Social Media Addiction, Treatment and Recovery
Social Media Addiction. Is it a thing?
Sadly, yes.
Tik Tok, Twitter/X , Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube. The list is endless.
The only place you can escape in North Korea. Anyone can buy a phone for £30-40, put a cheap sim card in and off you go.
Originally designed as a means of social interaction, what has evolved is a very complex psychological ecosystem.
Human behaviour is now influenced by social media. Our emotional well being, thought patterns, the food choices we make, what films we see, which celebrity is in, which celebrity is out and those who have been shaking it all about.
Social media can make people rich. Very little expenditure is required to start making money from social media. You can, literally, become a sensation. No qualifications are needed. You might have a talented pet, an interesting skill or mannerisms that others find entertaining.
All you care about is views as views means money.
Perhaps you are not interested in promoting yourself but merely following others. The problems that arise are the same.
Social media influences emotional wellbeing. This can and does lead to addiction.
Social media addiction is not simply about spending a lot of time using it. It is far more serious.
Addiction to social media stems from neurobiology, behavioural conditioning, psychology and social influence.
Social Media Addiction: The Rise of Social Media
Social media represents an incredible shift in societal behaviour.
In the space of less than twenty years, social media has completely transformed the world.
People can connect, instantly, for free, with people all over the world. While some countries are now trying to reduce the access of young people, this is already being circumvented.
Social media has become a phenomenon because it has tapped into core fundamentals of human needs. It connects people with others, it gives people a sense of recognition and allows anyone to self-express using platforms. These are the building blocks of human motivation.
Instant reward
Within seconds of posting something, users can be rewarded with likes, shares and positive comments.
This gives you instant validation. A continuous feedback loop. You gain a sense of importance. Who wouldn’t want to experience this high?
When you get validation you feel good. Thus it is entirely logical that you keep doing it.
The problem is that the same process that brings validation also creates serious problems.
If you keep doing it, the brain will, quickly, start to associate emotional gratification with social media use. In time, you will only be able to experience pleasure when you engage in social media. Naturally occurring feelgood chemicals are released which is why you experience euphoria.
The brain will change the way it operates. You will soon only be able to experience pleasure if you activate these naturally occurring chemicals and the only way you will do this is by using social media.
Tolerance
As with any addiction, when the brain changes the way it works, you will need more and more of the feelgood chemicals the brain releases (when you get validation from using social media) in order to stay level headed.
Whereas five minutes a day was once enough, it will turn into hours a day.
This has nothing to do with willpower but everything to do with science.
The Neuroscience of Habit Formation
Research shows that addiction is logical when activating the brains reward circuitry.
Social media use constantly triggers dopamine release. The pathways, in the brain that deal with pleasure and motivation will become stronger.
If you keep activating them, these pathways form automatic responses. In a word, a habit.
If you are stuck at a red light, awaiting to board a plane, stuck in a queue at the bank, these are moments of idleness that can trigger a situation where you crave a response. You know that seeing a stars latest holiday snap will give you that boost so you start scrolling.
Is Social Media Addiction A Disease?
Psychologists define addiction as a state characterised by someone compulsively engaging in stimuli that gives reward even though it causes them problems.
While social media addiction is not, as yet, listed in psychiatric textbooks as a standalone disorder, researchers are increasingly seeing the similarities between social media addiction and other behavioural addictions such as gambling.
This is because there are stark similarities such as loss of control, being preoccupied with the activity and showing signs of withdrawal when not using social media. The degree to which social media addiction impacts on someone’s life is identical to gambling.
What Damage Does Social Media Addiction Cause?
As with any addiction, you are going to be spending inordinate amounts of time feeding your habit.
While you won’t need to go to an off licence or phone a dealer, you are going to be glued to a device for hours. You will end up like a prolific smoker who gets off a plane after a long haul flight: Desperate for a fix.
Relationships will suffer, work and study will suffer. You will experience very debilitating cravings and your anxiety will spike to levels you didn’t think possible.
In recent times, researchers have developed tools to assess someone’s level of addiction to social media. One such tool is the Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). This , and the other scales that are used by psychologists, looks at several criteria, including:
- Salience (pre-occupation with social media)
- Tolerance (having to spend more time using it to get the same level of euphoria)
- Mood modification (using social media to boost your mood)
- Withdrawal symptoms when unable to access social media
- Lack of attention to obligations (work, study, family, etc)
Dopamine
When you eat, feel good chemicals are released by the brain. The same thing happens when you meet someone you like at a party or when having sex.
Dopamine is the main feel good chemical. When it is released you feel a sense of euphoria. It is perfectly natural to seek situations which will lead to a release of Dopamine.
The companies who run social media platforms spend billions of pounds on research. They know, precisely, how to activate your neurochemical pathways.
Every time you get a like, a notification or a message a small amount of Dopamine is released. This creates a brief moment of validation and a feeling of pleasure.
In time, if you keep doing this, your brain will start to associate social media use with reward, so you keep on doing it.
With social media post may go viral and attract huge attention or it may only be seen by a handful of people. This randomness adds to the problem. It is like playing a fruit machine in a casino. A phenomenon known as the variable ratio reinforcement schedule.
This means every scroll, every refresh is a gamble. You may discover something new, something to keep you hooked. Your brain will, very quickly, start to respond differently and it will begin to anticipate rewards. In the absence of them you will get very bored: very quickly. You will be compelled to get back online.
You will be caught in a vicious cycle of anticipation and seeking gratification. Every few minutes your device will be in your hands.
The brain’s reward circuits are far more powerful than your ability to control your device use.
Psychology: Reinforcement and Conditioning
The science behind social media addiction really is very simple.
When you use it you feel happy. No one is going to shy away from an activity that makes them feel good.
Likes on a post equals approval from others.
Heart emojis are validation. Why would anyone not want that?
If you feel isolated, your mood is low or you are bored your device can provide instant relief. This merely perpetuates your dependency on devices.
Your device will present content based on your use. The algorithm becomes personal. This draws you in, even more.
Social Validation and Self-Esteem
Humans are social creatures.
We seek acceptance and validation from others. Being valued and accepted is a core element of building self esteem. Social media provides this 24/7 from any location.
When you post something and it is well received it gives you a boost. If it is poorly received you simply go back and try again because no one wants disapproval.
Studies have shown that those with low self esteem are more likely to develop an addiction to social media. For this cohort, engaging online is far less scary than real life encounters. You can use a filter to change your appearance and be highly selective in what you say about yourself.
The problem is that social media can fuel people to compare themselves to others leading to envy.
There is no escape from seeing the achievements (real or claimed) online. This can lead to others developing very toxic views of their own status in life. It is logical that, when this happens, you will do anything to elevate your own status.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Anxiety
Fear of missing out. It isn’t just an advertising slogan but a real world phenomenon.
Social media is always there. Stars on the red carpet, friends snapping the pool of their 5 star hotel in Dubai, relatives taking pictures of their new car. It never stops.
It can make you feel like you have failed. That you are excluded, not welcomed, not valued. This merely makes you check other’s status more.
Some people can take it or leave it. Those with addictive tendencies will find themselves compulsively checking : at work, at school, while driving and even when using the bathroom!
This is hypervigilance. It is dangerous to your health: both emotional and physical.
Social Comparison
The late Dr Leon Festinger, a famous American psychologist, founded the theory of social comparison.
The theory is based around the concept that individuals determine their own self worth by comparing themselves with others: Keeping up with the Jones’.
Social media provides an instant tool with which to compare yourself to others 24/7,365 days a year.
Every time you use it, social media has an endless supply of comparisons but are they entirely real?
Images are filtered, lifestyles curated and success highly exaggerated. The social standards portrayed are, wholly, unrealistic.
When you are constantly exposed to seeing others do better than yourself it is, quite naturally, going to have a negative effect. You will feel envy and depressed.
If those you are following are having a downward spiral it will give you a temporary boost. However, when their status goes back up, it will make you feel worse.
There is a growing body of evidence to show that addiction to social media leads to crippling anxiety, isolation and crashing low mood. Using social media is not the same as face to face interactions. There is no emotional depth.
Cognitive Distortion and Fragmented Attention
Social media addiction harms your emotional and physical health: Fact. What a lot of people do not realise that it also seriously affects your cognitive processes.
Constantly flicking from platform to platform. Dealing with messages. This all takes your focus away from other tasks.
In time, your working memory and cognitive control will deteriorate. This is known as continuous partial attention, a phenomena where you expose your mind to short bursts of activity.
This makes it more difficult for your brain to sustain longer periods of concentration. Studies and work projects will suffer.
When you add this to the distorted vision of others status that social media provides, the pattern continues.
Social Media Addiction: The Impact on Mental Health
Social media improves your mental health doesn’t it? No.
It has very far reaching effects and can directly impact on mood, anxiety and feelings of isolation. You are constantly being bombarded with images of perfection.
While scientists differ on whether or not blue light emissions from screens affects sleep, scrolling late at night, added to emotional stimulation from the content you see is going to keep you awake.
Personality Factors
Some people can use social media, enjoy it and not be affected by it. Others get drawn in and become addicted. It is no different to alcohol or cocaine use.
People who have underlying anxiety are far more likely to develop an addiction to social media. They will seek solace in online life to try and reduce stress.
A person with narcissistic traits will use social media to seek validation and admiration.
If you are an impulsive person who struggles with self esteem you are more prone to social media addiction. You will find it far more difficult to regulate screen time or the urge to check your phone.
The prefrontal cortex in young people and adolescents is not fully formed so this cohort is at greater risk.
Social Media Addiction: Recovery From Social Media Addiction
Recovery is possible.
Treating social media addiction is no different from any other addiction recovery programme.
The only difference is that, unless you move to the moon (or North Korea) the internet is all around us. This makes relapse prevention, the third element of recovery, every more crucial.
The four elements of recovery for every addiction are:
- Detox
- Therapy
- Relapse prevention
- Aftercare
Detox
In terms of a social media detox this means a period away from devices.
While some centres allow access to devices at certain times of the day, for social media addiction you will need a centre that excludes device use unless under supervision.
Your brain will simply not respond to therapy while you are still using a device.
There is no medication for a social media detox but a short course of adjunctive medication may be necessary to keep your agitation within a safe range.
When you stop using social media your mood will drop: Fast. Your anxiety will spike and you may experience physical symptoms. This is perfectly normal. Medication can help bridge the gap while your brain readjusts.
Therapy
A detox without therapy is like worrying about your drinks order at the Titanic bar as it is sinking: A pointless exercise.
No one decides to be an addict. It is not a choice. Addiction is a consequence of avoidance.
Drinking alcohol to relieve stress, taking cocaine to get the confidence to approach someone in a bar and social media because you don’t see yourself as successful.
PTSD, childhood trauma, work stress, relationship difficulties: All can lead to addiction.
In rehab, the therapy sessions and groups are there to help you lift the lid on the difficult thoughts and emotions you are experiencing.
There will be laughter, tears, hope and inspiration. It will be challenging. There may be times when you think you can’t do it: You can.
Everyone there is there for the same thing: recovery. Alcohol, cocaine, porn, Ketamine: It really doesn’t matter the substance or behaviour.
Group Therapy Model
12 STEP, SMART or eclectic. It really doesn’t matter which model is used.
Every centre, the world over, uses a group therapy model. Why? Because it works.
Getting hung up on which model is used is time wasted. Group therapy works if you work at it.
You don’t need to be religious or believe in God. Ignore what people, who know nothing about it, tell you.
Adjunctive therapies
The core of every rehab centre programme is group therapy. This is the same, ther world over.
Adjunctive therapies are also of value. Cognitive behavioural therapy, motivational interviewing, etc have their uses.
What you don’t need is shakra realignment, organic green tea flown by a Pidgeon from the Himalayas and yoga with Goats.
Relapse Prevention
Social media is hard to escape. No rephrase that, it is virtually impossible to stay away from it.
Unless you use a phone without internet access and disconnect your broadband, you are never going to be far from it. It is similar to alcoholism. Corner shops and petrol stations are not going to remove their displays because you live around the corner.
Relapse happens: FACT.
It doesn’t happen to everyone but if it happens to you, it doesn’t have to be catastrophic.
With a toolbox of skills you will know what to do should relapse occur.
Addiction is a chronic illness. As with all chronic illnesses, there will be periods of remission and periods of crisis.
Aftercare
Rehab is a place of unconditional support and love.
There are staff on hand:24/7.
At 2AM should you find yourself struggling, there will be someone on hand to speak to. At home, you will be using your new found skills to support yourself.
The rehab centre will continue to support you. There is a weekly support group and regular telephone check in.
If you need immediate support, there will be a number to call.
Social Media Addiction: Speak to an experienced addictions clinician for free advice and referrals
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