Unplugging the addiction

Do you spend a lot of time thinking about social media or planning to use social media?
Do you feel an increasing urge to use your device?
Do you use social media to forget about personal problems?
Do you often try to reduce your use of technology without success?
Do you feel more restless or troubled if you are unable to use social media?
Do you use social media so much that it has had a negative impact on your job or studies?
Do you use a device in order to brighten your mood?

If the answer to all these questions is “yes,” then according to Psychology Today, an addiction to social media or technology is not far.

Since many students cannot recall a time when life was not surrounded by technology, an addiction to devices is not uncommon. Junior Sam Rothbardt theorizes that, “Everyone is addicted to their phones because they feel like they’re going to miss out on something because everyone else is also on their phones so it becomes a cycle.”

Neither the International Classification of Diseases nor the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders include addiction to technology on their current diagnostic guidelines.

Yet scholars agree that the area needs more attention since there may be a fine line between “general technology use and unhealthy use related to physical, social and psychological problems,” says Psychology Today.

Although an addiction to technology is rarely comparable to an addiction to substances such as alcohol or drugs, the effects may be more similar than one would at first think. Psychology Today reported that, for some people, the reduction of technology caused “a significant detrimental effect on many aspects of their life, including their real life relationships and academic achievement among those still in education.”

Other psychological problems are caused by an excessive use of social media and phones include anxiety, depression, loneliness, ADHD, lower emotional stability and lower life satisfaction.

Despite living in a world full of addictions and distractions, there are solutions to lessen this epidemic. Some improvements include turning off notifications, reducing phone time and leaving electronics in a separate room when sleeping.