Loading. Please Wait....
Do you believe you may be addicted to social media? Finding out social media symptoms can help you be clear on this.
To get help with your social media addiction, contact Samarpan Recovery today. We can help to free you from the grip of social media.
Here are some of the social media addiction symptoms you need to know to figure out whether you are addicted.
You spend a significant amount of time on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, often to the detriment of other responsibilities and activities. You constantly check social media accounts, even in inappropriate or inconvenient situations.
You disengage from face-to-face interactions in favor of online communication. You ignore or neglect family, friends, or work obligations due to the preoccupation with social media.
You feel the need to share every aspect of one's life online. You frequently post, like, comment and refresh feeds to stay updated.
You often experience a decline in work or academic performance due to excessive time spent on social media. You procrastinate and have difficulty concentrating on tasks as a result of constant digital distractions.
You experience heightened anxiety, stress, or depression when you are unable to access social media. You compare your life to others and feel inadequate or depressed as a result.
You feel anxious, irritable, or restless when unable to use social media. You have withdrawal symptoms like headaches or insomnia due to withdrawal from online interactions.
Here are some of the reasons that people get addicted to social media.
Like all addictions, social media addiction can be incredibly harmful. Here are some of the ways that addiction to social media can damage you.
Constantly browsing social media can lead to the feeling everyone else has a more fantastic life than you. This can make you feel bad about your own life, causing a cycle of depression.
When we spend hours each day on social media, we lose time to focus on being successful. Time spent on Facebook or Instagram is time that we could have spent working on ourselves.
Of course, we are not suggesting that life is about being productive. You should also set aside time to enjoy yourself. But frequently, social media use is neither of these. Those hooked on social media endlessly scroll or upload media without feeling any sense of enjoyment
Social media promised us that we would be more connected than ever before. And while it has never been easier to speak with friends or family, the depth of connection that can be fostered by communicating on social media is far less than that which can be gained through meeting in person.
It is perhaps no wonder so many people experience social media addiction symptoms, given social media is designed to be addictive. Social media platforms use algorithms to tailor content to individual preferences. This personalized experience creates highly engaging and addictive content, as social media users are constantly exposed to content they find engaging.
Social media platforms use algorithms to tailor content to individual preferences. This personalized experience can create a highly engaging and addictive environment, as users are constantly exposed to content that aligns with their interests.
Social media apps send regular notifications to user devices, altering them of new activity, messages and updates. These notifications create a sense of urgency, prompting users to check their apps regularly to stay informed and engaged.
Features such as likes, comments and shares provide social validation and feedback. Someone with low self-esteem is likely to be susceptible to the validation provided by these features. These feelings can cause users to post more content to feel continuous validation, fostering a cycle of continuous interaction.
Prior to 2006, social media platforms tended to use separate pages to show content. That year, designer Aza Raskin developed the concept of “endless scroll”, allowing users to continually scroll down a social media feed, without ever running out of content.
This feature greatly increases the addictiveness of social media, effectively allowing users to scroll indefinitely.
Autoplay features for videos keep users engaged by seamlessly transitioning from one piece of content to the next. As with endless scroll, the purpose of autoplay videos is to reduce friction when consuming content, keeping users hooked.
There are ways you can break out of your addiction, reducing your social media addiction symptoms.
Communicating via social media is unlikely to be able to give you the sense of connection you desire. The solution to this is meeting in person and bonding in the real world. If you are used to only communicating via social media, this can seem daunting.
It is common for people with social media addiction to have anxiety around having face-to-face conversations. It is important to get to the root of this anxiety, so you can enjoy and look forward to connecting with people, rather than this being a cause of concern.
Support groups like Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous help people stay clean who have addictions to “social media, smartphones, streaming video or audio content, games, news, pornography, dating apps, online research, online shopping, or any other digital activity that becomes compulsive and problematic.”
ITAA meetings follow the 12-step format first laid out by Alcoholics Anonymous. ITAA members meet regularly in-person and by video call to share their experience, strength and hope in overcoming addiction to the internet and technology.
ITAA can be an effective way of stopping using social media compulsively. There are currently few meetings running outside of the United States, meaning those living outside the US should attend online meetings.
Social media addiction can be severe, and social media addiction symptoms can and do ruin peoples lives. If you cannot stop using social media despite trying to quit by yourself, it may be time to seek professional help.
You do not have to stay trapped in social media use. Samarpan Recovery used evidence-based treatment methods to help you recover from your addiction. Our international centre offers you luxurious facilities where you can get to the root of your problem, so you can go on to live a healthy life without social media.
Samarpan is a specialized international Substance Use Disorder (De-Addiction) and Process Addiction rehab in Pune, India that accepts a maximum of 26 clients. We only accept clients on a voluntary basis and have a highly structured program that encompasses the most effective approaches to Substance Use Disorder and addiction. The facility is set in the rolling hills Mulshi, with clients having either individual or shared rooms, in a modern resort-like facility, staffed by Internationally Accredited Professionals. Samarpan is fully licensed under The MSMHA and is also an accredited GORSKI-CENAPS Centre of Excellence offering a program from 5 to 13 weeks.
If you or someone you care about is considering treatment for substance use disorder or process addictions, we can help. Contact us now on admissions@samarpan.in or phone/WhatsApp us on +91 81809 19090.
+91 81809 19090admissions@samarpan.in