Social Media: The Hottest Drug Around

Caffeine, nicotine, heroine, alcohol and cocaine are on the list of the most addictive substances on this planet. But what if this list included psychologically addictive substances as well? Technology could easily be number one on that list. We are dependent on technology in nearly every aspect of our daily lives. We use it to communicate, connect with people, and it aids us in nearly everything we do.

Some people may argue that technology is taking over the world. Not like in a science fiction movie where a computer “hacks” everyone’s brains type of way, but it is the center of our business and modern life. Most people would say they couldn’t live without technology, especially things like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. These social networking sites have seemed to take over our personal lives. But is it bad for our society?

Social networking itself is not bad for our society. In fact, it has helped much of our world reconnect or stay connected; but I would still argue social networking has begun to overpower our daily lives. It’s a part of our schooling, it’s a part of our work place, it’s a part of our families, and it’s a part of our social life. It’s everywhere. It has turned into another form of who we are. This is a bad thing. Actually, I would say it’s become a drug. People are addicted to it and how we use it shapes our reputation. Just like any other opiate or stimulant.

Now I don’t scare easily, but that thought is frightening. I am not on Facebook too often and I don’t have Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest accounts, but I know many people that do and it has become the center of their lives. My mother is one of them. She texts me asking if I can “like” her latest status, then I have to remind her we aren’t friends so I can’t do that, and she gets twice as upset. I roll my eyes on the other end wondering to myself why it even matters. Websites like Facebook and Twitter were created to connect with other college students and for citizens to have a voice. The point of posting a status was not to document our every move; it was to give online friends a brief update on one’s life. The purpose of Twitter was not to follow Kim

Kardashian’s life; it was so one could speak their mind and get a response

worth reading. Now people get “high” off the number of comments on their post and

depressed if people didn’t “like” what they had to say. This is all pathetic. Since when have people become so dependent on that little, red notification icon, that it can make or break your mood? Sure, I’ll admit having people comment on my status is a good feeling but I don’t feel better about myself because I think people ca

re about me more now that they read my status. No. I think “ wow, its nice that people have an opinion on what I have to say.” That is how it should be. After all, the world is not a nice place and harsh posts can be waiting behind that icon.

Not only do people crave the attention these websites bring, they crave the feeling of satisfaction after checking their accounts and seeing new comments and messages. It’s similar to the initial high after snorting cocaine or shooting up heroine. Drug addicts continuously want more because they don’t want that feeling to stop. Well, “social media addicts” constantly need that fix as well, whether it is through obsessive posting or obsessive updating. Even Peggy Orenstein says, in her piece “ I Tweet, Therefore I Am” she gets excited when “ the perfect opportunity for a tweet” arrives. (Orenstein 251) She is not the only one. When I do periodically check my Facebook account, I have countless posts on my newsfeed updating me on where people are and who they are with, as if I care. I’m sure if I had a Twitter I would run into the same issue. I am constantly wondering if these chronic posters ever take their eyes off the screen. Researcher Cecilie Schou Andreassen, and her team in Norway have created a test, given to 423 students, to see how addictive Facebook is. Andreassen concluded that Facebook and social media actually have a physically addictive component. She found that women are more susceptible to this type of addiction and “that people who are anxious and socially insecure use Facebook more than those with lower scores on those traits, probably because those who are anxious find it easier to communicate via social media than face-to-face." People use social media as a way to make them feel better just as people abuse drugs due to depression or anxiety.

These websites are taking over our lives so much so that people are losing grasp of the difference between online and reality. It’s the equivalent to losing hold of reality after too many years of drug use. The line between the Internet and reality has been blurred to the point that some people argue there is no distinction between the two worlds. How you portray yourself online has to be who you are in reality. If it is not you get penalized for it. You can lose your job, not get into the school you want, not get hired for a job or lose loved ones because of something you or someone else posted. People don’t know their limits, and this is why I would say our culture is beginning to overdose on them.

This is all the sad reality of today and the worst part about it is, we did it to ourselves. We got ourselves addicted to these websites. We have abused them like drugs time and time again, and the consequences of our actions have long lasting consequences. Only we can get ourselves out of this mess. Social networking sites are not to blame; they aren’t bad by any means. If you ask me I love my Facebook, it keeps me in touch with my old teammates in other states, and it updates me on any global issues I may be interested in but it’s something I can live without. So it is possible, people of America, to fight this addiction together.