Social media Addiction
On January 19, the popular social media platform TikTok was officially banned in the United States, following the US government's passage of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. And though the ban was lifted mere hours later with the site’s triumphant return, its effects on users were profound. The symptoms suddenly bereft TikTok users described are characteristics of withdrawal. And that’s also why Brandylane Publishers, Inc. of Richmond, Virginia, has released a new self-help title, Serenity: How to Recognize, Understand, and Recover from Behavioral Addictions by Sanja Rozman. This book convincingly makes an increasingly scientifically recognized argument—that people can become addicted to activities like scrolling through social media, exercising and even working, just as they can become addicted to alcohol and cigarettes—and that the neural pathways and mechanisms involved in chasing the “hit” these activities provide are remarkably similar, or even identical, to those found in substance addictions.
Serenity – How to recognize, understand and recover from behavioral addictions
Here is a short passage from the book, a test to check if your behavior around social media might be an addiction.
Addiction to the Internet and social media are new behavioral addictions characterized by a person’s obsessive, excessive, and compulsive overuse of social media and compulsive scrolling through online news feeds—apparently in search of entertaining or educational content, but in fact, to procrastinate or enter a state of numb oblivion—to the extent that it interferes with their everyday life. Although a specific addiction, disease, or disorder related to social media has not yet been officially medically recognized, behaviors characteristic of addiction are common when it comes to this topic. The proposed addiction has many similarities with gaming addiction, and even some similarities with gambling addiction. The brain centers that control reward and satiation are intensely stimulated by rewards, excitement, variable-ratio reinforcement, and drama, as well as by amplifiers like adrenalin and cortisol, therefore creating the potential for addiction.
Do you recognize some of these behaviors, that are typical of cyber addicts:
Spending time scrolling through social media and news at the expense of other important activities, like performing at your job, completing schoolwork, visiting family, or going out with friends.
Feeling unable to stop scrolling through social media despite of the problems it creates (lack of sleep, isolation, etc.).
Obsessively thinking about social media even when you are not online.
Feeling the need to post every trivial detail of your life online in anticipation of receiving reactions in the form of “likes”.
Feeling pressure to compete with and compare yourself to other users.
Feeling depressed and envious if you believe your life and achievements are not as impressive as those of other social media users.
Feeling the urge to check your news feed regularly each day, and feeling anxious if you are unable to do so.
Frequently arguing with others over your use of social media.
Hiding your use of social media—especially of dating sites—from your partner or family.
Using the Internet, email, or social media to send intimidating or threatening messages (cyberbullying).
Procrastinating or wasting time by checking your news feed instead of working.
Anticipating “likes” and notifications to the degree that it interferes with your normal functioning.
Experiencing fatigue and stress, including sleep disorders, due your use of social media.
Using social media despite the potential for severe consequences (e.g., checking your instant messages while driving or while logged into a work computer).
Experiencing health issues such as headaches, blurry vision due to strained eyes as a result of long hours staring at a screen, back and neck pain due to consistent bending of the neck to look at your phone, or carpal tunnel syndrome[1] as a result of your use of electronics.
If you checked several such behaviors as your problems, find more about the condition in my book Serenity: How to Recognize, Understand, and Recover from Behavioral Addictions. There you’ll find all you need to know about behavioral addictions: extensive explanations, real-life examples, advice for the addicts as well as for their family members. The addicts will be able to construct their personal recovery plan according to the guidelines from the book. Even if you find out that you’re not (yet?) addicted, it’s wise to have your addictive behaviors in check for your future.
Dr. Sanja Rozman is a medical doctor, psychotherapist, and author of 9 books on behavioral addictions. Her newest book Serenity: How to Recognize, Understand, and Recover from Behavioral Addictions, features state-of-the-art descriptions, advice, and exercises, together with a template for your personalized recovery plan. Compassionate and easy to understand, it is your go-to manual for overcoming behavioral addictions.