Is Social Media Addiction Reaching Alarming Levels?
Is Social Media Addiction Reaching Alarming Levels? My quick unfiltered answer is 'YES and YES'. And no less than in the United States, where the rule of law prevails most of the time, recently, fourteen states and the District of Columbia filed a suit against META, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger contending that the company knowingly uses features on its platforms to cause children to use them compulsively, even as the company said that its social media sites were safe for young people💴💷💵
The accusations in that lawsuit raises a deeper question about behavior. Psychologists claim that devices lure users with very powerful tactics which they coined "INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT" which creates the idea that a user could get a reward at any time. BUT when the reward comes is unpredictable. By analogy, this is easily compared to slot machines📗📙📘So, similarly with slot machines where users are beckoned with lights and sounds BUT in social media, it's even more powerful as information and reward tailored to a user's interests and tastes. And while it's true that we adults are susceptible, young people are particularly at risk because our brain regions are involved in resisting temptation and reward are NOT as nearly developed in children and teenagers compared to adults📌📌📌
So what makes SOCIAL MEDIA so compelling? Practically all experts who study the ramifications of the internet are one in saying that the magnetic allure of SOCIA MEDIA arises from the way the content plays to our neurological impulses and wiring, such that consumers find it HARD to turn away from the flurry of incoming stream of information❎❎❎ Moreover, the studies say that adolescent brain is especially attuned to social connections and SOCIAL MEDIA is all a perfect opportunity to connect with other people. So, the debate now is whether COMPULSION EQUALS ADDICTION? A word of caution, though, from experts for tagging ADDICTION with SOCIAL MEDIA because it is also essential to our daily life✅✅✅
