CAUSES AND PROFILE OF PEOPLE ADDICTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA Amongst the most widely-recognised causes of addiction to social media are low self-esteem, personal dissatisfaction, depression and hyperactivity, and even lack of affection, a deficiency that adolescents frequently try to replace with the famous likes.
However, multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts. Social media may promote negative experiences such as: Inadequacy about your life or appearance.
Social Media Addiction Statistics Amongst Young Adults
Young adults tend to be the most affected by social media addiction. It is significantly higher amongst young single women. 90% of people aged 18-29 use social media in some form. 15% of people aged 23-38 admit that they are addicted to social media.
According to the DSM-5, social media addiction is not recognized medical condition. Neither is Internet addiction disorder.
By being aware of the triggers that make you want to use social media, setting boundaries, taking a break from social media, and finding other activities to do instead of using social media, you can prevent social media addiction.
Beating social media addiction is not something that can be done overnight; it requires a reevaluation of your digital-life balance. But there are some steps you can take to put you on the right path.
But when you think about it, it's giving us comfort and familiarity in an unfamiliar setting. Sitting in a restaurant waiting for a friend, attending an event with strangers, social media gives us a way to connect to social objects and to people that we know, so we feel less alone or uncertain.
The study findings suggest that checking social media repeatedly among young teens ages 12 to 13 may be associated with changes in how their brains develop over a three-year period. The brains of adolescents who checked social media often – more than 15 times per day, became more sensitive to social feedback.
Using it activates the brain's reward center by releasing dopamine, a “feel-good chemical” linked to pleasurable activities such as sex, food, and social interaction. The platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments.
However, social media use can also negatively affect teens, distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people's lives and peer pressure. The risks might be related to how much social media teens use.
Excessive social media use is typically considered anything over 2 hours a day. To gauge how addictive social media has become, you should look more at how negatively it is impacting a person's life, health, and well-being rather than the amount of time a person is spending on it.
With 13.4 million Australians now spending 18.8 hours per day online, and New South Wales leading this trend, Australia's internet addiction is operating at high speed. And it is not just us. People worldwide are finding it difficult to unplug.
The causes of social media addiction include addictiveness, stress and self-esteem, and social anxiety. These factors drive a person to continue with the excessive use of social media to clear out unpleasant feelings.
Although there are important benefits, social media can also provide platforms for bullying and exclusion, unrealistic expectations about body image and sources of popularity, normalization of risk-taking behaviors, and can be detrimental to mental health.
20 These results are in accordance with our study whereas, the results of a study conducted on the students of the university of Sharjah showed contradiction to our results concluding that males (49.6%) were more addicted to social media as compared to females (32%).
Research shows that the more time people spend on Facebook and Instagram, the more they compare themselves socially. This social comparison is linked, among other things, to lower self-esteem and higher social anxiety.
Too much comparison. Self-esteem often takes a hit when you start comparing yourself too much to other people, which is something social media seems to be made for. One study found that frequently viewing selfies led to decreased self-esteem and decreased life satisfaction.
Every time users watch a video on TikTok, dopamine is released in their brains in a way that mimics the effects of drugs and there is not much that can compete with this type of stimulation.
“We know that social media activity is closely tied to the ventral striatum,” said Mitch Prinstein, APA's chief science officer. “This region gets a dopamine and oxytocin rush whenever we experience social rewards.”
Why is Gen Z so obsessed with social media? Gen Z is so obsessed with social media because it allows them to connect and build friendships with people all over the world. It's a powerful tool for building community and sharing information. And it's a great way to stay connected with friends and family.
People who are crazy about social media are often referred to as 'social media fanatics' or 'social media addicts'. They are the ones who are devoted to spending a lot of time on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and more.
To sum up, it is easier to appear happy on social media rather than real life. Showing that you are happy, leading a fun, dynamic and fulfilling life has never been easier. That is why showing off on social media is omnipresent with more and more people around the world.