How Does Social Media Addiction Affect Personal Relationships?
There is no doubt that the development of new technologies linked to the Internet and electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets has meant that our ways of relating to others have greatly diversified.
However, one thing is for the options to communicate with others or hear from them in real time to increase quantitatively, and another thing is for our ability to connect with other people to increase qualitatively. In fact, there are many cases in which the opposite occurs: that by integrating the constant use of devices connected to the Internet into daily life, the person’s social life is impoverished.
The so-called addictions to social networks are a very clear example of this: when we abuse digital platforms like Instagram or TikTok, that dependence becomes an obstacle to socializing. fully and satisfactorily. Let’s see why this paradoxical phenomenon occurs.
What is known as addiction to social networks is a pattern of behavior characterized by the abuse of digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other websites and applications that keep people interconnected on the Internet and with the ability to publish and consume content.
This excessive use of social networks makes the person feel a constant need to review the new content that has been uploaded to the network (and/or to contribute content very frequently), so that in part they lose control of their actions and have less ability to manage time well and focus on other important day-to-day tasks and actions.
Due to this psychological phenomenon, people who develop this link of dependency towards social networks (who are usually very young people, although it can occur at all ages) begin to feel significantly unwell after spending minutes or hours without having access to a computer or mobile phone with an Internet connection and this interferes with their quality of life.
Social media addiction is not a psychopathology comparable to, for example, alcohol or heroin addiction; The way in which it develops and is reflected in people’s behavior is not the same as that of the addictive disorders that appear in diagnostic manuals, so technically it is not an addiction, but rather another type of problem. related to dependency.
Yes indeed, The fact that it is not part of these psychopathologies does not mean that it cannot be a source of intense discomfort or even an element that increases the predisposition to develop diseases. and very severe mental health problems. That is why, in situations of this type, it is important to start a psychological treatment process as soon as possible.
How does addiction to social networks affect the development of socialization skills?
The impact that social media addiction has on the quality of life goes beyond the relationships we have with others; For example, it can lead to dysfunctional ways of managing anxiety and facilitate the emergence of disorders such as substance abuse or Eating Disorders. However, here We are going to focus on its effects on the way we socialize and maintain meaningful ties with the people around us.
So, let’s see how social media addiction affects the social life of the person who develops it.
1. It limits your communication skills
It’s no secret that Most social networks are not designed to express yourself by taking advantage of all the richness of verbal language. : Short and colorful messages are usually prioritized, something that has even given rise to certain cultural dynamics when it comes to expressing oneself, such as the use of hashtags or emoticons to simplify ideas.
This means that people who dedicate a good part of their time to using social networks lose opportunities to practice a more elaborate way of expressing themselves, which allows them to spin ideas and arguments.
2. It can lead to patterns of avoidance of face-to-face interactions
Addiction to social networks It can make the person try to replace all their ways of socializing with interactions over the Internet. considering it a “safe” way that does not expose your vulnerabilities and prevents you from having to improvise face to face and/or manage your non-verbal language.
In other words, it gives rise to a feeling of comfort zone that, although not conscious, is limiting you from developing communication skills that are very necessary in real life.
This fact, in addition to impoverishing the person’s social life, means that they may feel a lot of anxiety or fear in situations in which they feel pressure to meet strangers or semi-strangers face to face.
3. It gives rise to frustrating situations
Who develops addiction to social relationships You notice that any face-to-face interaction that distracts you from focusing on the screen is a problem, an annoying obstacle.
That is why arguments at home are frequent, especially when the person’s family or partner begins to express their dissatisfaction with the tendency to isolate themselves from that person.
4. It makes listening to others more difficult
The bombardment of stimuli to which those who abuse social networks are subjected means that, even when they are not browsing the Internet, these people always have a torrent of memories and mental images crossing through his consciousness. This is a great source of distractions in all areas of life, and one of them is conversations with others. It is common for these people to have a hard time concentrating and keeping their attention focused on what the other person is trying to convey face to face.
For example, it is not unusual that instead of listening to what the other person explains to them, they are thinking about what they will do when they sit in front of the computer and see what a user of a social network has responded to them in those last minutes, or that In a meeting, they often pick up the phone to simply look at their social networks, disconnecting from the people they are physically with.
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