Social Media Addiction Essay

Social media is a resource that a majority of people use to keep in contact with their loved ones. These sites are powerful resources because one can post or share something to their personal page and within days it can be shared all over the internet. The leading competitors of social media sites are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Many people in my generation post every personal detail of their lives, whether it is what they ate that morning, or who their new date is. Now that smartphones are faster than ever, social media is even more accessible with the use of applications. Social media has become an addiction that is plaguing this generation. As defined by the Webster dictionary, addiction is “an unusually great interest in something

They are confusing being busy in real life with looking busy on social media. This misconception can lead people into depression or make them obsess over things that may not be true. Since Facebook and Instagram are condensed versions of what is happening, one’s followers or friends do not know what is actually going on in that moment. As a result, people feel the need to make their lives seem more exciting and obsess over posting on social media. Quickly, it becomes a competition. For example, on Instagram there is a couple who has an extremely exciting and adventurous lifestyle; one is a model and the other is a well-known photographer. While they are traveling, they post videos of themselves skydiving or cliff jumping and in the background are gorgeous tropical scenery. They are being helped by professionals and have been shown how to do these things correctly. Teens see these small videos and want to recreate them, which could endanger their

Now this means documenting everything that happens with pictures, updates and locations. I go to concerts all the time and usually it’s a crowd of people wanting to enjoy the music. Recently I went to one and instead of watching the show, I watched it through a sea of screens. Everyone was recording and posting it on Twitter or Facebook. They constantly took dark, blurry pictures with their friends and updated that they were at a concert between every band. When I went to Skate and Surf festival, I was in a car with all of my friends and we were on our way to the event. Suddenly, I started getting notifications on my phone telling me that the people I was with tagged me in a post that they were with me and on their way to the event; five people had posted the same thing. People do not go to events anymore to enjoy the event, they go to say that they went and to show all their friends their exciting lives. It has become so accepted to check notifications while out with friends and stop conversations to take a photo. Looking at these posts on Instagram or Facebook has coined a term called “FOMO” or “the fear of missing out.” When others are looking at these photos they tend to think that that group of friends is having so much fun while they are at home alone. It creates an anxiety for people, they feel as if they are missing out on something exciting