In children, this can lead to problematic results. Since the brain isn’t fully developed until age 21 or 22, when children log on to a social network expecting accolades, positive feedback and comparison, it can mess with their minds, says Mary Jo Rapini, a psychotherapist and author. “In the morning you could be very popular, and by noon someone could begin a rumor which would destroy your status. The addiction is fed by the anxiety of constantly checking your ranking.” No one knows what this compulsion, anxiety, or constant immediate feedback will do to our children in the future, she says.
“We haven’t had to face this before as a society. Immediate feedback means the child reacts quickly. Teens aren’t good at being able to be rational or postponing comments. No one, especially teens, makes wise choices when they are emotional and being attacked.”
Addicted To Facebook
In a study at the University of Maryland, researchers found that nearly four in five students experienced significant mental and physical distress, panic, confusion, and extreme isolation when forced to unplug from technology for an entire day. The 1,000 students, who were interviewed at 12 campuses across 10 countries, including Britain, America, and China, were unable to voluntarily avoid their gadgets for one full day, the study concluded.
Dr. Susan Moeller, who led the research, said technology had changed the students’ relationships. “Students talked about how scary it was, how addicted they were,” she said. “They expected frustration. But they didn’t expect to have the psychological effects, to be lonely, to be panicked, the anxiety, literally heart palpitations.”
There is no official diagnosis for social media or internet addiction. Despite that, it is a serious problem, says Alpert. “I see at least one new client a week with some sort of internet-related issue, especially in the context of relationships. Ten years ago I rarely saw issues related to the internet, now it is almost as common as more traditional addictions. A questionable text or Facebook post has become the 2012 version of lipstick on the collar.”
Dr. Wes Crenshaw, a Kansas-based psychologist, says that several years ago “World of Warcraft” was killing people’s marriages, school lives, and jobs. “It was incredibly addictive because it was so well written,” he says. “I think Facebook is far below that, but I do know young adults now state they are on it far more than is helpful.”
Psychologists at Norway’s University of Bergen have come up with six questions designed to detect full-blown Facebook addiction. The idea is to answer the following questions on a scale from 1 (“very rarely”) to 5 (“very often”):
- You spend a lot of time thinking about Facebook or plan use of Facebook.
- You feel an urge to use Facebook more and more.
- You use Facebook in order to forget about personal problems.
- You have tried to cut down on the use of Facebook without success.
- You become restless or troubled if you are prohibited from using Facebook.
- You use Facebook so much that it has had a negative impact on your job or studies.
According to researchers, scoring “often” or “very often” on at least four of the six items could mean you’re a Facebook addict.
The symptoms of Facebook addiction resemble those of other addictions. “If someone who is addicted to social media is prevented from accessing it, he or she would feel moody, irritable, anxious, have trouble focusing on much of anything else other than that which they miss,” says Alpert. “They might feel restless, agitated, despondent, or depressed even. Not too different from someone who is addicted to drugs/alcohol, they would be entirely focused on getting a fix — in this case access to their sites. They might be preoccupied with use (similar to cravings). They feel high/numb following use and have to increase quantity and intensity of use to achieve the same level of satisfaction.”
Remember, there’s a neurobiological aspect to internet addiction, so there will be significant neurotransmitter chaos that will be felt physically and emotionally, says Serani. “When barred from Facebook, people will present with irritability, anxiety, and depression, as well as physical complaints like aches, pains, and fatigue.”
For our brains, it’s not clear yet whether this will be good or bad news, but it does mean that your kids’ brains will be different from yours. “With every new innovation come those who struggle with its design,” says Serani. “I think we will see evolutionary brain adaptations in younger generations to come as they multitask in ways that we never did.”
This article was first published in the print edition of Brain World Magazine.
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if your married and your spouse is addicted….they take you for granted and don’t work on the relationship…that is disrespectful and very depressing you try to stay possibly but you don’t want them to respond with what you suggest….you can’t make someone love you
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I personally think it’s so hard to quit because we don’t have much else to do. If we don’t have exciting things going on outside our social media accounts, we’ll stay in the loop of liking and sharing. Instead, of creating and growing.