Social Media: The Invisible Addiction
The contemporary rise of a new type of dependancy.
I think at the back of my mind I always knew I was somewhat addicted to my phone — much like most of the people around me are. It became very clear to me a few weeks ago, when I smashed my phone whilst out with friends and the short time I endured without a phone honestly felt like I’d lost my left arm, experiencing a big sense of fomo; as if I had been ostracised from the rest of the world.
I don’t think I’d be the first of my generation to say that there’s always a feeling of sudden anxiety when you can’t locate your phone, or a feeling of isolation when the constant stream of notifications is dry for an hour or two. The fact that these feelings are also considered normal, means that I’ve also never really considered them to be an issue. Even during lockdown my screen time rapidly increased, I was spending four or so hours a day on Tik Tok alone — (yes, I am 22 years old and I have no shame in admitting that I do, in fact, know the ‘Savage’ Tik Tok dance from start to finish thanks to being on furlough for 4 months.)
Simon Sinek, regards the relationship we have with our phones as an addiction: “The fact that you cannot put it away means that you are addicted.” (The Millennial Question). Even now as I write this, my iPhone is sitting face up next to me, so I guess it’s now starting to dawn on me that this ‘addiction’ is more than just a bad habit — it’s a deeply integrated part of my thinking, which before now, I never felt needed to be addressed.
Another big eye opener for me was the Netflix documentary, ‘The Social Dilemma,’ where Google and Facebook creators actually talk about the psychological effects that the rapid increase and development of social media has had on billions of people’s thoughts processes. How these decisions made by a few dozens of people sat in a board room, have effectively changed the world and how we think. Kind of scary when you put it like that.
Simon Sinek, also suggests that this ‘addiction’ is comparable to an addiction to gambling, smoking and alcohol, due to the shot of dopamine that is released every time we receive a notification or a ‘like’.
The idea of addiction is more brutally bought to light in the Social Dilemma documentary, whereby the psychological effects of notifications, likes, comments, shares, etc. and the ability to constantly refresh your phone to a new stream of media, is termed to be “Positive Intermittent Reinforcement”, which operates similar to the slot machines in Vegas.
There’s a quote within the documentary from Edward Truffle which states, “The only two industries that call their customers ‘users’ are illegal drugs and software.” So, it seems to me, that it is quite apparent that social media is a ‘drug’ that we, as ‘users,’ within a rapidly adapting, technological world and society — have been programmed to be addicted to, on a deeper level. Probably, without even realising it.
I found the conversation about age restrictions an interesting one, within Simon Sinek’s interview. I’d never considered the fact that most sources of addiction, like alcohol, smoking and gambling, all have age restrictions — but social media doesn’t. This, in my opinion, isn’t strictly true. I had Facebook from the age of 10, although the supposed ‘age restriction’ is 13 years of age. I vividly remember it was people’s 12th birthday and Facebook would be sending me notifications that a random boy I knew in year 8 was supposedly turning 22 this coming Monday. I feel as though the loose age restrictions on social media, could more strictly be policed to limit the exposure to younger people. Especially as when I was this age, all I had was Facebook and social media wasn’t used to the extent it is now — with platforms like Instagram, Tik Tok and Snapchat putting more and more pressure on the young people of today.
There is no doubt that social media is rapidly expanding and updating, faster than we probably even realise. I consider myself lucky to not have grown up with the pressures of Instagram in the way that pre-teens and adolescents are today. Gone are the days of awkward fashion trends and phases, as access to influencers means that even from the age of 12, young people are exposed to the pressures around appearance and fashion, as well as constantly being fed advertisement from related industries.
I see Gen-Z’s in the streets and in car parks filming Tik Toks as if it’s second nature to them. However, that’s not to say I’m not guilty. I feel no shame sending snapchats of myself in public and at work, not thinking anything of it. Whereas I’m sure the older people around me are confused as to why I’m constantly taking selfies of myself on the train.
It’s now dawned on me — that yes, I am an addict. Maybe it’s time to cut down my interaction with social media, limit my screen time from an average of 7 hours a day, to a more acceptable 2–3 hours, in the hope that I see a boost in productivity and possibly even, my mental health.
On a personal note, I view phones and social media as a revolution, a phase that in years to come we will look back on and think to ourselves, “wow, did I really used to spend days on end with my eyes fixed to a screen, scrolling through influencers on Instagram and memes on Twitter.” However, I know that this is wishful thinking and probably an internalised excuse to continue to waste my time in a non-tangible world.
The mainstream media in the mid 1900’s used to glamorise smoking as a healthy habit, which was encouraged by athletes. It wasn’t until years later it was turned on its head and now when we think of smoking, we think of the “SMOKING KILLS,” tag line and the morbid imagery that is stamped onto cigarette packaging.
Does this mean that, in years to come I’m going to find myself sat in a community hall around a group of other 90’s babies, admitting to how my social media addiction spiralled out of control and lead me into a deep, dark hole of depression? Similar to how people go into rehab today? Time will only tell — but hopefully by trying to limit my time on social media, maybe I will look back at laugh at the weird trends that circulate and rule over a lot of our lives as young people today — much like the ‘Savage’ Tik Tok dance of 2020.
