Social Media Addiction – Do you control it? Or it controls you?

“Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.” – Christian Lous Lange

I have to admit that I find social media incredibly toxic but also at the same time extremely powerful as a content creator. I struggle with creating content and being sucked into the platform. The reason that it is so powerful is because it is so addictive, so if you can create content and not be consumed by content then you can have advantage.

I want to create content and not consume content. But first I need to control my social media addiction

People being addicted to Social Media similar to how moths are always flying in to lightbulbs. Our biology hasn’t adapted to our environment.

What is an addiction?

Addiction is an inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behavior even though it is causing psychological and physical harm.

Continually doing something that is not in your best interests.

What are the symptoms of social media addiction?

The common symptoms of addiction are:

• You can’t stop
• Changes in mood, appetite, and sleep
• Losing interest in other things you used to enjoy
• Feeling preoccupied with it
• Putting it ahead of other parts of life including family, work, and other responsibilities
• Continuing despite negative consequences
• Denial
• Withdrawal symptoms when you stop
• Secrecy
• Using it increasingly
• Taking more than you intended
• Legal, financial or other problems
• Engaging in risky behaviours

How many of those symptoms do you have? My expectation is that most people have this to some degree.

The best way to see if you are addicted is to stop using it and see how you feel. Can you stop using it? If not, then you are addicted.

What are the effects of social media addiction?

Social media addiction can sap energy away from other areas of your life. It can cause you to not achieve your potential, to cause stress, anxiety, and negatively impact your personal relationships. It can impact your sleep, and lead to all sorts of other problems.

I think many people are addicted to social media and may not admit it. For me, my social media addiction was causing me to waste time, being less productive, more easily tired, and it took energy away from other important areas of my life.

When I was free from social media addiction, all the areas of my life improved. I became more focused, free, less stressed, and performed better, slept better, and became healthier, and had higher quality relationships and a more rich life.

Social Media is Designed to be Addictive

Social media is addictive. It’s specifically designed to be addictive. It is free, because you are the product. Social media companies are selling your attention to companies. The more attention they have, the more they can sell, the more revenue they can drive, the higher value for shareholders.

There is a great book called “Hooked” which you can get here. Which goes into more detail about how they are built to be addictive.

“Show me the incentives and I will show you the outcome.” That’s a Charlie Munger quote about how incentives drive nearly everything.

This advertising business model has existed for many years from billboards and newspapers and magazines, but what’s different is that technology is developing fast and these devices are now so deeply a part of our lives, they’re almost a part of us. We use them all day everyday. They’ve also discovered quirks in our human nature that makes them chemically addictive. They’ve mixed images (that our brains think are real), with social interaction, and variable rewards (that is what makes gambling so addictive) and the result is social media addiction on a massive scale.

So how do you control social media or does it control you?

I’ve found that when I post something I have a part of my brain that still thinks about it. It distracts me later when i’m doing another task because I’m anticipating the reactions. I find it hard to use social media when there is a notification bar with numbers on it and it makes me want to click. I find it extremely toxic.

It’s hard to just stay off it because it’s an important part of our life. Everyone is using it. You can’t be a social recluse. It’s going to be even more powerful in the future.

If we could redesign social media, what would it look like? 

Train your brain.

Paulo Coelho — ‘If you conquer yourself, then you conquer the world’

I think its a battle that needs to be overcome and it starts with 1) being aware of the issue, and then 2) time blocking time to use it, and 3) focusing the other time with more important things, and replacing it with other activities. I’m doing detoxes and using it at only certain times such as not in the morning and only after lunch, and having time off as much as possible.

In the future I want to have another phone that is used for social media that I activate only at certain time and is not so easy to see when I’m doing productive things.

How best to spend your time? 

There is a great book free to download about how to use your time. You can download the ebook here and my review here.

There are some great lessons here about time management. Also I recommend Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography, my review is here.

There are lots of great books you can download for free on globalgreyebooks.com

How I won the battle?

I’ve recently stopped using the phone and it’s made me hugely more productive. I shared how I stopped using the phone for 3 days and ended up reading 6 books!

Reading books is much better because I can learn so much more. It is a much better use of time because I can learn, grow and improve and become better.

I feel so much better for not checking my phone and being free from it.

I’m also focusing on creating content instead of consuming, and I’m dedicating most of my time to being free from the phone, except for only 15-20 minutes per day.

I will also be sharing more about my journey on my Youtube channel, you can check it out here, and on this blog which you can subscribe to here.

The Benefits of Being Free from Social Media Addiction

Being free from social media addiction gives me much more time, and energy. I can get much more done in a day, and have more time to do things that I enjoy. I feel much better and more fulfilled. I sleep and live better.

Comments

Have you had experiences with social media addiction? How does it look like to you? And how are you trying to overcome it? Let me know in the comments

“Own your attention; it’s all you truly have.” – Jonathan Safran Foer