Social media addiction

If you’re feeling consumed by social media and feel overwhelmed trying to take control of how much you use it; you are not alone. Many of us are noticing something is different with the tech we love. While the companies keep adding more features like their competition to keep us from leaving. We dive right into learning these new features that are over stimulating us, filling up our feeds with more ads and suggestions all design to keep our attention for their value. Seems that we got lost from the original intentions of social media and a simple photo sharing post. Even now we are full speed ahead creating or consuming content and jumping from one platform to another. Today something feels off from when we made our first posts with high engagements. Maybe you’re struggling to beat the algorithm because your views or likes have dropped and it’s taking a toll on your mood or mental health after all the time spent creating and curating content. Perhaps you feel like you developed terrible impulses control in the pursuit of likes and trying to grow in followers. Maybe you’re struggling with mindlessly scrolling through feeds stuck in a type of autopilot compulsion mode of just consuming content. Maybe you’re comparing yourself and your creativity to others and feeling down about yourself because your numbers are lower. Perhaps you feel your attention span has shortened and you find it difficult to concentrate as a side effect from over stimulation. Maybe you want more discipline on how much time you spend on your device yet you feel helpless because it’s feels like a struggle for you. In a world were we are all constantly consuming social media many of us have been dealing with some sort of over consumption of it and attempting to regain some control over of it.

Which makes me wonder:

‘What’s a post worth?’

I am here to tell you there is help and you are not alone with feelings of some degree of social media addiction. The truth is most of us are addicted to a certain degree and we haven’t thought about it because our smart devices are such a big part of our daily lives. Stitched in to every fabric of our daily lives. If you have been struggling you don’t have to feel any shame about feelings of addiction to your social media or your smart devices. The struggle is not your fault because the digital ecosystem is wired to tap into our dna and into our hunter and gathering ancestry; hacking into our subconscious of seeking and exploring and curiosity; incentivized for human survival by dopamine release and taping into human desires to be loved, to be seen, to be recognized and to be acknowledged. The more your using social media the more your being fed dopamine and the more the possibility of addiction is being created. Most of us have been hardwired into our digital devices for most of our lives unlike our grandparents and past generations who never had the technology in their hands. We are now more Techno-Sapiens then our ancestors with every passing year incorporating new technology into our daily lives. Which leaves any feelings of addiction to feel daunting and feel uncomfortable and uncontrollable and even helpless. The trick is to understand when you feel your over consuming or having feelings of being over consumed by social media it is time to figure out how to lower your usage or possible even take a break for using it. A lot easier stated then actually implementing into successful action. If you feel that’s impossible I’m here to tell you it’s not and giving up your social media addiction for 30 days is possible and refreshing after a little work. The first few days of a digital detox will feel terrible but after sometime you will feel mentally and physically better without its daily use.

Which makes me wonder:

‘When is consuming enough content enough?’

In an endless world of consumption and over stimulation it can be difficult to recognize when consuming content is enough? We all stayed on a little longer captivated even though we’re super tired and should be asleep. No one talks about the possibilities of addiction to social media consumption and how it can negatively effect a person by simply over stimulation. The digital ecosystem feeds on curiosity and is designed to created FOMO (fear of missing out) to keep your attention and to keep us on longer and longer by feeding us dopamine. It’s why when social events like a music festival we wish we were at fill our feeds were captivated scrolling through content. It’s all taping into our fundamentals of human evolution and psychology. While there are many positives to social media the dangers of over consumption cause addiction is one of negative side effects. It’s why we see drivers at a red light watching social media videos. It’s why we see in bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway people consuming their favorite social media feed, watching people do silly dances, taking selfies or making videos to post. Passengers and solo drivers habitually acting in their daily ritual even when it’s not safe. We see people trying to get the right photo or video in very dangerous situations all in the name of content and likes as they chase attention and popularity incurring possible injury or worse. We must acknowledge and understanding that social media can be addictive and we need to teach tools so people can regain control when it’s lost.

Which makes me wonder:

‘What happens to users when you’re not getting likes? Couldn’t this be a terrible recipe for mental stress?’

Social media can be difficult to navigate when life is going good. We see negativity beyond a difference of opinion or rude comments but negative vitriol and the cruelty of cyber bullying. These are all difficult to deal with when you’re mentally healthy and strong. What happens if your life has you dealing with stress, with mental health problems, with grief, with loneliness or perhaps self image problems of something you don’t like about your life or yourself? What’s happening to a person using social media to escape their real world problems and using it as an escape to numb out their problems. Life stressors trigger how you navigate these tools that dish out dopamine as their reward system for you attention. Feeding yourself with the highs and lows of the dopamine that social media creates effecting your mental health.

Which makes me wonder:

‘What happens when you consume too much?’

If it’s difficult for some to navigate the digital ecosystem when everything is great then it must be even more of a challenging if things in a persons life are not so great. Under these conditions if your struggling with social media is real just know there are tool to help you manage what ever problem you have. You don’t have to tackle this problem; small or great on your own and there is help out there. The struggles maybe exasperated even more from social media use and taking a digital detox for a week or more may help with changing any anxiety you’re struggling with in the real world.

Which makes me wonder:

‘Why do we chase content?’

We have been programmed with the need to share photos, to create content, to share content using all the new features of social media until it became a part of daily life like breathing. In our hands are the ability to take a photo of your favorite meal and share it with the world and get rewarded for doing so. Filling a cycle of endless consumption so while we wait in lines at a store or a waiting room we are entertained and generating a digital economy of creators. While some are hoping to generate income the real exchange is time spent on platforms. A few minutes here and there, a half hour now, an hour tomorrow, before you know it your spending 2, 3, 4, 8hrs a day on your favorite social media app as consumers and content creators. For content creators uploading a photo or a video and searching the menu for the perfect song or the perfect filter could have you on for 30mins to 1hr invested in the creative process for your likes and views. With more feature coming out means more time spent creating content. The more content competition means more content uploads are required for more attention. Everyone’s gets hooked and are chasing that dopamine but how many are making money of their time spent?

Which makes me wonder:

‘What’s a post worth if it gets low views?’

Making content for the sake of making content for just to beat the algorithm is becoming a new normal. People upset that their uploaded photo no longer have views is another side effect that we are addicted to the tech even thought it’s not working they way it once did. It’s time to realize how much time you spent to created just chasing likes or comments. Time spent just for the need of views. The underlining desires to have more followers and the possibility of making a stream of income making us blind. You lost the initial intent of creating and started chasing something different becoming over stimulated from over consumption and from over suggestions overwhelmed your zen with feeling like lab rat in a maze with every view or every click on the screen your being rewarded and it isn’t cheese but a little hit of dopamine.

Which makes me wonder:

‘In the digital ecosystem where everyone is on how do you turn off?’

I have attempted to quit social media in the past many times and failed. I have tried to implement taking time off from using it without success. It has perplexed me on how difficult going without has felt. Like leaving everyone behind and missing out. I have not had success until I realized that I had to start to rewire my connection with social media starts with my relationship with my smartphone. We take our phones with use everywhere. Leave your house without you smart phone and you feel something is wrong like wear a tshirt and short into a snow storm. Smartphone have become an extension of our bodies. We take photos and created a catalog of possible content to share. We take photos of everything from concerts and friend to sunsets and food. So when we leave our home without our phones it causes distress. Without our smartphones we feel vulnerable and naked to the point we feel ghost notification or ghost vibrations of texted messages or phantom ringtones. As someone who creates content I realized the smartphone is how to started working on my social media addiction. We have our phones everywhere we go and in those moments when we are waiting it’s so easy to pull out your smartphone and open up social media, be it at the DMV or the doctors waiting room or in line for a movie or grocery store it’s easy to just start scrolling until it’s our turn for whatever we are waiting for. So I started to leave my smartphone behind intentionally. I started with small acts like going grocery shopping with no smartphone. I started going on a bike ride or working out without a smartphone which would have been difficult because your access to music but if listening to music on your smartphone is your thing it can be very difficult to give up chunks of time without your smartphone. Best thing is to find an old iPod.

The way to change your social media habits starts with small changes with your relationship with your phone and with the awkward silence of being with yourself and your thoughts. By not always gaving access to your smartphone you will slow down your social media use. That’s the real first steps of controlling your usage out of boredom and impulse control.

Which makes me wonder:

‘How do manage social media?’

The first obvious way to deal with social media addiction is to delete the app off your smart device. That might be just to traumatizing of an act. If you can that’s even more power to you. But I’m coming at this from realizing your having a problem and lowering your use by temporarily stopping to reset yourself so you can have more awareness when you return to use. This is not about adding more stress. So I would move your favorite social media app or apps to your last screen page so they are out of sight but not gone and log out. There are also ways to limit the time spent on your social media app and even secondary apps to control your time.

That you can incorporate after doing a digital detox.

Which makes me wonder:

‘How do you successfully turn off?’

First thing you need is to rests your dopamine levels and detox from your social apps that are over stimulating you. What may feel super overwhelming to deal with may just be the over stimulation. The problem lies not just in the social media app but in the smart device we carry everywhere we go. This means we need to reestablish a new relationship with our smart device and start using airplane mode as a way to curve stimulation from notification. Turn them on while we are trying to get a project done. Turn them on while you’re doing activities. After feeling comfortable with not needing your notifications from your smartphone the next is to trying and go to the store without your smartphone as a test of your separation with it. This will help you lower the impulse to check all or any social media out of boredom or habit while you’re waiting in lines. That’s how I lowered my social media addiction that became automatic habits throughout the day.

Which makes me wonder:

‘How do you create a working support system?’

If your attempt to stop social media use for several days or a week leaves you feeling restless and your minds trapped on a loop wanting to checking your feed. If doing a social media detox feels daunting there is good news. Your know alone and there is help out there with social media addiction. Such as (ITAA) the Internet and Technology Addiction Anonymous a 12-step program based on the principles of (AA) Alcoholics Anonymous that provides tools and support to deal with compulsive internet use. Tell your friend how you’re struggling and ask them to not share content with you for a couple days or weeks that would trigger you to want to check your favorite social media while you doing your detox. Find an ally to check in on you and ask how you’re doing with your struggles. Another good source for help would be to find a therapist or an addict recover program to speak with to get help. Find out if there are any underling phycological problem from your past that might be feeding your over use or addiction to the digital ecosystem from some sort of unresolved problem that cause you to response to triggers such as any form(s) of depression, anxiety, (ocd) obsessive–compulsive disorder, any unresolved Trauma or abandonment wounds or any fears that your subconscious dealing with. If you are experiencing any of these caused from the outside world or if they are created from being plugged in to the digital ecosystem too long either way there are plenty of helpful resources out there. Learning about addictions in general and how it works with the brain can help creating new mindful habits to curve your social media use. YouTube is another great source for social media addiction that can help you understand what’s happening and make you feel you’re not alone in your struggle. You be surprised who many stories about you find. Understanding how the digital eco system is created to gain your attention is a good way to set up red flags for yourself to help create healthy habits while using social media for when you begin to feel it’s becoming a problem in future use. Use all the tools you can to help yourself gain control.

No matter how little or how hard your struggle is with social media maybe just remember you got this. Some day in the future you’ll look back to your struggle of today and it will be a distant memory of your past that made you a stronger person for today. Good luck with your social media detox.