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According to Ofcom, 89% of UK adults use at least one social media platform, with this number rising to 97% for those aged between 16 and 34.
There are rising concerns surrounding unhealthy social media habits and the effects they can have on people. In today’s world, it’s important to know what social media addiction is, what the signs are and what you can do to reduce your social media use.
What Is Social Media Addiction?
Social media addiction is the compulsive and excessive social media use. It is a behavioural addiction, such as gambling, rather than a formally recognised substance addiction.
Although many professionals agree that social media addiction is a real issue , it’s not been formally recognised as a standalone clinical diagnosis by the major diagnostic manuals – at least, not yet. But recent lawsuits against the big social media companies are making exactly this point – that social media addiction is a thing with some pretty serious real-world effects, contributing to a whole range of self-harm & mental health problems.
Social media addiction is more than just enjoying the odd scroll through your feeds. It’s about being in the grip of it – where you can’t help but keep going back for more, even though it’s doing you harm.
The fact is, these lawsuits are starting to get some results and not just because of the payouts. It’s clear that the public and the courts are starting to understand how these social media platforms are actually designed to keep you hooked – with things like notifications that just won’t quit, endless scrolling, and all those reward mechanisms that keep you coming back for more.
Why Recognising the Signs Early Matters
Doomscrolling and near-constant social media use can have wide-ranging effects on your life. Problematic social media use can affect:
- Mental health: High amounts of social media use may contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and stress.
- Relationships: Spending more time on your phone/tablet pulls you away from real-life connections with friends and family.
- Productivity: If you are on your phone doomscrolling, you’re not doing other important or necessary tasks, especially if you are using social media at work.
- Physical health: Hours looking at a screen can lead to back issues, due to poor posture, strained eyes, weight gain from becoming more sedentary and headaches.
- Sleep quality: Using social media in bed affects your sleep. Blue light and emotional arousal make it harder to get to sleep as your brain is more alert. Notifications can wake you up, fragmenting your sleep.
All these issues mean that it is important to recognise early signs. With recognition, you can make changes to your life before habits become ingrained and harder to change.
Signs You May Be Addicted to Social Media
Here are some clear signs of social media addiction you should be on the lookout for.
1. You Constantly Check Social Media Without Thinking
Habitual and automatic checking throughout the day means that you access social media for no purpose. If you are engaging in this habit in other situations such as during meals, conversations or work, it shows that the behaviour has become ingrained and you’ve lost conscious control over social media use.
2. You Feel Anxious or Irritable When You Can’t Access It
When unable to access social media, it is possible to experience withdrawal.
Common feelings to experience are:
- Restlessness
- Fear of missing out (FOMO)
- Irritability
- Discomfort
Having a physical and emotional reaction to not having access to social media is one of the clearest signs that your use has become unhealthy.
3. Your Sleep Is Being Affected
A study from 2022 found that 69% of people use social media before going to bed, even though social media and screen use disrupt sleep.
The blue light emitted from screens stimulates the part of your brain that keeps you alert. What you see and engage with on social media keeps you stimulated, meaning it is more difficult to get to sleep as you find it harder to mentally switch off.
This can result in less time sleeping, waking up more in the night and having sleep that is less restorative.
4. Social Media Is Affecting Work, Study or Relationships
A growing reliance on social media can impact all aspects of your life. You may find yourself spending more time at work checking your phone, rather than working, affecting your productivity.
People can also begin to prioritise online communication over real-world relationships, leading to spending less time being face-to-face with people, fuelling isolation and social anxiety.
You may find yourself checking social media whilst talking to people, instead of doing homework, whilst cooking, and any number of activities, distracting you from being an active participant in your life.
5. You Continue Using Social Media Despite Negative Effects
If you continue to use social media, despite recognising that it is harming your life, it points towards an addiction. You may have even tried to stop or curb your use and failed to do so.
This points towards it having become a compulsion, one of the defining characteristics of addictive behaviour.
6. Your Mood Depends on Social Media
Social media is a place of curation. It invites comparison as people put up perfected aspects of their lives.
If your emotions have become dependent on likes, comments and online validation, then your social media use has become problematic. Always looking to compare yourself to the curated profiles online will result in lower self-esteem.
Emerging research shows that heavy social media use contributes to anxiety, loneliness and low mood, showing that the never-ending comparison with others is addictive and unhealthy.
Why Social Media Can Become Addictive
Social media is addictive to the psychological reward cycle in your brain.
Basically, when you do certain activities, your brain releases dopamine. This is a neurotransmitter that fuels feelings of pleasure. It is the reward for an action. Naturally, then you engage in actions that reinforce these feelings of pleasure.
Social media is difficult to quit because there are loads of little rewards for you that can release dopamine. Finding out news, getting messages, getting a notification, seeing a video, these are all events that help to create a loop of dopamine release, reinforcing your engagement and scrolling.
You find it hard to step away because there is always something else that will help you stay on the platform, because the possibility of reward is always there.
Practical Steps to Reduce Social Media Use
If you are asking yourself, “Am I addicted to social media?”, there are changes you can make to your life to lessen your time on your phone or device.
Rather than attempting unrealistic digital detoxes, you can integrate gradual habit change through these changes so that you have a healthier relationship with social media.
Steps you can take include:
- Disabling notifications
- Setting app limits
- Having phone-free periods
- Replacing scrolling with offline activities
- Improving sleep routines
- Tracking screen time
- Removing unnecessary apps
These are helpful strategies, but what you need to do to overcome your social media addiction may differ depending on the severity of the problem.
Get Professional Help with Smartphone Addiction Today
Being aware of social media addiction symptoms and acting can help prevent more significant impacts. You should look honestly at your own social media use to see if you need to make changes.
If you are concerned that your social media use or another behavioural addiction is affecting your wellbeing, we at Rehab Clinics Group can help. Get in touch today to find out about our rehabilitation services and get confidential guidance and support.
