By Kate Halim
A lot of people are addicted to the social media even though they don’t know it yet. Some people can’t go a day without scrolling through different social media platforms. Many of such people also skip sleep just to catch up with trending social media dramas.
Nora Acho is 22 years old. She said she loves scrolling through Instagram daily to keep up with the latest celebrity gossip. She told Saturday Sun that she doesn’t miss any drama on Instagram because she follows many local and foreign gossip blogs.
“My notifications for these gossip blogs’ Instagram pages are always on. This way, whenever they post anything, I get notified and I don’t miss any gist. Sometimes, when I can’t catch up with a particular drama during the day because of my studies, I do that at midnight and sleep afterwards. Sometimes, I sleep by 3 am because I am reading posts and comments under the posts,” Acho said.
Acho revealed that the first thing she does after she wakes up in the morning is check her Instagram app to see if there’s any trending gist before she says her morning prayers and goes for lectures. She said: “Even when I am in school, I shut out the noise of other students and start reading posts on Instagram and Facebook. I use Twitter once in a while. I think I only rush off to check Twitter when a huge drama breaks there or a gist starts trending from Twitter.”
The second child of her parents, Acho stated that sometimes, her mother threatens to take away her phone because she’s always using it and never let go of it even when she’s using the toilet. She added that her mum keeps asking her why she can’t put down her phone for an hour and do other things instead of compulsively scrolling through it all day.
“I won’t say I’m addicted to my phone or social media but I can describe myself as someone who wants to know everything going on with people who bring their life issues to social media as well as celebrities who feed on social media fame. I acknowledge that sometimes, I forget to eat and I don’t sleep well because of social media drama but I don’t think it’s that deep,” Acho stated.
Benjamin Asuquo told Saturday Sun that he fears missing out on trending issues on social media. He said that he stays online for almost 12 hours every day because he doesn’t want to miss out on what everybody is talking about on social media.
“I spend a lot of money on data monthly and I don’t mind because I can tell you what is happening on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok with my eyes closed. Sometimes, my colleagues think I am listening to them when they talk but they don’t know that I am not interested in whatever they have to say because the real drama is online. Anyone who can’t afford data in this country right now is missing out on all the fun online.”
Asuquo, who works in an advertising firm on the island, confessed that he sleeps late any day there’s a trending celebrity drama online. He noted that even though he knows lack of sleep is not good for his health, he added that he couldn’t help himself because staying away from social media during an ongoing drama means he is missing out on the juicy details of the drama.
Victoria Simeon said she can’t tell how many hours she spends online daily. According to the proof reader, the only thing that limits her use of social media is the lack of data. “I would say that I am addicted to social media because I am always online reading posts, dropping comments and making my posts. To an extent, I can’t stay away from my phone for a whole day without fidgeting. I like to stay abreast of trending stories and issues.”
Richard Ogunsuyi said that he has been using social media to stay connected with friends and family for over ten years now but recently, he found out that he is addicted to Facebook. He said: “The first thing I do after opening my eyes in the morning is to start scrolling through Facebook. I don’t even pray regularly anymore and I start feeling guilty afterwards. No matter how hard I try to stay away from scrolling through my Facebook feed, I still go back to doing it all day.”
Ogunsuyi added that he stays away from his phone for 30 minutes in a bid to curb his incessant scrolling on Facebook, it will look like an eternity. “I love reading posts on Facebook but I don’t stop there. I also read the comments as well as the replies to the many comments on different posts. I spend hours reading other people’s comments on different posts. I know it’s not normal but I don’t know how to stop doing that. Most times, I force myself to sleep by 12 am or 1 am just to stop giving in to my impulses”, he said.
Ugoeze Blossom is an event planner but she describes herself as a social media addict because she spends 10 to 15 hours a day scrolling through different social media platforms. “I love watching funny skits and videos online and you know how doing that drains one’s data. I watch these videos any time of the day. I can use my last cash to buy data just to make sure I keep watching funny videos. I stay online at any time of the day. I’m addicted and I know it,” she said.
Mental health experts shed light on social media addiction
Dr Diana Chikwe, a therapist based in Abuja describes social media addiction as an unhealthy dependence on social media interactive platforms. She added that like most dependencies, social media addiction manifests as overuse and difficulty in abstaining.
Chikwe said: “Whether you use social media to connect with friends and loved ones, watch videos, or simply while away time, the popularity of this pastime has increased significantly. Like other types of behavioural addictions, using social media can influence your brain in harmful ways. You may use social media compulsively and excessively. You can become so accustomed to scrolling through posts, images, and videos that it interferes with other areas of your life.”
Chikwe revealed that the reason social media is so addictive is that while it can seem like mindless and relaxing fun, it has a significant effect on one’s brain. She noted that whenever someone logs in to their favourite apps, dopamine signals in their brain increase because these neurotransmitters are associated with pleasure.
“When you experience more dopamine after using social media, your brain identifies this activity as a rewarding one that you ought to repeat. Such a reaction may be more felt whenever you make a post of your own and gain positive feedback. The positive feelings experienced when using social media are only temporary. The way your brain engages in this positive reinforcement is regarded as an addiction because you crave more positive feedback,” she said.
Chikwe stated that in some cases, social media can be a welcome distraction if someone is isolated due to work or an illness. She added that the more you engage, the more your brain will tell you that this is an activity that can help reduce loneliness which may not necessarily be the case.
She outlined the adverse effects of overusing social media. They include anxiety or depression, the onset of social anxiety disorder, low self-esteem which may be prompted by incorrect perceptions that other people’s lives are better than yours, a fear of missing out, disrupted sleep patterns, poor grades or poor work performance, ignoring real-life relationships as well as decreased physical activity which may affect one’s overall health.
An Ekiti State-based clinical psychologist, Dr Adedotun Ajiboye defined addiction as the inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behaviour even though it is causing psychological and emotional harm.
“Addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment and individual’s life experiences. People with addiction engage in behaviours that become impulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences”, he added.
Ajiboye explained that there are substance addiction and non-substance addiction. He stated that the latter include gambling, cell phone addiction, food addiction, internet addiction, as well as gaming and sex addiction.
He described the different stages of internet use which are: internet use, internet abuse and internet addiction. He stated that people can prevent social media addiction by setting time limits for social media use daily, avoiding using social media when they are feeling down, and finding other activities to do instead of scrolling endlessly on social media.
While tackling social media addiction may not be easy, Ajiboye noted that it can be done by not comparing yourself to others and also being aware of the triggers that might make you want to use social media.
Ajiboye listed ways people can prevent getting addicted to social media and they include turning off social media notifications, limiting social media screen time, getting a hobby outside social media, deleting social media apps one doesn’t use and quitting social media for a while if necessary.