In our Psychology classes we have been talking much along the lines of the negative influences of social media and after a lecture by Dr. Steffensen on the Psychology of Addiction I have begun to think of the psychological aspects of social media, specifically why it is addictive.
I confess to be a huge Facebook addict; furthermore, I am an addict of almost any social media. It all started with 'Bebo', which I joined around the age of 12. Looking back I highly regret ever creating an account with that site. I was hugely addicted. I would spend hours upon hours adjusting my profile, looking at other people's profiles and following their lives and talking to other people. After a long time on the site I would have accomplished just about nothing and learnt only regret. The experienced that changed my view towards social media didn't come until one day when I had one of my best friends over after school to hang out. I made the initial mistake of logging into my Bebo account and from there I spent over an hour while she sat there with me, just watching as I became absorbed into this site, completely uninterested in her presence at the time. My mother eventually came over to me and told me to get off because I was being such a horrible friend and that's when I realized my best friend had left a long time ago and was playing with my younger siblings, waiting for me. I felt so embarrassed and so ashamed, but even this experience wasn't enough to stop my habits. It helped me identify the problem but when it comes to addictions identifying the problem isn't the problem. People become addicted, know they're addicted, even desperately want to stop the behavior but they can't. I wouldn't say social media is the most harmful addictions but it is most definitely an addiction. Once I was banned from Bebo by my parents I refused to join Facebook and kept away from it for a long time despite the pressures of my friends. However, I finally joined because I wanted to get photo's from a Volleyball tournament I attended and the easiest way to get them was off Facebook, so I joined. I mostly regret it since then.
In my opinion, social media is one of those things that you know you can live happily and peacefully without but once you have it, it is very hard to back away. It's almost like when you finally get a microwave and then having to get rid of it. You used to be able to live without it but now that you've experienced all the benefits that come from it you can't let it go because you will lose so much that you had. Facebook keeps us connected to people on a daily basis, those that we otherwise may not have. It's these qualities that turn social media into a "necessity". We have a basic psychological need for affiliation and this fulfills this need in many ways. I accordance with these need we also seem to crave efficiency. A large portion of the world is set on making things more convenient, more accessible, and with less effort. Facebook, and other social medias give us that.
One of the problems with being addicted to something like Facebook is that to get rid of it you'd also have to get rid of everything good about it. Heroin, cocaine, alcohol, tobacco, and pornography have no real long-lasting benefits to the addict. It is clearly the best thing to walk away and never look back. But to walk away from Facebook means walking away from your friends, your connections, and even many of your memories. It isn't an easy thing. Learning to use something in moderation that you're addicted to is a difficult thing, but that is what we need to to in this new social media world. I wish you all the best in that endeavor. I hope I can do it too.
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