Social Media Research Paper

Addiction to Social Media

Social Media Addiction

Social media is common and majority of people use it daily from when they first wake up to the last thing they do before bed. People involve themselves more in social media and their internet personas than they do in their real lives. There is addictive behavior to social media and can result in mental issues and heavy data collection which can be solved by attention to personal life and separating social media.

To begin, “…addiction to media has been characterized as excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges or behaviors that lead to impairment or distress; such an addiction has also been characterized as “the overuse of media to the extent that it disturbs the user’s daily life” (Jeong 28). Self-control has a lot of relation to how addiction can overtake a person. Social life can be generated and maintained through social media by keeping in touch constantly, frequently updating, and staying in-tune with the always changing news. Social media will notify and keep a user aware of updates to keep them coming back for more. There is data being collects on websites through Facebook even if you do not have one or actively use it. If a website has affiliation with Facebook they can have your data and track a user’s clicks.

To summarize the idea that there is power in data for social media platforms, “… businesses collect enough data to completely replace humans with algorithms” (Dunbar 17). Data can help understand the pattern in users and help advance technology. On page 17, Dunbar explains that once platforms gather enough data to replace humans with algorithms because they can predict what humans are more likely to do. Users should be more aware of how social media recommends information and communities to achieve data. Known social Medias are free and platforms are collecting data for free.

To continue, social media purposefully uses tactics to make its users more addicted like perpetual anger. “What’s the best way to keep someone’s attention? … Another way, however, is to show them things they hate. Or to show them things they hate being hurt or humiliated” (Dunbar 15). Politics is a common topic on social media and platforms like Facebook uses information that individuals would rather not see to keep user’s attention as long as possible. Platforms will even hire people to make fake accounts to spark controversy and all the data is recorded of how often pages are visited and interaction with posts.

Next, mental issues arise in social media the more the addiction takes over users day to day. People live vicariously through other people and when they return to their real lives they feel less than and under rated compared to other people. “Research have shown that internet addiction, social media addiction, smartphone addiction, and digital game addition are associated with “depression”, “impulsivity”, loneliness”, sleep quality”, “well-being”, “self-esteem”, and “academic performance” (Savicy 204). Users compare themselves to others leading to dissatisfaction of their own lives. Influencers paint life to look a certain way and with social media people can see what they cannot have constantly. There are a lot of bad influences through media, but there doesn’t need to be a big disconnect from real life and internet life.

To resolve this issue will take an understanding of all users that not everything that is presented online is the truth and not everyone is true to their word. Know that not everything that happens in real life needs to be expressed online or posted. Another way to move away from addiction is to take time away from technology and focus on advancing in real life no matter if it is relationships, career, and hobbies. Deleting social media for a while and take a break to find enjoyment away from the screen and constant updates.

Works Cited

DUNBAR, MARK. “IF SOCIAL MEDIA IS MAKING US WORSE, Can We Make It Better?” Humanist, vol. 79, no. 1, Jan. 2019, p. 12. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=ulh&AN=133704704&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Jeong, Se-Hoon, et al. “Effects of Media Attributions on Responsibility Judgments and Policy Opinions.” Mass Communication & Society, vol. 21, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 24–49. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/15205436.2017.1362002.

Savci, Mustafa, and Ferda Aysan. “Technological Addictions and Social Connectedness: Predictor Effect of Internet Addiction, Social Media Addiction, Digital Game Addiction and Smartphone Addiction on Social Connectedness.” Dusunen Adam: Journal of Psychiatry & Neurological Sciences, vol. 30, no. 3, Sept. 2017, pp. 202–216. EBSCOhost, doi:10.5350/DAJPN2017300304.