We all are aware of the addictive qualities of alcohol, tobacco and certain illicit drugs. But would you place social media in the same category?<\/em><\/p>\n
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Question:\u00a0 when was the last time you left your home without your mobile phone? Have you ever been well on your way to your destination, realised that you have forgotten your phone at home, and: (i) decided right away to turn back to get it; (ii) begged someone to bring it to you as soon as possible; or (iii) returned home during the course of the day to collect it yourself?<\/p>\n
And what about social media? Whenever you have some free time, are you scrolling through your Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter feeds? Are you constantly thinking of what you can post (a selfie, or your lunch perhaps)?<\/p>\n
In reading the above, a common thought might be along the lines of rolling your eyes and saying \u2018how pathetic!<\/em>\u2019, but the sad truth is that so many of us \u2013 if we are honest \u2013 are guilty of obsessing over our smartphone and social media. Although such behaviour is known and even accepted, in the last three months or so, there has been a growing concern in the press about social media addition, especially in children.<\/p>\n
To be clear, social media addiction is not a medically-recognised disease or disorder. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary<\/a>, an addiction is defined as a<\/p>\n
Currently, social media addiction has not yet been studied sufficiently to determine whether or not it satisfies the criteria to be a medically-diagnosed condition. However, and although it might seem a bit far-fetched, it is interesting to note that as of January 2018, (video) gaming addiction has been recognised and classified as a mental health disorder (Source:\u00a0 BBC<\/a>).<\/p>\n
(Source:\u00a0 Forbes<\/a>)<\/p>\n
Addiction versus revenue generation<\/h3>\n
Finally, it is also important to highlight the attitude of the social media platforms themselves, such as Facebook, which have designed and continually update their platforms to encourage even longer and more frequent interaction by their users.\u00a0 The time users spend on a platform is a demonstration of its popularity, which the platform owner can leverage to generate revenue, such as through advertising. \u00a0Hence, we should not expect the Facebooks of the world, for example, to make their platforms less engaging, so that we use them less.<\/p>\n
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Image credit:\u00a0 Pixabay (Pexels<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"