Hooked on virtual social life

Hooked on virtual social life. Problematic social media use and associations with mental distress and addictive disorders.

While there exists no official diagnostic term or measurement, problematic social media use can be conceptualized as a non-substance-related disorder, resulting in preoccupation and compulsion to engage excessively in social media platforms despite negative consequences. These effects include Heightened anxiety from a “fear of missing out,” or FOMO. Lowered self-esteem due to constant upward social comparisons. Poor concentration and memory due to frequent shifts in focus. These effects include Heightened anxiety from a “fear of missing out,” or FOMO. Lowered self-esteem due to constant upward social comparisons. Poor concentration and memory due to frequent shifts in focus.

“Social media platforms drive surges of dopamine to the brain to keep consumers coming back over and over again. The shares, likes, and comments on these platforms trigger the brain’s reward center, resulting in a high similar to the one people feel when gambling or using drugs.”

First, let’s get a broader and deeper understanding of the problem at hand.

What is social media addiction?

It’s a little bit tricky to answer this question in a straight-forward fashion. Although it might seem pretty obvious, and we all have an intuitive understanding of what it means to be addicted to social media.

But please allow me to take you a little bit deeper than this surface level. What is addiction at all? And in the case of social media or digital technology overuse — should we even call it ‘addiction’, or is it wiser and more helpful to call it something else?

Let me show you a few quotes to make you see why it’s a little bit more diffuse than ‘just giving you the definition’.

From Wikipedia:

The relationships between digital media use and mental health have been investigated by various researchers — predominantly psychologists,

sociologists, anthropologists, and medical experts — especially since the mid-1990s, after the growth of the World Wide Web.

A significant body of research has explored “overuse” phenomena, commonly known as “digital addictions [2][3]”, or “digital dependencies”. These phenomena manifest differently in many societies and cultures. […]

The delineation between beneficial and pathological use of digital media has not been established. There are no widely accepted diagnostic criteria, although some experts consider overuse a manifestation of underlying psychiatric disorders. […]

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) does not include diagnoses for problematic internet use, problematic social media use, and gaming disorder (commonly known as video game addiction), whereas the eleventh revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) recognises gaming disorder.

Experts are still debating how and when to diagnose these conditions. The use of the term addiction to refer to these phenomena and diagnoses has also been questioned.

As you can see: it’s hard to talk coherently and clearly about addiction to digital technology or social media specifically, for two main reasons:

The potential of digital technology or social media to be addictive is relatively new, as is the technology itself. Less time to study these means less time to come to a consensus.
The scientific understanding of addiction, in general, isn’t very clear, and very much colored by political thinking (as we will see in a minute);

These two make for a situation where the scientific community has yet to reach a clear consensus on 1: if such a thing as social media or smartphone addiction even exists, and 2: if it does, what constitutes it.

Difficulty defining a problem, and a working definition of social media addiction

A third problem with defining ‘social media addiction’, ‘nomophobia’ (literally; the fear of missing your mobile phone), digital technology dependency or smartphone addiction, is in the nature of the technology. Combined with the nature of humans.

You see: by far most of the apps on our smartphones have some social or communicative element to them. Research shows that by far most of the time we spend on our devices, we spend communicating and/or on social media.

That is to say: social media and digital technology in general make it possible for human beings to connect to each other — which is something we naturally, direly crave. To feel good, to function in a healthy way, and to thrive.

The problem with social media and digital technology in general — especially under covid-19 and lockdown conditions — becomes one of balance and a conscious choice, much more than a matter of black or white addiction or abstinence.

For more on the philosophical and scientific difficulties of defining a pathology such as social media or smartphone addiction, read this article — in which you will also find various definitions of smartphone addiction or digital dependency.

A working definition of social media addiction

But that’s likely not what you’re here for. You’re probably here to understand social media addiction better, to be able to combat it. For that, we should agree on a working definition to base our discussion and solutions on. Well, what should we use as a practical definition?

“Social media addiction is a behavioral addiction that is characterized as being overly concerned about social media, driven by an uncontrollable urge to log on to or use social media, and devoting so much time and effort to social media that it impairs other important life areas.”

That seems about right in the sense that it is useful. Let’s use that, for now. Diving into the causes of social media addiction, we will find more clarity.

To answer this question, I think it might be interesting to look a little bit deeper. What causes addiction at all?

There are two videos to share with you that I find to make our understanding of addiction and its causes clearer. This also makes our understanding of the allure of social apps and of social media addiction much deeper.

The first is this famed TED talk by Johann Hari about addiction, where he explains how his research has led him to believe that “the opposite of addiction is not sobriety, but connection”:

The old-school ideas about punishing addicts for their behavior are rooted in old, politically and morally colored thinking, which has muddied the scientific understanding of the problem for maybe as much as centuries.

Now, what’s extra interesting of course, in the context of social media addiction, is the problem that social media essentially functions to give us a sense of connection. The question is; is it the “right” kind of connection we’re getting, and is it a healthy way for humans to connect at all?

The second insight I want to share is the understanding I stumbled upon in this episode of the Tim Ferriss show with guest Gabor Maté:

Hooked on virtual social life