The Causes of Social Media Addiction

Behind every addiction, there is a psychological problem that causes addictions to arise. With addiction there is always a reason and people who are at greater at risk to develop additions. There is no actual cause to why people become addicted to social media but there are risks and factors that can make you more prone to becoming addicted. These risks can include psychological problems, emotions and life situations that may occur which can result in the start to media addiction. Specific factors such as loneliness, people who suffer from insomnia, depression and stalkers are some of the many reasons why people become addicted to social media.

This video is showing how different emotions kept causing her to want to communicate on Facebook. When she was having a good time, upset, got fired, got a divorce, it all made her quickly want to go right back to Facebook which in return caused her to become addicted to social media. Every time her mood changed she always felt the need to inform others through social media because it gives her a reason and purpose to keep using the site and to receive attention back from others, which keeps people interested.

More simple reasons why people become addicted to social media are the need and want to stay connected with friends and things going on in the world. As humans we are always curious and social media sites such as Facebook always keep us wanting to come back for more whether it is a post about a celebrity or gossip about a friend.  Throughout this video, the girl is constantly using social media to update her daily life in hopes others will see. This is also a reason in which people become addicted because they want attention due to low self-esteem and sites such as Twitter or Facebook will give you that ego boost that is needed from others’ comments. 

The satisfaction we are gaining from social media sites is the ability to connect, search and obtain information. This thought can lead to addictions when it is no longer occasional and becomes obsessive and constant.

-Kristie.M