The Chevalier Family, First Friday Focus: Environmental Concern and Commitment

Each month, members of the Chevalier Family highlight a focus for concern, prayer and activity for the First Friday. This month, the poster mentions addictions.

What Is Social Media Addiction?

Checking and scrolling through social media has become an increasingly popular activity over the last decade. Although the majority of peoples’ use of social media is non-problematic, there is a small percentage of users that become addicted to social networking sites and engage in excessive or compulsive use. In fact, psychologists estimate that as many as 5 to 10% of Americans meet the criteria for social media addiction today. 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.

Addictive social media use will look much like that of any other substance use disorder, including:

* mood modification (i.e., engagement in social media leads to a favorable change in emotional states),

* salience (i.e., behavioral, cognitive, and emotional preoccupation with social media),

* tolerance (i.e., ever increasing use of social media over time),

*withdrawal symptoms (i.e., experiencing unpleasant physical and emotional symptoms when social media use is restricted or stopped),

*conflict (i.e., interpersonal problems ensue because of social media usage),

*and relapse (i.e., addicted individuals quickly revert back to their excessive social media usage after an abstinence period).

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