Living in the 21st century, at this point, we are almost obligated to use social media in one way or another. Thanks to social media we can connect with our family and friends as well as keep up with the world.

At the same time, it’s very easy to cross the boundaries of social communication and become social media dependent. Since it’s very available to us at any given time, it’s possible to spend over 4 hours on social media without even recognizing it.

Unfortunately, excessive use of social media can affect our day-to-day life tremendously. The compulsions of social media usage can affect our relationships, mood, work, and even our self-esteem.

 

 

Signs of Social Media Addiction

Using social media compulsively to the point where it’s a behavioral addiction can be hard to admit. After all, we all check social media on a regular basis. Here are some signs that can help you identify if you are struggling with social media addiction:

·      Feeling urged to check social media at every possible chance

·      Obsessing about missing out on social media while away from it

·      Checking social media during dinner with others, in social engagement settings, or even when having sex

·      Distancing from the real world because of social media usage

·      Feeling irritable or on edge when avoiding social media for long hours

·      Spending more than 4 hours on social media daily

 

If most of the above are affecting your life, unaware, you may be dealing with social media addiction.

 

 

Possible Causes of Social Media Addiction

There can be a number of motivators for excessive social media usage. The need for acknowledgment, acceptance, distraction and avoidance of emotions are just some common examples. There may be other affecting factors as well:

 

Lack of self-esteem

For many people, social media is a channel to be accepted and acknowledged via likes, shares, and comments. Even the ones who have difficulty expressing themselves in face-to-face social settings may easily communicate with others when they don’t have to be in-person

In these cases, social media can act as a buffer to prevent rejection, embarrassment, and failure. In return though, this avoidance reinforces social anxiety and weakens the person’s skillset to manage different situations.

Additionally, social media gives us a chance to modify our image, and change certain aspects that we don’t really like about ourselves. We can portray whatever image we desire on social media. Rather than learning to accept and improve ourselves, and asserting our needs as an individual. With social media addiction, we may find ourselves in a deeper struggle with low self-esteem.

 

Escaping emotions

Many people struggle with emotions that are difficult to handle in daily life. Grief, shame, guilt, fear, abandonment, and anxiety are just a few examples. These are all very common and all hard to feel and heal.

Social media could be acting as a distraction from these difficult emotions. Think about it, it’s so much easier to scroll through social media than remember, think and feel. Just like any substance addiction or toxic habit, social media could be giving a temporary sense of relief.

However, by using social media as an escape, you could be suppressing these emotions instead; which will eventually catch up to you when you are not prepared. The more we avoid emotions, the more inner resistance we create. As a result, we experience anxiety, depression, or even physical ailments in some cases.

  

Boredom

Boredom and the need for escape are both very common and similar reasons to develop social media addiction. One may say that they are on social media because they are bored when waiting, or any time they have free time. 

The truth is, when we have time to scroll down through social media, that means we also have time to do other things that can actually make us happy and content about ourselves. So using “boredom” as an excuse to constantly check social media can also be a way of escaping emotions, a core mental health issue, or stress.

 

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

Many of us are very familiar with the term FOMO: One’s worry about missing out on a fun experience others are having. Unfortunately, FOMO reinforces social media usage even more.

According to one study that was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Facebook engagement has been found to be greater with FOMO.

 

 

What Can You Do to Help?

Social media addiction doesn’t have to be your future. There are ways to take control and use it in your favor. Here are some steps that can help:

 

Plan for other activities

Every day, set time aside for activities that give you joy and pleasure. When we plan on doing these activities, the mind will be more focused on accomplishing the activities whereas if unplanned, checking on social media may feel like an easier option.  

Think about activities that put you in the flow and make you feel good overall. These are the feelings we want to invite into our lives daily. Make a list of them and make sure to engage with one regularly.

 

Set up usage limits

Nowadays, all smartphones have features to limit the usage of specific apps. Use those timers on your phone and stick to the time you set for yourself. Remember, your overall phone usage shouldn’t be more than 4 hours daily.

If you find that it’s difficult to keep your time limit, try practicing breathing exercises, mindfulness, or maybe even take a quick walk around to change your mind for a little.

 

Change the location of the app on your phone routinely

One thing that can be surprisingly helpful is to change the locations of the social media apps regularly. Our body has muscle memory that leads to turning on the apps even though sometimes we don’t want to do it consciously. It becomes a subconscious act in time.

When the location of the apps is changed, you will actually have to think and decide to open up the social media app consciously. This can help with increasing awareness and reducing triggers.

 

Turn off notifications

Any time we receive a notification on the main screen of our phone, we are more likely to open up the app to engage in the requested attention. For some people, getting rid of notifications that appear on the screen can even feel like an obsession. Application companies know this, and that’s why mostly they recommend keeping the notifications on. 

To reduce time spent on your phone, turn off notifications on your social media apps. These apps usually send notifications for every like, comment, or even suggestions they may have for you. By turning off the notifications, you will have fewer temptations and engagement.