Screen Addiction by Daniel Moosavi

Introduction

            Think about the time you were in a long line at the grocery store or in bumper to bumper traffic. Did you succumb to checking your cellphone out of mere boredom? “Let’s face it, checking your likes is the new smoking” (“New Rule: Social Media Is the New Nicotine”). Cigarettes were supposedly intended to be smoked for the “flavor”. However, nicotine which is a highly-addictive drug, along with other addictive substances, were put in cigarettes making them a delivery device for an addictive product. You may ask, what does this have to do with cellphones? Well, our cellular devices act as a delivery system for a similar addictive product, social media. We will go over many aspects as to why and how we are so addicted to screen time.

History

The internet has been around for many decades, yet social media has become the talk of the town in recent years. Websites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, and many more fall under the category of social media. Most of the social media websites and applications used today were created in the mid-2000s, however, the history of these types of sites can be dated back to as early as 1990 (Jones). The evolution of these sites has progressed greatly, from Tom at Myspace to Zuckerberg at Facebook. For example, Facebook, in its early stages, was created mainly to connect with friends and family by sharing personal photos and posts. Nonetheless, it is used now for sharing ‘internet memes’ and playing various applications. Social media nowadays has a different agenda than what it was once created for. It seems as though the administrators of these websites are more concerned with keeping us entertained rather than connected.

Effects on Society

            In accordance to research done by Cornell University's Steven Strogatz, social media can cause troubles in differentiating casual online relationships from more meaningful relationships cultivated in the real-world (Jung). If we are focusing on forming online relationships with people we do not know, we may lose sight of more important people who we interact with on a daily basis. This is not healthy mentally and physically because a typical person who is addicted to social media may refrain from leaving their home. Why would they need to have a social life if it exists online? This type of addiction can obviously wreak havoc on an individuals’ life by decreasing their daily productivity (1). Furthermore, cyber-bullying is another epidemic in youth who use social media. Numerous online articles will state how some teens have been driven to suicide due to constant mental torture from peers or anonymous individuals. However, social media can be somewhat beneficial to our lives by giving us ways to communicate with family in different parts of the world, in a sort of way that keeps our real-life relationships strong, but not to be overly used. If you’re enrolled in an institution, it can be used to communicate with other students to get group work assignments done, or to contact your professor. Sadly, social media is widely misused, however, we will go over possible solutions later on in the text.

Examples

            People in general use their phones at unnecessary times. For example, when I am with family or friends, I usually see them using social media applications more than anything else. Rather than communicating with each other, we watch silly ‘internet memes’ or trending videos on YouTube. To see how addicted we are to our phones, I decided to do a test. Every day last week while at a stop light I would glance over to the car next to mine. Eight out of the ten drivers I looked at were using the cellular devices. I decided to ask a few of my family members if they also indulged in such a habit. They responded “yes” and further stated that they were using social media applications such as Snapchat or Instagram. Studies show that addiction to social media is a symptom of poor emotion regulation skills (Gregoire). My theory as to why people use social media so much is because in our day and age, people get bored extremely quick.

 We live in an era that if we want the answer to virtually any question, we can find that answer in a quick Google search. Having capabilities to get almost any information instantly is great, but does it spoil us? I asked around my college campus to see exactly why people check their phones so often. Most of the participants to my survey stated that they used social media to “pass time”. I asked the participants to not speak for 5 minutes and in that time to also not use their cellular device. Every single participant seemed anxious, and when questioned about their emotions regarding the test, most replied that they felt “fidgety”. My conclusion is that the participants were experiencing mild withdrawals from not being able to use their cellphones, having symptoms like those who experience withdrawals from malicious substances like nicotine, making social media the new form of smoking.

Solutions

            Social media addiction, like any other addiction, can be mild or much more serious. For those who have mild addiction to social media, drastic measures would not need to be taken. Treatment for a mild addiction to social media can be handled at home at one’s own disposition, given that a person is seeking treatment. One method to limit the addiction is to simply turn off the notifications. When one is able to put a halt to notifications disturbing a daily routine, the individual will most likely be able to get tasks done easier with less distractions (Waller). Another method is to get a new hobby. It is possible that a person may have too much free time which could cause an indulgence in bad habits. A constructive hobby such as learning a new instrument or painting could be sufficient. Meeting people in real life is another solution to this addiction. As previously stated, “Why would they need to have a social life if it exists online?”, if an individual is spending time forming online relationships he or she may not find purpose in cultivating a relationship in the real world. It can be hard for people who are socially awkward; however, with support from friends and family this could be overcome and overall a perfect solution for halting an addiction.

 For someone with a serious social media addiction, the preceding methods may be useless. Most people with a strong addiction do not realize how bad it is damaging their lives so drastic measures must be taken. The treatment for social media addiction can be similar to those who have an alcohol or tobacco addiction, which supports the claim that “…checking your likes is the new smoking” (“New Rule: Social Media Is the New Nicotine”). The need to be on social media accounts can be so strong that treatment may require clients to go through some kind of detoxification program (Young). There may be underlying reasons why the addiction occurred in the first place, so these would have to be addressed and dealt with so a chance of relapse is slim to none (1). Even in major social media addiction, one of the first steps is realizing the addiction. The most effective treatment for social media addiction is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Griffiths et. al). The least effective would be trying to solve the issue alone. As with most addictions, help is essential to recovery. Some people do not wish to seek help in fear of embarrassment or disappointment; however, these emotions may worsen addiction issues, as plenty of the addicted seek social acceptance. Meditation is also a form of treatment that is taught in Cognitive Behavior Therapy; this is used in treatments for many types of addictions (Griffiths et. al).

Camus and Absurdity

Camus believed that many people committed philosophical suicide by shutting down the part of their minds that ponder the fundamental questions life has to offer. Furthermore, Camus believed that people committed philosophical suicide by believing in religion, mainly to act as an anxiety relief. However, religion is not the only way to commit philosophical suicide. It has been stated that entertainment can also be a way of doing such, as it distracts people from seeking answers to their absurd lives. Social media is not used to just connect with friends but it is mainly used as entertainment, distracting one from questioning life’s absurdities. This makes sense because most people who are addicted to social media seek acceptance from peers due to social anxiety.

Camus existed in an era where the internet did not exist, so trying to understand how Camus would feel about this particular epidemic would be difficult. Nonetheless, I would expect Camus to see the absurdity of an individual who would spend countless hours worshipping a small electronic device that does not promote any productivity whatsoever. Cellphones are the modern day way of committing philosophical suicide, as opposed to religion. Religion is an important aspect of many people’s lives as well, but cellphones act as a constant way of delivering entertainment 24/7. I do not know of any person who does not use a cellphone, which makes me ponder that if Camus were alive in 2017 in the prime of his life, would he also use social media, or even a cellphone? Maybe not for entertainment purposes. However, he would probably see this epidemic as being foolish.

Many people seek religion to have a greater purpose in life, serving something greater than themselves. Yet cellphones and social media are not to seek purpose, only entertainment. Has anyone ever attended church solely for entertainment? I would like to think that Camus would rather like the idea of religion over social media. One could only imagine the anger and frustration Camus would have toward social media because of how absurd it is.

Conclusion

            Screen-time addiction, in particular, social media is becoming more apparent as technology advances. It is an individual’s duty to help or seek help for those addicted to social media. One could only imagine a society of people who communicate through electronic devices with no face-to-face contact. Eventually that is what the world will become if this potential epidemic is not prevented. Encouraging physical or outdoor activity is a simple way to get teens to put their phones down. As previously stated, loneliness can be a factor for social media addiction. Therefore, to alleviate loneliness, individuals may resort to social media. Humans require non-sexual physical contact, which is becoming extremely rare in the present digital age (Williams). “Let’s face it, checking your likes is the new smoking” (“New Rule: Social Media Is the New Nicotine”). Just like nicotine addictions, social media is an addiction that is hazardous to a person’s health. It may sound silly, but if people actually evaluate the time spent on their phones, they may find that they too, are victims of screen-time addiction.

Works Cited

Gregoire, Carolyn. “Research Links Addictive Social Media Behavior With Substance Abuse.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Dec. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/13/social-media-addiction_n_6302814.html. Accessed 24 July 2017.

Griffiths, Mark D., and Daria J. Kuss. “Chapter 6: Social Networking Addiction: An Overview of Preliminary Findings.” Internet Addiction in Psychotherapy, Palgrave Macmillan Ltd., 2014, p. 137.

Jones, Steven. “Internet Relay Chat.” Encyclopedia of New Media: An Essential Reference to Communication and Technology (1st Ed.), Sage Publications, p. 256.

Jung, Brian. “The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals.” Chron.com, smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html. Accessed 20 July 2017.

“New Rule: Social Media Is the New Nicotine”. Performance by Bill Maher, 12 May 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDqoTDM7tio.

Waller, Phoebe. “7 Ways To Stop Your Social Media Addiction.” Bustle, Bustle, 3 Mar. 2016, www.bustle.com/articles/144893-7-ways-to-stop-your-social-media-addiction. Accessed 26 July 2017.

Williams, Ray. "8 Reasons Why We Need Human Touch More Than Ever." Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 28 Mar. 2015. Web. 31 July 2017.

Young, Kimberly S. “Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment.” Internet Addiction: a Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 2011, p. 271.