Social Media Addiction
The signs of addiction, and ways to cope with it.
Social Media Addiction
Do you constantly feel a nagging to be online? Are you often ruining fun opportunities by trying to document them on social media? Do you feel that nothing matters except for your phone? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be addicted to social media.
Signs of Addiction
Being addicted to social media is more than just being on your phone for a few minutes. Signs of being addicted to social media are very similar to the signs of being addicted to other things, like drugs. Addiction signs are:
- Being on social media as much as possible, even in the presence of others
- When not online, having a nagging desire to get back on
- Choosing to be on the internet instead of doing something in real life (Such as choosing to be on Twitter instead of hanging out with friends)
- Not being able to put the phone down for long periods of time
How Addiction Can Affect Teen's Lives
Addiction to social media can have very harmful mental and social effects. Addiction can cause:
- Depression- Teens spending so much time on social media are often measuring themselves against the pictures of airbrushed celebrities and models, which lowers self-esteem. Furthermore, only getting a certain amount of likes or favorites on a post can lead to a teen feeling like it is "Not enough", and further their sadness
- High Stress- Teens may feel stress and pressure to fit in, and take perfect pictures or posts
- Limits on Social Life- Teens spending all of their time on social media may actually make less friends, due to the fact that they would rather spend time online than hanging out in person
How to Deal With Social Media Addiction
Dealing with social media addiction is very important so that teens do not develop serious health effects. Ways to deal with social media addiction are very simple, yet effective:
- Limit time spent on social media- The simplest yet most effective way to deal with addiction is to limit time spent on it. Give teens an hour to be on it, then get off
- Show them how it is affecting their lives- Showing teens how social media can be affecting things like friendships can "wake them up" and help them to realize there is more to life than their phone
- Take away devices- Simply taking away the device completely will allow teens to spend time off of the phone, and hopefully realize that there are more things to life than being online 24/7
Real Life Teens - Social Media Addiction