Social media addiction: causes, consequences and solutions

Social networks constitute a new way of interaction, a new door that generates different possibilities in the field of personal and professional relationships. The causes of the popularity of social networks are due to many factors, what is undeniable is that today it represents one of the pillars of communication.

However, sometimes, the use of social networks carries a significant risk. This is the case when people reduce their universe to the constant filter of social networks, displacing face-to-face links to the background. Addiction to social networks is part of a new type of pathology: behavioral addictions, it is a real fact that causes a lot of suffering to those who suffer from it. A new reality that requires comprehensive treatment and new professional training such as masters and postgraduate degrees in behavioral addictions. For this reason, in Psychology-Online, we address the causes, consequences and solutions of addiction to social networks.

Index

1. 5 causes of addiction to social networks
2. Consequences of addiction to social networks
3. Solutions to treat social media addiction
4. What are behavioral addictions
5. How to prevent addiction to social networks

We begin this article on the causes, consequences and solutions of addiction to social networks talking about the most common reasons that condition this situation. The main causes of addiction to social networks are the following:

1. Standardization of the use of social networks. One of the factors that influences the development of dependence on Instagram, for example, is the naturalness with which so many people share photos, write comments and interact with the rest. A positive and creative experience that ceases to be so the moment the person no longer enjoys it, but feels that his will is subdued by the constant need to interaction.
2. Loneliness. Internet is a window of social relationship for everyone. However, those who live a period of loneliness are more vulnerable to the risk of dependency because they observe in this communication vehicle a substitute for these emotional voids and deficiencies.
3. Ego food. Some galleries of Instagram images project a universe in which vanity seems a constant from images starring the one who shows infinite smiles and a lifestyle of dream. But, in addition, this desire to show an image of perfection also receives feedback in the form of a “like”. A type of language that offers an immediate and different interaction from that of face-to-face relationships. It is a risk to confuse the number of followers with the value of self-esteem.
4. Lack of limits. Adolescence is one of the periods in which young people are most vulnerable to the lack of discernment of the possible risks of social networks. Lack of training on the positive use of social media can add to the confusion. This is one of the reasons why parents also have the responsibility of training to know the potential of the networks social skills and technology in order to make good use of it, since, in addition, the parents' own example also influences the children.
5. Personal difficulties. Different factors, for example, barriers in the level of social skills can make a person apparently feel more comfortable when interacting through the Internet. The risk of this is that the patient develops stress and anxiety when he has to face face-to-face situations that go out of his comfort zone.

• Difficulty staying focused. Although a person is physically present in one place, his mind may be in another entirely. Those who suffer from addiction to social networks compulsively consult any detail, leaving the direct reality of day to day in the background.
• Alteration of sleep and rest habits. The tendency to live glued to a screen alters the rhythm of life in factors as essential as these. For example, the habit of consulting the telephone at night delays the time of sleep or interrupts the night's rest.
• Distortion of reality. The person behaves as if the mobile phone were an extension of his being as important as a part of his own organism. For example, there is a loss of privacy. The person concludes that a moment is happier if it is shared with others.
• Lack of privacy care. As a consequence of this loss of the sphere of intimacy, those who suffer from Internet addiction lose control of it. information that they share about themselves, that is, they do not realize the amount of data about their own life that they provide to the rest. People that, in many cases, you don't even know in person.
• Inner emptiness. Social networks are marked by constant interaction but also by the ephemeral nature of this form of expression. A photo shared on Facebook a few weeks ago is totally expired today. For this reason, this excess of activity that remains on the plane of superficiality, leaves behind an immense feeling of emptiness in the face of the high emotional demand for recognition from others.

The first step is become aware of the problem. Be honest with yourself to observe this limitation by understanding how this addiction is affecting the patient not only in his personal life but also on an academic or professional level.

In addition, it is convenient ask for help psychology of an expert specialized in the field to do therapy. The expert will carry out a diagnosis of the initial situation to, from that moment, specify a individualized treatment that increases the resilience of the affected person in the face of those stimuli that generate some type of discomfort.

The Internet addiction It is something very common among young people and adults who have become accustomed to using the online medium, but they do it in an obsessive way. However, it is not the only addiction without substance that exists, recently, various related attitudes have begun to be studied with addiction but that do not involve the consumption of any external toxin, these behaviors are known as behavioral addictions.

Today, they are considered one of the most abundant mental disorders in Western society, we can divide these addictions according to the stimulus that the dependence produces:

• Gambling addiction or compulsive gambling
• Work addiction
• Sex addiction
• Compulsive shopping
• Food addiction
• Social media and internet addiction

In order to address these behaviors, it is necessary to be able to study their origin, maintenance and the various ways of treating it. From this purpose, the specific training for psychology professionals, courses and postgraduate degrees in behavioral addictions, whose objective is to shed a little more light on this recent phenomenon appearance.

Beyond the specific treatment that can be considered as a solution, it is convenient to take preventive measures. How to do it?

1. Always prioritize your face-to-face relationships and conversations. This is a reference premise for not making a medium such as social networks an end in itself.
2. Enjoy the expansion of intimacy from freedom. That is, when you enjoy a plan, forget about photographing that moment to upload it to your networks. It is better that you observe the details of that day to save them and feel them in the memory of your retinas. Does that mean you can never take a photograph? It means that you have to find the balance of living taking pictures when they really make sense.
3. Turn off your mobile phone for three hours every day or leave it in a different room when you are home. It is recommended that you train practical and concrete ideas to enjoy social networks with measure. To do this, you can also set a time of use and specify a time of day when you look at them for the last time.
4. Remember how your life was before the advent of social networks. Essentially, it was exactly the same as now. If you need to remember that time, then enjoy old movies that show you a pre-tech lifestyle.
5. Educational training. It is recommended that academic centers schedule talks on this topic for teachers, parents and students. Talks dealing with addiction to social networks: causes, consequences and solutions.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Social media addiction: causes, consequences and solutions, we recommend that you enter our category of Addictions.