Maintaining A Healthy Relationship With Social Media
Based on the statistics resource Statista, so far in 2022, 4.59 billion people are currently labeled as social media users, which represents a very large percentage of the global population.
Additionally based on data from 2021, people in the age category of 0-19 years and 10-24 years spend an average of 49 minutes per day on social media while the largest amount of time spent on social media (60minutes) is actually by people in the age category of 40-45 years old.
This data represents two main conclusions:
The number of internet and social media users is increasing daily
Different age categories are likely to spend substantial time on social media, a trend likely to increase
With this I wanted to highlight, that it is very likely that social media is going anywhere anytime soon meaning that it is becoming easier for us to fall prey to this alluring (and wasteful) use of our time. Luckily, we have the ability to control how much social media we allow to enter into our lives and which kinds of information we intake.
For this reason, I have written this post to discuss why social media is such a common time waster, what are the negatives of it and how we can ultimately have a more manageable relationship with social media.
WHY DO WE FIND OURSELVES CHECKING SOCIAL MEDIA?
Infinite scrolling:
The reason why we often find ourselves endlessly scrolling or browsing through social media and why it is so addictive in the first place, has to do firstly with the way the information is laid out.
Most online platforms including many social media apps today, such as Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Reddit, Tik Tok etc, make use of what is called infinite scrolling technique in which media continually reloads as you scroll down a page. This makes it easy for time to pass, as it makes the experience of viewing images, texts or videos very easy and effortless. When combined with the fact that social media websites personalize our feed to our preferences, it can make us more prone to becoming addicted to continuous scrolling.
Additionally, human beings are prone to the Unit bias, which states that we are naturally motivated to complete a full unit of something, in order to find a satisfying experience. When this is combined with the infinite scrolling algorithm found in social media apps, it results in continuous scrolling as we try to get to the end of something, but because new content is continually generated, we never actually get to the end of that content.
Role of dopamine:
Another biological aspect we have to consider is the role of dopamine. Dopamine is a naturally produced chemical and neurotransmitter in our bodies, whose main functions revolve around motivation and seeking of rewards; in other words, dopamine enables us to learn which behaviors do good for us which encourages us to do more of those types of activities.
The way in which dopamine works in terms of social media goes like this: When we browse through social media and for example get a bunch of comments or likes on a photo we just posted, our brains reward center becomes activated which releases dopamine into our system. This chemical brings pleasurable sensations to us - sort of like a neurological “high”, which essentially reinforces the notion that we should continue doing more of that activity that allowed for the release of dopamine (opening social media to see how many likes we have received). Keep in mind that dopamine is released both in anticipation of doing something as well as when we do something itself.
This same process can occur when browsing through content which makes us laugh, relieves us temporarily of uncomfortable feelings or relaxes us, all of which make use of the natural reward system in our brains which releases dopamine to reinforce that behavior.
The catch is that once the dopamine levels in our body start to decline due to the natural regulation of homeostasis, our brains will once again try to seek for activities which will release dopamine and start the feel good process all over again. In this way, scrolling through social media, provides little constant bursts of dopamine which over time can lead into a serious and time wasting habit of compulsively checking your phone and mindlessly scrolling.
Involved brain regions:
This idea of mindlessly scrolling through never ending infinity pools of media and information essentially means that we are constantly using our limbic portion of the brain, which is responsible for processing emotions and reactively responding to our environment. Instead, we should be predominantly using our prefrontal cortex in order to make decisions, as it specialized in planning and problem solving - processes which add rationale behind our behaviors.
DRAWBACKS OF EXCESSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Body Image Issues & Insecurities
By posting photos of ourselves, social media enables us to earn the approval of others for our appearance and ability to compare ourselves with others. In this way, constantly comparing our physical attributes to other often very curated and “perfect” bodies or people can make us feel worse about ourselves and encourages the development of eating disorders and low self esteem. Posters on social media have the tendency to only post their highlight or best looking moments, which creates an unfair source of comparison for us.
The Question Of Trust
One advantage of social media is that it allows us to have access to large platforms of people with which we can share media and connect with. This is great for expanding our social circle but on one hand, you have to be careful of this increased exposure to other people, as not everyone who presents themselves as a “friend” is actually your friend in real life. Furthermore, even though we are more digitally connected than ever, people are report higher feelings of isolation and loneliness, which can arise from excessive use of social media and lack of in person interactions.
Sleep Difficulties
As humans we are biologically wired to get tired and fall asleep when it gets dark outside, however in our technological age that is becoming increasingly harder with our bright phone or laptop screens glaring into our face much after sun down. Social media use is not making this issue any better. The issue with common electronics is that they emit blue light from their screen which in the evenings, suppresses our bodies natural release of melatonin - a chemical crucial for initiating sleep - essentially making us less tired and ready for sleep. Additionally, with social media we might be consuming alarming, distressing, disturbing or even funny media which stimulates our brains and makes it even harder for us to get a good nights sleep without waking up in between.
Social Media Is Addicting
When we gain approval of others through social media, which can be in the form of likes, comments, shares, followers or views, our brain registers this positive increase with a release of dopamine which essentially encourages our brain to do more of the same behavior which lead to this positive experience. This effectively means that checking social media and spending more time on it can become a very addicting habit, which can lead to further issues such as procrastination, FOMO (fear of missing out) and a shorter attention span.
Higher Incidence of Depression and Anxiety
FOMO, or the fear or missing out is a very real issue when it comes to social media usage, as it has been associated with greater rates of anxiety and depression when we are concerned we will miss out on something. Additionally, when we see that we are not part of something online or are excluded form it, depression and anxiety also increase. A study from 2022 showed that people who took even just a one week break from social media, experienced significant improvements in their perceived levels of depression, anxiety, and general well being.
MANAGING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA RELATIONSHIP
Getting caught up in the mindless scrolling of social media can sometimes happen more often then we would like, so when you notice that checking social media starts to take too much of your time or mental clarity, here are some ways of managing your social media use:
Try identifying why you use so much social media in the first place (What is the real need here … are you bored, tired, precasting?)
Track your screen time on your devices (How much time do you spend on social media?)
Become aware every time you feel the urge to go onto social media or scroll through something (ask yourself why you have that need)
Keep social media apps out of sight on your home screen
Try spending an hour each week doing at least one screen free activity/ hobby
Finding new activities to do which do not involve being online or in front of a screen
Put away your electronics during dinner, including watching Netflix and Youtube
When going to sleep, leave your phone outside of the bedroom
Try setting a time boundary for apps (can be done through settings)
Try different browser extensions which can temporarily block your access to social media sites on your laptop or desktop
Be mindful of the people you follow and the type of content you consume (be intentional with how you use social media)
Resist the urge to share your whole life
Turn off notifications from social media, especially when you are trying to focus on something
Completely turn of your phone during times of focus or put it onto mute/ focus mode
As a more extreme measure, opt for deleting certain social media apps every once in a while and re-downloading them when a week or so has passed (digital detox)
CONCLUDING WORDS
Within this article we discussed the common issue of increased social media usage across the world, which has unfortunately also lead to many unwanted issues that our current generations face, such as lack of focus, shorter attention spans, increased rates of loneliness as well as depression and anxiety. We continued with explaining what about social media makes social media use so effortless and addicting to our brains, and finally finishing with some practical advice of how to take handle and manage your own social media consumption in a healthy way.
Thank you so much for reading this 💛
