Social Media Addiction - Essay Example

Social Media Addiction Has social media helped or hindered the human experience? This is a fundamental issue that has intrigued social scientists and stakeholders within society for several years. In seeking to answer the question of how social media affects our lives, it is necessary to understand that social media in and of itself has the potential to become somewhat of an addictive function. As such, a basic understanding of social media engenders many of the positive and negative aspects of human nature. Accordingly, as a means of understanding this, this brief analysis will discuss some of the ways in which social media addiction is exhibited, some of the reasons for why it happens, and some of the means by which individuals have come to realize and seek help with regards this particular addiction. However, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more full and complete understanding of the means by which social media addiction is exhibited within an environment and the overall applications at this rather new level of personal addiction means with regards to society, interpersonal relations, studies, and work. Above all, before delving deeply into the subject matter, it must be understood by the reader that social media has experienced a great growth and differentiation from its earliest days. This of course stands to reason due to the fact that social media is ultimately an exhibition of technology which in an of itself grows and develops at a rapid rate. Without seeking to pick specifically on any particular platform of social media, one can of course see this growth and development exhibited within the means by which Facebook was originally intended merely as a means of linking individuals together. However, the definition and means by which this was affected has common to be seen as something of a shift (LaRose & Eastin, 2003). Comparatively, exhibitions such as twitter and other social networking sites now place the interconnectedness and friendship dynamics of individuals upon a secondary level of importance; choosing instead to focus upon the means by which seemingly endless status updates and tracking of activities/interests can be relayed within the community itself. In summary, although it is not the intention of this author to point to the fact that social networking is in and of itself negative, it must be noted that this particular shift has been described has necessarily increased the overall level of the addictive nature and addictive tendencies that are exhibited within its usage. All in all, to discuss social media means by which can become addictive without understanding the level of interpersonal communication and interaction that it seeks to replace. Ultimately, social media in all of its forms is originally intended to provide a virtual connection between individuals. From its very earliest phase, social media exhibited the strength of promoting communication between a broad number of individuals that might not otherwise communicate (Wells, 2011). This is of course facilitated due to the virtual realm within which this communication takes place. Although this has given individuals around the globe a means by which increased levels of dedication might take place, it also necessarily portends a situation in which individuals regularly communicate and engage with a far higher number of people than they might otherwise. This in and of itself is not a net evil. Rather, the addictive quality of social media is apparent with regards to the way in which individuals become dependent upon constant communication and interaction within the virtual world as a means of defining an understanding their own reality. As with many addictions, social media addiction is not physically addicting. Rather, it is psychologically addictive due to fact that it helps the user to understand and define the world in which they live to a more full and complete extent. In short, this dependence feature upon social media necessarily engages the reader with an understanding of why such a process ultimately becomes addictive. Perhaps one of the worst aspects regarding social media addiction is with regards to the level in which social media addiction only encourages even further social media addiction. What is meant by such a statement is with regards to the fact that individuals who are oftentimes partially or nominally addicted to social media will invariably spend a percentage of their time engaging with it. Accordingly, the amount of time spent within social media necessarily takes away from the amount of time that the individuals might have engaged in other activities; such as engaging with individuals within the real world or fostering further communication skills. Accordingly, each and every hour that is spent in social media addiction necessarily reduces the exposure that the individual might otherwise have with the remainder of the outside world; thereby representing something of a vicious cycle. On the other hand, many scholars and researchers point to the fact that social media has been able to integrate human beings to a greater extent than ever before. At the current time, the level and rate to which humans are connected and can express their interests and views through social media. This obvious benefit has led to many interest events over the past several years; not the least of which is with regards to the Arab Spring insurrections that led to the toppling of many dictatorships within the Arab world. The ability of this particular technology to integrate the world, although useful, has to be weighed with regards to the drawbacks that have already been elaborated upon within this essay. Although it may seem rather humorous to the uninformed reader, social media addiction is a form of addiction that is affecting a larger and larger number of people within the environment. Accordingly, addiction experts have noted a dramatic increase in the overall level of individuals who come to them seeking advice and aid with regards to seeking to let go of their dependence upon social media within their daily lives (Sands, 2013). Experts note that the rapid increase in overall addiction to social media has spawned something of an additional problem. Whereas many individuals within society have noted that the current generation seems to exhibit an egocentric approach to life, over dependence and overuse upon social media only serves to compounds such an eventuality. If one stops to think about the way in which updates are posted in individuals interact with each other within such a format, the focus is invariably with regards to the way in which the individual sees the world, their individual triumphs, defeats, and a curiously insular approach to all matters. Whereas social media was designed as a means of bringing people together, what has actually been realized as a situation in which the individual is ultimately encouraged to recluse into their own world within this highly populated environment. Conclusion: On the other hand, regardless of the way in which one integrates with social media, the fact of the matter is that social media and mobile devices are playing an increasing role in the way individuals interact with one another and with every aspect of society. In such a way, seeking to understand and ameliorate the negative externalities of how humans behave with regards to these paradigm shifts is a central issue of concern (Conley, 2011). Finally, from the information which is been discussed within this brief analysis, the reader can come to the understanding that social media in and of itself is not necessarily a net evil or dangerous. This must be noted due to the fact that anytime one discusses the aspect of addiction, negative connotations arise with regards to the physically addictive aspects of narcotics and drugs. Whereas this is obviously not the case with social media, it nonetheless portends a level of danger with regards to the addictive nature that the individual might exhibit if he/she interacts with it too much. References Conley, D. (2011). Wired for Distraction?. Time, 177(7), 55-56. LaRose, R., Lin, C. A., & Eastin, M. S. (2003). Unregulated Internet Usage: Addiction, Habit, or Deficient Self-Regulation?.Media Psychology, 5(3), 225-253. Sands, P. (2013). Disconnect. Library Media Connection, 31(6), 60. Wells, F. (2011, March). Getting Social Gets Serious. Pro Sound News. p. 6. Read More