Wait…How Many People Are Addicted to Social Media?
By Movieguide® Contributor
A new study revealed that 210 million people worldwide are addicted to social media, accounting for roughly 5% of all users.
While this is already a troubling statistic, even more worrisome is that 30% of U.S. teens self identified as addicted, rising to 78% for American adults aged 18-24. The study further revealed that the average American spends two hours and 24 minutes a day on social media, with many users feeling anxious when they cannot regularly check their online profiles.
Unsurprisingly, older Americans tended to be less likely to report themselves experiencing addiction to social media, however, 21% of users aged 55-64 still reported addiction. More surprising is the fact that addiction varies based on gender with women more likely to report addiction to social media than men — (59% compared to 41%).
These staggering numbers point to the way that social media is engineered to prey on our brain’s reward system to keep us hooked. From the colors smartphones use to popup notifications to state-of-the-art algorithms, endless scrolling, and auto-playing videos, all of these components create a device that is extremely difficult to avoid, even when one actively tries to. Furthermore, devices have become a crucial part of everyday life, making it impractical to simply get rid of them to combat addiction.
“A lot of apps are designed using psychology research to maximize engagement and tap into the brain’s reward systems,” Erin Capilari, the director of the Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, told Relevant.
While the addictive nature has gone largely unchecked for over a decade, many people are now fighting for their attention spans and working to wean themselves off of their devices. This may look like deleting their accounts, setting screen time limits or creating hard boundaries for where they allow themselves to use their devices.
READ MORE: WHY MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE STAYING OFF ‘TOXIC’ SOCIAL MEDIA
Lawmakers are also getting involved and trying to keep children off of social media for longer so they don’t get hooked before their tenth birthday. Last year Vivek Murthy, the United States General, called for a Surgeon General’s warning on social media, while state lawmakers have pushed to keep phones out of schools, reducing the amount of time children have to be on their devices.
READ MORE: IS EVERYONE IN FAVOR OF SCHOOL CELL PHONE BANS?
- Content: +4Share:
- Content: +3