every time you are done using social media, log out of your account. This way, you can add friction to the compulsive act of quick scrolling. You can also try accessing the app on chrome, so as to reduce its appeal.
In short, social media is a fantastic avenue bursting with opportunities for connection, fame and entertainment. However, it's destructive potential makes it a double-edged sword at times. The only reasonable course of action is to take control of your own attitude towards it. Instead of letting social media control your mind, you should seek to harness it to your advantage and lock it away when it's done.
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