Fifty years ago, uttering the words “iPhone”, “Facebook”, “Twitter” and “Instagram” on a hourly basis would have seemed silly, because those concepts were not yet even thought of. In fact, the first generation iPhone would not be released for 42 years, Mark Zuckerberg wouldn’t be born for another 19 years, Twitter would not come out for 41 more years, and Instragram not for another 45. As an avid social media junkie, I cannot imagine a world where I wake up and do not reach for my iPhone to scroll down my social media feeds, to make sure I did not miss anything of importance. Listening to a hand-held radio? Sounds like torture. Social media has transformed into a phenomenon that can be quoted as an addiction. The newest generations are even being introduced to it at younger ages, with more and more technology advancing everyday. However, this may not be a bad thing.
Chances are that you are hooked into the phenomenon as well. You most likely have seen, heard of, or even have accounts of many of these applications on the right. Good thing is, you’re not alone. Social media has become a psychological necessity in our minds, for good and for bad. Take a look at these mind-blowing statistics:
- 40 million photos are uploaded to Instagram per day
- 1 in 10 young people rejected for a job because of their social profile
- There are 751 million monthly active Facebook mobile products users (CMS Wire)
So here is the question: why? Why do we love social media as much as we do? Well, “what drives us to use social media in the way we use it has less to do with social media platforms and more to do with psychology.” (CMS Wire) Could it be true that our brains are manipulating the true purpose of social media? Maybe. Let’s take a moment to examine some of the psychological factors behind our internet addictions.
Human nature is driven by fear; there are millions of different fears that consume the brains of human beings. One of those fears is missing out. Whether it be on a news event, or a funny tweet, people enjoy the thrill of always being involved and knowing what is going on. For example, we have been brought up knowing that we should not text and drive. But most teenagers cannot resist that urge, especially at stop lights, because we have a need to scroll down our various social medias to ensure we are not missing anything of importance. Like most human beings, you are going to notice when you are excluded. And chances are, you’re not going to like that feeling like you do not belong.
Having a high self-esteem is important in order to promote self-worth. A study was done by the University of Pittsburgh and the Columbia Business School to determine how social media can impact these traits. They found that users who use social media to focus on their close friends usually experience an increase in self-esteem when and after browsing social networks (The Social U). Personally, I am caught in the trap of wanting to feel better about myself, especially in times where I am not feeling my emotional best. Social media allows me to get lost in the internet world, where there are endless ways to cheer me up.
Walking across campus, you will usually see fellow students and State College members scrolling through their smartphones, engaged in the online world. While yes this may come across as anti-social, promoting self-happiness is more common than walking aimlessly and flashing smile at everyone you pass. Social media has become an addiction in our culture, a phenomenon that will only continue to advance from the result of new technologies and developments. Over the past decade, social media has transformed into something no one could have ever predicted. They are not just applications, but they are ways of going about everyday life. “Social media has emerged as the new paradigm for connecting to information, people, and ideas” (SAGE Journals). Think back to what I started my blog of by stating how fifty years ago, uttering the words “iPhone”, “Facebook”, “Twitter” and “Instagram” on a hourly basis would have seemed silly, because those concepts were not yet even thought of. Think about how much not only social media has changed our world, but has personally changed you.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram
http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/why-social-media-is-so-addictive-and-why-marketers-should-care-022276.php
https://www.bulldogreporter.com/social-psychology-social-media-may-inflate-self-esteem-and-reduce-self-control-new-/
http://thesocialu101.com/the-relationship-between-social-media-and-self-worth/
http://sms.sagepub.com/content/1/1/2056305115580148.full.pdf+html