Are You Addicted To Social Media?
Hint: you probably are.
If you’re between the ages of 18 and 49 and own a smartphone, you’re probably on social media in some way, shape or form.
45% of Facebook users, 32% of Instagram users and 22% of Twitter users admit to visiting those platforms several times per day. But, sometimes “several” times a day begins to snowball into hours upon hours of screen time. It can almost start to feel like some sort of an addiction.
I’m speaking from experience. I thought getting a job in social media would maybe curb my addiction a little bit, by making it seem less appealing to spend my free time on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram after I’ve spent a whole day on the platforms, working. But, no. Instead, I’ve just become extremely proficient at social media. So now, not only am I an addict, but I’m really, really good at the thing I’m addicted to.
There’s no help for me now; I’m too far-gone. But you can save yourself. The first step towards recovery is realizing you have a problem. Here are some ways to tell if you’re addicted (or becoming addicted) to social media.
Your Morning Routine Includes Scrolling Through Your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Feeds for 20 Minutes…Each.
Even if you’re not an addict, you’re probably guilty of this one in some way; a study from the IDC found that 80% of smartphone users checked their phones within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning.
Via Mashable
You Ask for the Wi-Fi Password the Second You Step Foot Into Any Establishment.
This includes, but is not limited to, restaurants, bars, clubs, museums, the gym, your brother’s new apartment, your college roommate’s wedding reception, etc.
Via Pinterest
You’ve Mastered the Art of Live-Tweeting (Yes, it Really is an Art. Here are Some Tips on how to do it Properly).
You’ve probably lost a follower or two (probably closer to 15, actually) because of your in-depth live tweet-athon during The Bachelor in Paradise finale.
You Tend to Speak/think in 140 Character-long Phrases.
Twitter: destroying our attention spans, one tweet at a time.
You’ve Actually Deleted a Photo off Instagram because it Didn’t Receive Enough Likes in an Allotted Period of Time.
Only 2 likes after almost an hour? Delete that photo immediately and pretend like it never happened.
Sometimes (always), When You’re Planning a Trip or Vacation, You’re Already Imagining Posting the Pics Online.
How else are you going to make your friends super jealous of how exciting your life is?
You Can’t Watch a Cute Video of a Puppy Falling Asleep Without Sharing it with Your Facebook Friends, Twitter followers, and Maybe, If You Remember, Your Real Life Friends.
Your Snapchat story tends to reach 200 seconds on any regular Tuesday night.
It starts innocently enough; you want to Snapchat a picture of the delicious dinner you made for yourself. And then a funny selfie of you eating said dinner, and then you notice some fun new filters Snapchat has added, and then your dog does something cute that you want to share, and pretty soon, you’re Snap story gets to be so long that no one is going to watch the whole thing anyway. Next time, just Periscope it.
Your friends know that if they absolutely need you to respond to something, they should tweet it at you.
Because nothing is more exciting, or more likely to illicit a response, than a Twitter notification.
It’s Starting to Interfere with Your Sleep Patterns.
You’ve probably fallen asleep with your phone in your hands at least a dozen times because you were so busy scrolling through Instagram.
If you’re exhibiting any or all of these behaviors, call your doctor immediately. JK, maybe just put the smartphone down for a minute, and eat a meal with your family…without Instagramming it.
Written by: Samantha Callahan