Social media platforms provide a convenient way for people to connect with friends and family and stay in the know of current events, but although there are some great benefits to social media, it can become very addictive very quickly and drain our time away if we aren’t intentional with the way that we use it.
The first step towards being more intentional with the way that we use social media is recognizing its broadening role in our lives. Only then can we understand the impact that social media is having on us and make positive changes in the way that we use it.
Let’s take a look.
While the digital revolution in general has given us the chance to communicate and connect with people in new ways, it’s also enabled us to become addicted to digital devices that suck us in; interfering with our lives and face-to-face relationships, affecting our mental health, and altering our behavior for the worst.
Social media in particular preys on the human nature to enjoy attention. Whenever someone interacts with us via likes, follows, or comments, our brain increases thuickly), we’re likely to feel disappointment and a lower sense of self-worth. The neverending ‘lack’ of dopamine coupled with how easy it is to ‘top it up’ rapidly becomes addictive.
Eventually, a few minutes on social media per day turns into several hours that would normally be spent on hobbies, many of which are likely to be better
for our mental health thansuming endless amounts of media with no objective in mind). One ofcientifically speaking, is neglecting day-to-day routines and responsibilities in favor of said addiction.
Social media platforms are not only aware of this but actively facilitate it in ord One of the ways they do this is by tweaking the algorithm that’s responsible for showing us content that we’re likely to interact with. In only a short amount of time, social media can become our only source of dopamine, leaving us feeling empty when we’re not using it and causing our brains to frenzy over what that emptiness could be filled with. Social media is free and very accessible, which is exactly what makes it so dangerous.
