Negative Effects Of Social Media Addiction

In this day and age, innumerable amounts of people are connected to social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on. There are limitless social networking sites that make it possible to form broad connections between individuals. Since the Internet has quickly disseminated around the world, social media has progressed gradually as well. The worldwide use of cellular devices to access the Internet rapidly transformed the nature of our social interactions with one another. As users of social media proliferate, there is a dispute whether social media gives good influences to people or not. Although social media allows people to have more association with one and another, promotes long distance relationships and even allows

An article on Fox News describes, “A new study suggests that social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter are more difficult to resist than cigarettes or alcohol” (Epstein 1). The likelihood of Internet addiction can take many forms, with social media ranking high on the list. Social media can even lead to obsessive compulsive disorder which produces uneasiness, apprehension, repetitive behaviors, or a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Social media sites only become a problem when one starts to prefer their online friends to their “real” life ones and when it starts to affect their everyday personal life. These social sites are so addictive because there is an ongoing stream of updates, messages, photos and information coming from those in your nexus of friends, which allows you to check up on what’s going on in their lives. Humans are naturally social butterflies, so they want to make relationships with others. If one sending messages back and forth with other users, one might find them more engaged in the exchange, just as any would a normal eye-to-eye conversation. According to Queen’s psychology professor Cynthia Fekken she conveys, “There is evidence to show as well that social behaviors like hugs and smiles are associated with dopamine release…it’s possible that social media is pleasurable and becomes addictive via the dopamine mechanism just as drugs or alcohol

On the Mental Health Blog, psychologist, Aric Sigman states, “…spending too much time online could lead to social isolation, loneliness and a negative outlook” (Sigman 1). Most people believe that because social media offers so many opportunities such as deeper connections with people, strengthening relationships with friends, and even encountering new people through online meeting is ultimately good for you, but because all of the interactions are through devices and there’s no physical connections with people it could increase loneliness. While using social networking one does not find the need to be active or move. As a result, it leads to mental and physical disorders that could harm the body. Dr. John Cacioppo is a professor at the University of Chicago and exclaims, “…lonely individuals tend to use social networking sites in a way that puts distance between themselves and others” (Johnson 1). It seems as though people who are more companionless in the real world are more likely to become addicted to social media sites because they rely on online friends as surrogates for the relationships they don’t have in real life. It is not possible to set up a real relationship if people do not meet face to face. Social networking sites are meant to be casual, relaxed ways to connect with others. If one starts to lose sleep or is unable to concentrate because their mind is always