Essay On Social Media Addiction

Technology has greatly improved since the first computer was created. There are new cell phones that can connect to the internet and have access to different apps. Computers have evolved the idea of social media from simple chat rooms to websites like Facebook or Twitter which allow someone to connect people to the world wide web. With all of these new trends, people begin to craze over the new inventions or creations in masses. People now just have to press a button and update their status or add a new picture. People who use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter show signs of addiction.

To many social media users, they may not even now that they are addicted. They usually associate drugs with addiction, but in reality, addiction can be found in everything. Dr. Michael Bengtson, professor and chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, claims that, "Addiction doesn't have to involve a substance or a drug. It can be a behavioral addiction, like gambling. That's where social media seems to fit in (Tampa Bay Times: Social Media Can Become an Addiction, but You Can Break Free)." Going on social media activates a part of the brain that is involved with rewards, just like one may feel like when gambling. “Just as gamblers get a rush of good feelings when they win, a social media junkie feels gratification when their Facebook posts get lots of "likes,'' when their Twitter followers multiply, and when their Instagram photos are big hits (Tampa Bay Times: Social Media Can Become an Addiction, but You Can Break Free).”This repeated, positive reinforcement can morph an occasional user into someone who constantly connected. As mentioned previously, social media became even m...

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...thout using the 23 available seconds to investigate how many people have liked your photo; someone tells you a joke, and instead of laughing out loud, you use the phrase “lol”; and You use the phrase “hashtag” in normal conversations(12 Signs that You're Addicted to Social Media).”

In all, people who use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter show signs of addiction. This is due to all the new technology that allows people to sign into their social media accounts in less than a minute. Since technology is now able to be wireless and portable, people can always check their profiles and and new photos. The new technology and social media sites created a new kind of addiction that takes control of any user. People now don’t even realize or deny that they are addicted. To sum up, people who use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter show signs of addiction.