The word “addiction” brings to mind alcohol and drugs. Yet, over the past 20 years, a new type of addiction has emerged: addiction to social media.
It may not cause physical harms, such as those caused by tobacco and alcohol, but it has the potential to cause long-term damage to our emotions, behaviour and relationships.
While the older generation – those born in the baby boom period shortly after World War II – had alcohol and drugs as their vice, the younger generation – the so-called millenials – have social media as theirs.
The millennials, born between 1984 and 2005, have embraced the digital age, using technology to relax and interact with others. Social media is a big deal for them; it is a lifeline to the outside world.
Although people of all ages use social media, it is more harmful for younger users than it is for older people.
All consuming
Addiction may seem a bit of a strong word to use in the context of social media, but addiction refers to any behaviour that is pleasurable and is the only reason to get through the day. Everything else pales into insignificance.
Millennials may not get liver damage or lung cancer from social media, but it can be damaging nonetheless.
The harm lies in their change in behaviour.Their addiction means spending increasing amount of time online to produce the same pleasurable effect, and it means social media is the main activity they engage in above all others.
It also means taking away attention from other tasks, experiencing unpleasant feelings from reducing or stopping interaction with social media and restarting the activity very soon after stopping completely.
We should also be concerned about the effect of social media on sleep and doing less “offline”, such as making time for work responsibilities and direct face-to-face social interaction.
It has also been linked to depression and loneliness, both of which may be the cause or the effect of social media addiction. Continue reading
Sources
- The Conversation, article by Tony Rao, Visiting Lecturer in Old Age Psychiatry, King’s College London
- Image: seodirect
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