We all must have heard the story of a young man named Ruplal who wanted to live alone due to social inconvenience and disturbance. Ruplal went to the jungle, built a peaceful home for himself , and found a new purpose. But later he realized man cannot live alone.
Human beings are social creatures. To prosper in life, we require the company of others, and the strength of our bonds has a significant impact on our mental health and happiness. Being socially linked to people can help you deal with stress, worry, and depression, increase your self-esteem, bring comfort and joy and prevent loneliness.
Many of us use social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube etc to find and communicate with one another in today’s society. While each has its own set of advantages, it’s essential to realize that texting through messenger and whatsapp or sharing memes with each other will never be a substitute for genuine human interaction.
A psychological disorder in which a person becomes overly infatuated with the digital world and spends so much time on these platforms that it interferes with other aspects of their existence is known as social media addiction. Social media is intrinsically addicting due to the way it interacts with our brain. Our brain releases dopamine when we post content on Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat etc platform. The same chemical that is released when we take addictive drugs. As a result, we experience pleasure from social media use, associating it with positive attention. Each time a social media notification appears, we get an instant dopamine boost in our brain. Decisions and experiences are influenced by the reward region of the brain and its chemical messenger pathways. Another aspect that contributes to social media addiction is that when people talk about themselves, their reward centers in the brain become more active. Social media is all about showing off one’s life and accomplishments. When someone publishes a picture or achievement on any social site, they may receive positive social feedback, which stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain, rewarding the behavior and maintaining the habit. Besides you can use social media to high satisfaction and relationships that you would not otherwise be able to gain. If you ignore real-life interactions and interpersonal relationships, you can develop a psychological dependency on your phone or laptop over time.
Ways to get rid of Social Media addiction
Social Media addiction can seriously hamper your regular life, thoughts, mental and physical health. If you ever feel like you’re being addicted to social media or witness some being drowning in it, immediately follow the tips for recovering from this disease.
Take a Break
Set a timer for yourself to go without checking social media for a specific amount of time, whether it’s a few hours or a week. That will help you stay away from social media, overthinking, anxiety and depression. Although you might feel the fear of missing out here, consistently practicing it might reduce the complexities.
Delete apps or turn off social media notifications
Turning off alerts will create a tiny hurdle in the way of most people’s mindless checking of social media. You’re less likely to spend time on social media if you don’t see a social media symbol or alert every time you pick up your phone.
Make a Busy Schedule
Most of the people get addicted because they spend a lot of free time lazily. Making a busy life schedule with some real life activities will help them focus on reality rather than the virtual world. Besides the activities can be some learning or enhancing skills, some charity work or anything which has a monetary value.
Make time for your interests or activities
A new interest or activity can help you resist the need to check social media. The aim is to fill your leisure time with things you enjoy that are also good for you. These activities might include hobbies or fun jobs.
Practice Self Care Activities
Any behaviors that help you reduce stress and improve your overall well-being are considered self-care activities. Self care activities might include exercise, meditation, sleeping, skin care, cooking, writing or spending time with favourite people.
Do Yoga and Meditation
Regular yoga and meditation practice creates mental clarity and calmness, increases body awareness, relieves chronic stress patterns, relaxes the mind, centers attention, and sharpens concentration. To break the attachment with digital media, yoga and meditation can be a great tool.
Consult a Therapist
Social media addiction is a psychological issue. One may face underlying mental health issues regarding social or interpersonal things. Seeing a therapist can assist them in better understanding of social media use, addiction and discussing the experiences and feelings that lead to it. The therapist can also assist them in developing healthy coping strategies that will be helpful to minimize the reliance on social media while also increasing your self-esteem.
There is no such thing as an official “social media addiction” diagnosis. However, excessive use of social media is becoming more widespread, and it can have major consequences for your physical and mental health. Compulsory behavior is exhibited by social media addicts. They frequently disconnect themselves from the outside world and become socially isolated. It is important to recognize and address this issue and take necessary steps in order to live a happy and healthy life.