For anyone who has doubts that social media addiction is actually a ‘thing’, think again. A study by Harvard University researchers showed that the act of disclosing information about oneself on social media – even trivial things like what you had for dinner or what you think about the latest episode of Breaking Bad – triggers the same sensations as you would get from eating food or even having sex.
In fact, the latest release of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders), the ‘bible’ for psychologists, almost included ‘internet additional disorder’ as a diagnosable condition (internet gaming disorder is already in there).
But while social media addiction is certainly real, for the vast majority of us, I would consider it more of a….serious hobby.
Following are 29 things that might be warning signs of addiction!
1.You post to social media in the middle of a crisis before calling for help.
2.You can’t take a bite of your meal before first tweeting a picture.
3.You ignore the person sitting right next to you in favor of posting to social media.
4.You use internet slang in real life (like saying BRB instead of ‘be right back’)
5.You think in 140 character segments (you’re so used to limiting how many words you use, even your real-life thoughts and comments have character limits)
6.You can’t maintain real-life relationships with people who aren’t on social media (“How else am I going to know what he did this weekend if he didn’t post it on social media?”)
7.You obsessively check Facebook to see how many people have ‘liked’ your new profile picture; and if this number isn’t sufficient, your self-esteem plummets.
8.You’re so busy posting about how much fun you’re having with your kids at the park that you don’t have time to actually play with your kids at the park.
9.You go into full-on panic mode if your phone dies while you’re out and realize you’ve forgotten your power code at home.
10. You interrupt in-person conversations whenever you get a social media notification.
11. The day the FAA decided to allow the use of phones even during takeoff was the best day of your life.
12. You only frequent establishments where you can ‘check in’ (otherwise how will anyone know you were really there?).
13. You assume that everyone around you knows what’s going on your life simply because you posted something to social media (“Why are you asking how my summer was? Didn’t you check my Instagram?”).
14. You let the number of likes, shares or retweets your post received dictate your mood for the day.
15. You go to bed at night and realize your entire day was spent reading and posting to social media.
16. Whenever something significant happens in your life, the first thought that inevitably comes to mind is “I need to post this to social media”.
17. You slip hashtags into everyday conversations: “We had a great time at the beach, #summerfun”.
18. The first thing you do after meeting someone new is rush to your phone or computer to scope them out on social media.
19. You’re on the quest for the perfect selfie: If you looked great one day but didn’t get a selfie, did it really happen?
20. You miss important meetings or deadlines because you’re too busy reading about productivity online.
21.You feel intensely guilty if you don’t update Facebook at least 10 times per day.
22.When you get dressed, you realize you can’t wear ‘that shirt’ because you wore it in your last profile picture.
23. You can’t complete a home reno/create a new hairstyle/use a new software program without first viewing a YouTube tutorial.
24. When your phone breaks, life comes to a complete and total standstill until it’s been repaired.
25. You send Facebook messages to friends and family who are currently in the same room as you.
26. You’re terrified that if you miss checking social media for one day, you’ll miss breaking news/hot gossip/major life events (are there other ways to stay on top of these things?)
27. You create social media profiles for your pets (and actually keep them updated).
28. You ‘like’ your own posts, especially if no one else does (it’s better than not getting any likes, right?)
29. You spend so much time interacting on social media you sometimes forget how to interact in real life (and may even start to wonder if real life friends are necessary!).
Do any of these sound familiar? What else would you add to the list?
About Author
Oh my – that’s a good one, Drew!
Well I guess you could set your clock for a massage 🙂
My husband is always asking “how do you know that?” and I will say, “I saw it on Facebook” :-)…we do tend to stay UP on what’s happening with people through social media these days!
Hard to admit to some of these right? Yikes!
LOL, I have done it 🙁
Some things just aren’t worth it, Troy 🙂
My social media wandering led me to your words today…so not a horrible thing. At 64 yrs old, I am not addicted, more fascinated by the time everyone else has to do all this. Thanks for your listing…right on, Kim
Some of these things are funny and we can joke about them, but a few are very helpful and insightful into understand our customers. If you understand these little details well we can use them to our advantage and I think that’s valuable. Thanks for this list!
LOL 🙂
Wow, that’s quite a list! #3 is hard because I think we all know times where we have been guilty of favoring our phones over the person in front of us, or we had that happen to us. Alternatively, a friend of mine just went to a “summer camp for adults,” where one of the rules is to leave your cell phone at check-in and you don’t get it back until the end of camp. “Virtual detox.” I think it’s brilliant! (And I want to go next year).
So enjoyed this post! Yep I am addicted all right…. luckily it’s one that I #Love lol. I love the way we can truly create positive communities, supportive environments, and most of all everyone can share their unique selves and make a positive impact on our planet.
Thank YOU for composing this delightful piece. ♡♥♡
Maggie,
We are so thankful that you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think many of us find ourselves on this list in one way or another. Boom Care Squad – Aida Ingram
My children tell me that they are going to have the following put on my tombstone – “Just one more post”…lol