Instagram: The New Drug Addiction

Have you ever laid in bed at night and decided to hop on Facebook or Twitter to catch up on the eventful days that others had? Or maybe to decide what selfie to post after spending 20 extra minutes in the bathroom? You may have only intended to scroll through your feed or to see if Johnny from work liked your post, but before you know it, it has been 15 minutes and then 30 minutes and then it’s an hour and now instead of looking at what you intended you are watching a DIY video for how to make a cardboard soda machine. This may sound completely insane or it might sound scarily familiar. Whether you know it or not, this is happening every night to millions of people around the globe.
I am a personal victim of social media addiction. I lay in my bed at night thinking about how I should go to sleep, but instead I stalk people’s profiles and watch funny videos. I have thought about shutting off all of my social media before. I am sure that everyone has as well for one reason or another, but I can never seem to actually do it. I have thought it would be nice to not have to check my Instagram feed or see if anyone has retweeted anything worthwhile recently, but in the end, I think about what I might miss if I do. It probably sounds cliché or stupid or whatever other word you might be thinking. I think the reason that I can’t push myself to do it, even if just for a day, is because I am addicted. And I believe that every single person who uses social media is as well, just at different levels.
When I think about my day, it consists of me waking up, checking my social media, getting ready for class, heading to my classes, checking it again once I get to where I am headed, have my class, check it once I get out of class, and so on. I check it at least 15 times a day for at least 20 minutes at a time. If I were to add all of that time up and put it together, I could have done so many other things that would have been more productive than me staring at my phone screen looking at different ways to redecorate my room.
How are we supposed to break this phenomenon of people losing sleep and losing precious time being caught? People talk about how drugs and alcohol are addictive and can ruin people’s lives, but nobody ever says ‘Oh Ashley went to rehab today. She was addicted to Facebook and Twitter and just can’t seem to kick it’. It isn’t recognized as a true addiction, but it should be. So, in an effort to try to kick my addiction, I am going to try to shut off my social media at ten every night and not use it until ten the next morning. When I do use it, I will set a ten minute timer three times a day and once that goes off, I will shut it off and do something productive like laundry or homework or even just hang out with friends face to face.

Comments

  1. I couldn't agree more! Overnight before bed I check my social media accounts and I always, let me repeat that, always end up on facebook watching videos of either Americas Got Talent or The Voice. Throughout the day I tend to keep track of time better when I'm on my phone surfing social media but there is something about laying down at 2 A.M. with your phone in your face and before long you look at the clock and its 3:30 A.M. I don't think this will be an easy fix for our world to come to. I think in order to help find a solution from wasting precious time is to inform individuals and run a campaign stating how technology is effecting our lives and our communication skills, for the worse.

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