SOCIAL MEDIA AND DEPENDANCE
As may say 'social media' is here to stay and is simply part of day to day life in our world. Promotion, business, networking and content are all part of this in relation to work, socialising and communication. It is a major contributor to the economy, workforce and the way we access information. There is obviously a darker side to this though.
Todays young people are especially at risk from these platforms where there is a large culture of comparison which may lead to unfulfillment, disappointment and a sense of failure. If social media is used as a predictor or compass for gaining popularity and validity to the most vulnerable in society then there is a major problem; as our young people continue to grow, develop and form opinions they may be exposed to harmful information and unrealistic expectations.
There are varying perspectives on this - often depending on where the individual is sitting in terms of 'what addiction is'. This debate continues, some say it is habit forming - neither good nor bad but it is how the person reacts to this and others claim it is dangerous and purposefully made with addiction in mind for our young people.
One phenomenon is FOMO - 'fear of missing out' and this is quite pressing because instilled in the brains of the youth of today, where does it go from there? What if many are missing out in theory - the next step can only be negative. The young person may ask questions: inadequacy, jealousy and isolation may crop up, causing mental decay or toxic relationships to form.
Is there a solution or are most of us scrolling anyway? Do we need a solution and what can the individual and families do to be proactive in this potentially destructive journey?
Set limits, initiate other past times and outings and general awareness of the social media activity can make a difference but ultimately if the young person has already developed habits which are unhealthy (more than 3 hours per day) then interventions to cut the time may fall flat.
Today there is talk about new rules for very young children in terms of screen time which may encourage better habits and hopefully avoid the over use of social media later on in life.
The actual problem is
* Social media can tap into reward systems encouraging more engagement
* The individual may develop habits leading to frequent use and be at risk of addiction (some refute that it causes addiction)
* Many young people have never known the world without social media and so there is no alternative to tap into
If companies can invent such sophisticated tech. then surely there is hope for a solution or ideas to support less use of social media.
There is an interesting Ted Talks where Tyler Burns presents some interesting initiatives for change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U35T-KzfeLk
