Title: Addiction to social media

General purpose: to inform

Specific purpose: to inform my audience about the effect of social

media.

Central idea: Identify the effects of social media on society which can

cause addiction to it.

Facebook is the most popular

platform

The least platform used

 Percentage of adult is
higher than teen
Percentage of teen is
higher than adult

Adult is the highest percentage

while teen has zero percentage

Article 1
There is absolutely no problem and nothing wrong with using social media. Some people use
it to check updates from their friends and to stay connected. Some people use it for
entertainment and to kill time.

The problem comes when someone becomes addicted to social media and overspends their
time on those platforms, as a result, their bad habit serious affected their lives in a negative
way. And this is obviously something that you want to avoid.

Let’s take Facebook as an example. Facebook is the biggest social media and used by the
most people in the world. It has 1.13 billion daily active users and if it represents a country, it
will be the most populated country in the world.More importantly, Facebook founder, Mark
Zuckerberg said that on average, people would spend about 50 minutes a day on Facebook,
Instagram, and also the messenger platform. Well, 50 minutes a day does not sound like
much.

However, you should understand that there are only 24 hours a day, and an average person
sleeps about 8 hours, and this means that one-sixteenth of an average person’s waking time is
spent on Facebook. Spending 50 minutes a day on Facebook will accumulate and become an
extremely time-consuming activity that will eat up most of your life.

Do you know that studies have shown that people read only about 19 minutes a day on
average and most people spend only about 17 minutes in sports or exercise each day? It is
unacceptable to see people spend more time on Facebook than they do on exercise and
reading for improvement.

And this is one of the main concerns and also the reasons social media addiction has quickly
becoming a hot topic lately.If you overspend your time on social media like on Facebook,
Instagram or Twitter, you may have become a social media addict, it is just that you did not
know about it.

What is social media?

Social media addiction is a term that is often used to refer to someone who spends too much
time on social media like Facebook and Twitter or other forms of social media. As a result, it
affects the person’s daily life.

Although there is no official medical recognition on social media addiction as a disease, the
negative habit of excessive use of social media has become a subject of much discussion and
research.

Social media has grown and become a big part of our daily life these days. People just cannot
ignore the power of social media today. Even big companies are utilizing the power of social
media to create their marketing channel to influence their audience.

The problem is that without control, social media can overtake and control your life rather
than you control them. Most people underestimated how social media can influence and
affect their lives until it is too late to notice the effect and to change.
Take marriage as an example, according to a survey done by 2,000 married Britons
conducted by a law firm in the UK, one in seven married people said they would consider
divorce because of how their partners were behaving on social media like Facebook,
Snapchat, Skype, Twitter, and Whatsapp.

Besides, the survey also found that as high as 25% of the married couples had at least an
argument with their partners on a weekly basis and the issue was related to social media
usage.

Therefore, social media truly can affect one’s life. Below are some other ways how this new
interactive technology can affect your life.

1. Cyberbullying

People can say anything they want and still get away on the internet. This has led to
cyberbullying, where people use the electronic communication to send messages in an
intimidating or threatening nature.

Cyberbullying can be a serious issue where the victim can experience a huge amount of stress
that leads to a decline in mental health.
There are also cases where cyberbullying have led to suicide cases and caused death.

2. Distraction and Drop In Productivity

Do you know that social media is a huge distraction and it and interrupt your life in every
level? Try to imagine you are writing an important article and suddenly someone gives you a
buzz on Facebook, you will lose your flow and this will distract your focus.

Many studies have found that the more people engage with social media, the less the person
able to focus on his work. It leads to decrease productivity and increase in procrastination.
Furthermore, if you spend your most productive hours on social media, you will use up most
of your willpower and energy there, this will make you less likely to have the motivation and
energy to work on more important work when it is time to work.

Therefore, spend your time and use social media responsibility. It can lower your
performance and make you decrease your creativity.

3. Fatigue and Stress

What do you think would happen if you stare at your computer screen or your cell phone for
a long period? You will feel tired and stressed.

Plus, when you are checking social media, you are constantly switching from one task to
another because there are so many things to check out and to see. This information overload
will wear out your brain power and make you feel fatigue.
Every time your brain thinks, you use your willpower and energy. And when you spend most
of your time on social media, you are spending your energy there. Instead of using your
downtime to rest, you use it to check updates on social media. As a result, your brain uses the
energy to process information and stresses you out.
 4. Peer Pressure and The Desire To Compare

Another common way how social media can affect your life is through peer pressure. People
are afraid to miss out and they love to compare themselves with other people. You want to
become part of the community and part of the group, this is why you are using the social
network in the first place.

As human nature, you will want to compare yourself with other and this will cause peer
pressure. You want to be like everyone else. When you see your friends sharing their latest
vacation in Paris, you want to do the same too.

Over compare will create anxiety and give rise to the negative feelings such as jealousy. This
can evolve into a more serious issue and cause mental health disorder.

5. Other Related Health Issue

Apart from all that being mentioned, there will be other related health issues such as blurry
vision due to strain eyes as the result of long hours watching the screen.

And if you are using social media from a cell phone, you may suffer back and neck pain issue
as you have to consistently bend down your neck to look at your phone.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a medical condition due to compression of the median nerve as it
travels through the wrist at the carpal tunnel. This is due to long hours of repeating the same
movement with your hands and arms, especially when you use your phone or face the
computer over a long period.

Experts have also found that people who face computer screens and their phones over long
hours may cause headaches at times.

Besides, if checking social media is the first and the last thing you did before bed, this routine
will disturb your sleep and cause you to suffer side-effects from sleep deprivation.

 Article 2

The use of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tinder has
become the cornerstone of modern communication and connection as it allows users to create
a sense of belonging and redefine their way of being. Despite the many positive benefits and
impacts of these sites, the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal has reignited discussions
about the place of social media and social networking sites in our lives.

From a mental health perspective, concerns have been raised about the negative impact of
excessive use of social networking sites on the health and wellbeing of users, especially that
of young people, who are enthusiastic users of this technology. Back in 2011, Dr. Daria Kuss
and I were the first academics to systematically review the scientific literature on excessive
social media use. Although there were few studies at the time, we did find that for a small
minority of individuals there was a significant detrimental effect on many aspects of their
life, including their real life relationships and academic achievement among those still in
education. We argued that such signs are indicative of addiction.
Over the past five years there has been a proliferation of studies assessing how excessive
social media use can impact negatively on health. In a recent paper Dr. Kuss and I again
reviewed the latest research on the topic and showed that social media use for a minority of
individuals is associated with a number of psychological problems, including anxiety,
depression, loneliness, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and addiction. Because
social media is most frequently accessed via smartphones, their usage is intimately
intertwined and their mobile nature contributes to excessive checking habits, which often
derives from what is commonly labelled as the ‘fear of missing out (FOMO).

At a societal level, steps need to be taken by governments or organizations to help minimize

and (in some cases) prohibit the use of mobile devices. Some such steps are in place in many
countries, such as the banning of smartphone use while driving. Given the loss of
productivity in both the workplace and educational settings, employers, schools, and colleges
need policies in place to ensure that individuals are focused on what they should be doing.
Many schools ban the use of smartphones in the classroom. Prohibition in other contexts such
as workplace settings may also be justified if it is practical to do so. Some restaurants are now
providing discounts on food bills if customers refrain from using their smartphones during
their meal. These positive reinforcement strategies may well be the way forward in trying to
decrease time spent on smartphones checking social media.

Digital literacy and awareness of the effects of excessive social media use need to be
embedded with work and educational settings. More controversially, social media operators
(such as Facebook) could start using their behavioral data to identify excessive users and
provide strategies to limit time spent on their products. This is already being used in the
online gambling industry and could easily be applied by social networking sites. For the
small number of individuals that are genuinely addicted to social media use, treatment is
warranted.

However, the goal of treatment for this type of addiction (unlike many other addictions)
should be controlled use rather than total abstinence, as it is not feasible to stop someone
from using devices that have Internet access (i.e., their smartphone). The most successful
type of treatment for online addictions appears to be cognitive behavioral therapy
 (which is a talk therapy designed to help people change the way they think and behave),
although there are relatively few published studies examining its efficacy in relation to
internet addictions. Other more specific ways of how to treat individuals with excessive and
addictive Internet use, including social media use, have also been outlined elsewhere. When it
comes to solving the problem of reducing individuals’ use of social media there is no magic
bullet. While individuals are ultimately responsible for their own social media use,
policymakers, social media operators, employers, and educational establishments all need to
play their part in reducing excessive social media use.

Article 3

Social media originated as a way for people to connect with family and friends, even if they
were thousands of miles apart. But over the years, it has transformed. Now, social media is
used in a variety of different ways and a lot more frequently. For instance, businesses, non-
profit organizations, and even politicians use it as a way to reach a very targeted market.
Meanwhile, teens and young adults use social media as a virtual scrapbook to document
every detail of their life as they are living it. There are even "influencers" with large social
media followings, that use their following as a way to promote a product, service, or group
through social media and gain support for it. Social media is even a valuable resource for and
a means of connecting isolated populations with other parts of the world.

In many ways, social media has enriched our lives by connecting and inspiring people. But
there is a dark side as well. Aside from all the negative posts on social media,
the cyberbullying, and the FOMO (fear of missing out) that exists, recent studies indicate that
excessive social media use not only leads to poor decision-making, but people who use social
media incessantly often have attitudes, thoughts, and behaviours that mimic those of a drug
addict.

Researchers at Michigan State University have found that people who report using social
media a lot tend to struggle with decision-making. As part of their study, participants
answered questions about their social media use. The questions were tailored to see how
dependent people were on social media, as well as how they felt when they couldn't use it and
how they would feel about never using it again.

After the survey, the participants completed a common psychological task known as the Iowa
Gambling Task, which helps gauge value-based decision-making skills. During the task, the
goal is for the participants to collect as much money as possible. The researchers found that
those participants who spent more time on social media were likely to have less money at the
end of the task. Meanwhile, those who spent less time on social media finished the task with
more money.

In another study, researchers explored what it would "cost" for certain participants to
deactivate their Facebook profiles for up to one year. Consequently, experimental auctions
revealed that it would anywhere from $1,000 to more than $2,000 for participants to cancel
their Facebook profiles for that length of time.

Still, some users refused to bid at all, which researchers believe signalled their dependence on
Facebook and their unwillingness to even consider deactivating their accounts. These results
show just how dependent, or addicted to, social media some people are that they would not
even consider deactivating their accounts for a year, despite being paid.

For some people, the thought of not being able to check their social media accounts causes
them to break out in a cold sweat. They get nervous and anxious and are not sure how to
handle the situation. When this occurs, therapists often refer to this as social media anxiety
disorder, which may share similarities to social anxiety disorder. This connection is not
surprising given that anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorder in the
United States; and technology seems to be making things worse. In fact, appears that the
more technology people acquire, the more stressed out they become.

For instance, researchers estimate that 20 percent of people with social media accounts
cannot go more than three hours without checking them; and for people with social media
anxiety disorder, just being away from their social media accounts for just a few minutes can
cause severe anxiety. Aside from the obvious anxiety and nervousness that being away from
social media can cause some people, there are some other tell-tale signs that they may have
an addiction to social media. These include everything from isolating themselves from others,
losing interest in activities they once found enjoyable, and getting agitated, angry, or anxious
when they are unable to check social media. Following is a closer look at some of the signs
that you (or your teen) may be hooked on social media.

First, Anxiety, agitation, or anger when you cannot check social media. Not being able to
check social media is not a life-threatening situation. But, for some people, not being able to
get online and check their status and their updates can feel like one. Even though they may
feel embarrassed or confused by their reactions, they often feel like they cannot control their
feelings or their situation.

Next, Interrupt conversations to check social media. Sometimes people can be so obsessed
with the online world that they have trouble staying in the moment or paying attention to
what others are saying. Consequently, their faces are often buried in their phones; or, they
may appear distracted and constantly check their phones.
Moreover, Lie to others about how much time is spent online. Most people who struggle with
social media addiction are embarrassed by how much time they spend online. So, they lie to
their loved ones about how much they are scrolling social media. They know they should not
be online so much, but they just cannot help it.

Meanwhile, Withdraw from family and friends. When social media addiction progresses, it
can become consuming of a person's time and energy. As a result, a person with an addiction
to social media will withdraw from family and friends and spend most of their time in the
virtual world.

Next, Lose interest in other activities. As social media takes up more and more time, it
becomes the most important thing in a person's life. Consequently, the addicted person will
spend the bulk of their time on social media and very little time doing the things they once
loved.

Lastly, Neglect school or work in favor of social media. One hallmark of addiction, is the
way that it consumes a person's time, energy, and attention. For this reason, many people
with social media addiction often neglect their schoolwork or their work assignments because
they cannot tear themselves away from social media.