Facebook and Social Media Addiction

951 Words2 Pages

Feeling anxious, Sarah asked for her phone back so she could look at her Facebook notification. Her mom said no but she just kept on begging and begging for it back until her mom noticed… Sarah was crying over an electronic device. At that point she understood that her daughter was falling into the deep, dark hole of social media addiction.

Why are social sites like a drug to some people? Is it normal to use the Internet a lot? What really makes a person addicted to a social media site? To answer these crucial questions, one must understand completely what an addiction is. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not only drug, alcohol and sex related but is defined as the habitual repetition of an uncontrollable conduct characterized by an over attachment to a certain behavior or substance. (Trisan) According to Psychiatrist Carmen Trisan, humans are bio-psychosocial beings; meaning that we are functioning, thinking and living in a society. Dr. Trisan also makes clear that humans are occasionally vulnerable in difficult times of adaptation or crisis and, to cope with all that the specific situation may bring, humans expose themselves to certain things, which make them escape from reality. Overly consuming substances (whether it be drugs or even food), getting too attached to another person and exercising more than the body can take are just some of the many examples of addiction.

As the great philosopher Nicolás Maquiavello in his book “El Principe” or “The Prince” said: “Cuando se prevén los peligros (y éste es el privilegio de los prudentes), pronto se conjuran; pero si, desconociéndolos, se les deja crecer de modo que nadie los advierta, son irremediables.” (Tokatlian 57) Which means: “When hazards are anticipated (and this is ...

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