At the beginning of a new year, it’s customary to make resolutions that we hope will bring about better and healthier versions of ourselves. These often revolve around diet and exercise routines, but increasingly people are vowing to spend less time on social media.
This may be a desire to connect with more people face to face rather than through a screen, or maybe to find a romantic partner through offline activities rather than dating apps, which some people can find soul destroying. You may decide to delete a few apps, or unfollow certain people on your social feeds who make you feel negative about your own life.
However, for some people the process is not so simple and straightforward. They feel a compulsive need to check their phones, which may start to blend into a dependent behaviour. This is one definition of addiction, and withdrawing from the behaviour becomes increasingly difficult because the user is locked into a cycle of dependency.
Addiction is more often associated with substance misuse, such as alcohol or drugs. Medical bodies have broadened the definition in recent years to include behaviours such as gambling and internet gaming. However, social media addiction is not yet a condition that has a formal medical classification.
So just how real and how harmful is social media addiction? Psychologists generally agree that an addiction is a behaviour that interferes with your ability to function in your day to day life and causes psychological distress. If you only use social media in your spare time then it is likely that you have not yet tipped over into addiction.
However, if you obsessively or compulsively check your phone when you should be working, or during time that is meant to be shared with your family, friends, or partner, then it’s time to take a serious step back and reassess your behaviour.
There may not be enough definitive scientific evidence to support the addiction theory yet, but it’s already known that social media platforms are deliberately engineered to trigger the release of dopamine transmitters in our brains, which is the pleasure neurotransmitter.
The hit of likes, comments, shares, and so on causes an instant spike in the brain’s reward system, which is brief and soon fades, and leaves us carving the next hit. When we don’t receive the validation we are looking for, we anxiously spend more time checking and scrolling, locking us in a vicious circle that can be very difficult to step away from.
Some users may find that they become hooked on feeds that present aspirational lifestyles, cultivating a corrosive fear of missing out or feelings of inadequacy if they feel their own life or appearance does not match up to what they see on screen.
HOW CAN SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION BE CHALLENGED?
There are a number of steps you can take to minimise smartphone addiction. Some people find that simply muting their notifications, so that they only check them within a limited time frame, loosens the tight grip of control that the social media apps hold.
Set time limits for the amount of screen time that you have outside of your working hours each day (assuming that your job involves interacting with a screen). In your home, designate tech free zones such as your bedroom, where you only carry out offline activities.
Cultivate a variety of real world hobbies and activities, and make an effort to meet more people face to face rather than through a screen. Discuss your concerns with friends and family and ask them to support you with finding alternative activities, such as joining a walking group or a book club together.
SEEK PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT
Addictions can be very difficult to break without professional support. If you find that your behaviour is affecting the quality of your life and you can’t change it, you may benefit from some therapy sessions.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has proved to be particularly effective for treating patients with addictions. CBT aims to identify negative thought patterns and finds practical ways to challenge them. Over time, the patient learns how to interrupt negative thoughts or triggers and replace an ingrained response with a new and more positive action or thought.
Looking for CBT therapy in Manchester? Please visit our website today.