Social Media Addiction 

The same devices that make connecting with our communities on social networking sites so convenient also make social media extremely difficult to resist. Notifications and alerts with their 24/7 dinging, ringing, and buzzing make it challenging to concentrate on other, more critical aspects of daily life. We’re often compelled to immediately check our smartphones and tablets for fear that we might miss out on something important. Psychologists estimate that as many as 10% of social media users in the United States actually have a behavioral addiction to social media, whether they know it or not.

Initially, a person’s social media interaction creates a favorable emotional state. Some neuroscientists have likened this “high” to an injection of dopamine — a feel-good hormone our bodies produce naturally. This good feeling leads to a preoccupation with social media to the point that people experience withdrawal symptoms when they aren’t on their social media platforms. Eventually, this preoccupation creates problems at work and home, but even that conflict can’t keep the addicted person away from their social media accounts. In this way, social media addiction becomes a severe mental illness.

Ironically, the same social media posts that give us dopamine-like pleasure can also cause mental and emotional pain — especially when we compare our own lives to those portrayed in our social feeds. 

Adolescents and young adults are especially susceptible to social media-induced depression. Studies focusing solely on teens in the United States found increased use of social media led to a higher risk for symptoms of depression as well as eating and body image concerns and problems sleeping. Teens are more prone to gauge their popularity by the number of “likes” they receive, which could lead them to do uncharacteristic or negative things to gain that attention. Some teens may also become victims of cyberbullying through social media. Cyberbullying is more prevalent among teen girls and is associated with multiple mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts.  (Jaclyn Lopez Witmer, Psy.D.)