Life in the virtual world or about addiction to social networks. Social media addiction: causes, symptoms, consequences

Continuing the topic raised at the beginning of the year, in this article we will talk about the problem of dependence on social networks.

If there is something completely meaningless in life, it is a bad habit that doesn’t even give you pleasure. Social networks are a drug of our time, in terms of destructive influence on the individual, having much in common with alcohol and heavier substances. Being created to provide new forms of communication, social networks successfully solve this problem, but create new problems that we have not yet learned to fully deal with. We are not yet aware of our dependence on social networks, but for some reason, no significant event in our lives can be considered important enough if it is not accompanied by a corresponding status update on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

This, however, does not mean that social networks are evil. On the contrary, it is a powerful tool that can be beneficial both in work, business, and in our personal affairs. It all depends on the culture of consumption. Social media in this sense is similar to alcohol. You can drink good wine or high-quality cognac for gastronomic purposes during dinner in good company (this is useful in all respects), or you can drink whiskey and cola in clubs in order to quickly get into a state that allows you to feel normal in these clubs. Obviously these are two completely different stories.

I think you will agree that a quick glance at what your “friends” post on Facebook and VKontakte, as well as how often they do it, makes it very clear that their culture of using social networks is somewhere at the level of vocational school students. getting drunk with a jaguar in the entrance. And we ourselves are often no better. Let's think about why this happens and what to do about it.

A simple sign of social media addiction

I have yet to see a single person who would be willing to admit that they are addicted to social media. People whose every single day begins with viewing status updates on mobile application VK, and the road to work or school is accompanied by browsing Instagram and communication in instant messengers, they don’t see anything wrong with it. The same goes for looking into mobile phone and see what’s new in the news feeds of one of 4-7 social networks. After all, smartphones have greatly simplified contact with social networks - you don’t even need to use a PC to check new tweets or comments on your latest repost from Lepra’s public.

There is, however, a very simple way to understand whether you are addicted to social networks. Social networks are primarily a tool, not a lifestyle. If it turns out the other way around for you, that is, the use of social networks is an integral attribute of your leisure time, then you are addicted.

If you're familiar with these obvious signs of addiction, you know what I mean:

— Katya N. constantly reposts quotes more smart people from VK public pages to your wall. These quotes help her express the depth of her multi-faceted personality and demonstrate an intelligence beyond her years. To do this, you don’t even need to write something yourself - just click “Tell friends”, and you are Faina Ranevskaya

— Nikolai N., constantly monitors updates in the “Club of Brutal Men” public page, comments on new posts and from time to time reposts the quotes of courageous people he likes most. He wants to be like them, so he periodically publishes his photos from the gym, supplementing them with hashtags like #beastModeON. Short but regular sessions on VK throughout the day are practically the only way for him to increase his self-esteem. One click and he's Jason Statham

— Masha K. deletes photos from Instagram that have received less than 20 likes. She doesn’t want to look like a loser compared to her friends. By the way, Masha herself regularly likes photos of her friends and writes comments like “How beautiful you are!” in the hope that they will reciprocate her feelings. So it turns out that Masha and her friends admire each other in the comments in the vain hope that over time compliments from guys will begin to appear there

— Maxim U. chats with girls on Whatsapp all day long. The accessibility and convenience of dating sites and instant messengers allow him to easily communicate with 3-5 girls every day. The special beauty is that to communicate with them and get the strange but addictive satisfaction from virtual attention from women, you don’t even need physical contact with them. Very convenient.

— Ilona N. constantly publishes in Instagram photos with my boyfriend. Restaurants, theaters, trips, gifts to each other for numerous holidays - all this must be photographed and posted on the feed, otherwise why are these relationships needed at all?

— Elena Vladimirovna, a successful woman, by the way, with her own business and a recognized expert in her field, constantly posts news from her professional and personal life on Facebook. She has tens of thousands of subscribers there, so each post collects a huge number of likes and comments, allowing her to feel interest in her person from others. Well, if not in real life, then at least like this

- And finally, everyone has a friend on Facebook who reacts to every second status in the feed with a sarcastic comment demonstrating a sense of his own greatness. Most likely, in real life he is very shy due to speech impediments, but in the comments he feels like a duck to water.

Etc., etc. It may seem that these are extreme examples, but, unfortunately, in life they are observed all the time, and you can easily continue the list. Be that as it may, for many of us, social networks are not just an occasional element of leisure, but a real habit based on formed psychological needs.

What does addiction to social networks lead to?

Before we understand how to deal with excessive craving for likes and comments, let's first look at what it leads to. The results of the dependence are essentially obvious:

• Firstly, social networks simply take up a lot of time. Check news on VK, check and comment on news on FB, scroll through your feed on Instagram and Twitter, repeat this a dozen and a half times a day - that’s minus 2 hours a day
• However, contrary to popular belief, a person’s most valuable resource is not time, but energy. So, social networks are a powerful absorber of energy, which is actually intended for solving important strategic tasks: for studying, achieving personal and business goals, strengthening relationships with family, creativity, and so on. Even a quick glance at the tape social networks consumes a huge amount of energy simply due to the fact that in the process the brain constantly switches between pieces of unstructured chaotic information. That is, in addition to the fact that social networks take up our time, they also deprive us of the energy that we need to do the things that really matter
• The more young progressive professionals laugh at people who watch TV. Many even boast that they don’t have it at home at all. And indeed, watching TV is like sticking your head in the toilet and considering it as learning about the world. Unfortunately, the Internet is no better in this regard. Social networks are a new generation of television, diluting the brain just like the news on NTV. The composition, quality and manner of presenting information on social networks are organized in such a way as to motivate people to consume more laughs, articles from the series “16 reasons why your girlfriend will leave you”, hot opinions and facts, click on links and atrophy your brain

Ultimately, everything described, of course, stimulates chronic fatigue and a drop in productivity. Chronic fatigue and a drop in productivity, in turn, lead to a lack of significant results and, as a result, a drop in motivation, depression and weakened willpower.

The nature of addiction to social networks

The formation of the habits described above of varying degrees of neglect (addiction can occur in mild forms) is based on simple needs for attention and social recognition. In this regard, an analogy can be drawn with video games. The game only requires a few hours to achieve meaningful results. In real life, such achievements take decades to achieve. For example, just to begin to gain satisfaction from your own guitar playing skills, you need to spend several years. And with the help of the Guitar Hero game, you can start playing Slayer almost immediately. In other words, the game makes it very easy to get results and feel successful. It's this easy-to-get feeling of superiority that makes online video games (with real-life opponents) so appealing to some people.

It’s the same with social networks: likes and comments cause a reaction in the brain that is illogical to the one a person experiences during a confession in real life. Each like on a post on Facebook feels like getting an A on an exam: if I get a like, it means I did something right. The more likes we collect, the more we need. This means we post more often and think about it more. We need to feel that we are approved, that we are noticed, and that people like us. There is no easier way to experience these feelings than by being active on social media.

Such ease of satisfaction causes addiction, similar to alcohol or drugs. In addition, the very essence of the operating model of any self-respecting social network is based not on making us more productive or successful, but on motivating us to click on links more often, like more often, comment more often and be constantly on our toes. How many likes will this post get? Will my friend be offended if I don't like his photo? Why does the girl I like take so long to comment on the post that I wrote for the sake of her comment? An active user of social networks lives in a different, virtual life, where it is very easy to attract attention, create the desired image of yourself and amuse your vanity.

Yes, online friendship is not about quality, but about quantity. The number of likes we receive determines how interesting we think we are to society. Therefore, the use of social networks has turned into a race for likes, gradually degenerating into addiction.

Of course, I'm exaggerating things a little. All of the above can happen to a person only if he does not understand that the real world around him with its real possibilities is much more interesting than a virtual pouring from empty to empty. However, this is a completely different story.

How to avoid all this

Fortunately, it is much easier to overcome or avoid social media addiction than alcoholism. I will venture to outline a few recommendations.

1. First, it is worth recognizing that there really is a problem. As I wrote earlier, if idle time on social networks is an integral daily ritual for you, then it is an addiction. There is nothing wrong with being ill with it, but, as with any problem, its solution is based on the fact of its awareness
2. Most the right way start to perceive social networks differently - start using them mainly for work purposes. A simple example: if you are a startup or an aspiring entrepreneur, then the practice of maintaining your own public in VK (see for example, Public Chaos Control) will very quickly change your usual routine of using social networks, since new goals and objectives will appear that correlate with the original task of social networks - creating a new communication channel. As soon as you start using the same VK as a communication channel with your own users, life will sparkle with completely new colors. Or, for example, instead of reading your “friends” on Facebook or Twitter, subscribe to opinion leaders in your field there and follow them, learn from their experience, study the industry, etc. If you are far from entrepreneurship, then anyway, you probably work somewhere or have some kind of hobby. Edit yours news feeds so as to receive information on key areas of activity for you (it is important that each social network focuses on one specific area of ​​interest to you). Consider that the social network is a source of information for you, not leisure. Stop seeing social media as a place to hang out and see it purely as a tool. With this approach, quotes from smarter people, cats, and demotivators will quickly disappear from your feed. Along with it, the need to log into a social network too often will disappear, and every contact with it will become more meaningful.
3. It is important to understand that, often, we begin to mindlessly hang out on VK or FB if ​​we are in at the moment time we need to do some thing that we don’t want to do. Prepare a document, call a client, clean the apartment, practice English. When the brain realizes the need to do something that we don’t really like, it tries to stop thinking about it and wants to get stuck on something else. Very often the Internet is used as such a subject for procrastination. In this case, you can use a simple trick - abstain from social networks until this unpleasant task is resolved. After this, you can allow yourself a little indulgence and go on social media. It is interesting, by the way, that in this case the brain no longer feels such a need to wander meaninglessly around the network, and it is easier to get out of this state. The main thing, however, is to understand that if you really don’t want to do something, you need to do it first. This gives strength and inspiration for the whole day, while procrastination only wastes energy in double mode.
4. Likewise, the general recommendation is to get into the habit of logging into social networks, instant messengers and email no earlier than lunchtime. It’s worth setting aside time before lunch to solve really important problems. In the morning, energy reserves are fullest, so it is wiser to spend them on something meaningful. If the first thing you do is check your email and hang out on VK, this will only deplete your energy reserves and ultimately lead to the whole day being wasted. I understand that the temptation to rush to check email and respond to everyone in instant messengers right in the morning is very strong. Why, people are waiting. But in doing so, you are doing what other people dictate to you and ignoring your own long-term plans and goals. People will wait until lunch. Healthy selfishness has never harmed anyone.
5. It can also be helpful to use utilitarian tools to help you spend your time on social media more consciously. In particular, the Time Rescue service allows you to conduct detailed statistics What sites and applications did you spend the most time on? Facebook Demetricator, on the other hand, allows you to completely remove the number of likes and comments on Facebook, thereby allowing you to concentrate directly on the content and not pay attention to who has how many likes, comments, and so on. Other interesting technical solutions- a lot for every taste. I just want to add that often our main means of contact with social networks is a mobile phone, so it can be very useful to turn off notifications completely. This greatly reduces the number of contacts with the device, which is only for the better.
6. Ultimately, spend more time with friends and family in person, or at least speak with your voice on the phone. Phone call- this is better in every way than messages and emoticons in instant messengers. Not to mention it takes a lot less time and uses less energy.

Simply put, the main thing to remember is that time and energy are better spent on something that will pay dividends in the long run. Excessive passion for social networks does not bring dividends. Unless, suddenly, your work is directly connected with them.

What then is the general use of social networks?

As I already wrote, social networks are far from evil, we just often use them incorrectly. And so it is most powerful tool communication, obtaining relevant up-to-date information, self-education and business development. In the next two articles in the series we will cover the following topics:

1. How to filter and process information received from the Internet so that it does not demotivate, does not waste our time, does not distract attention, but is beneficial
2. How to manage social networks so that they constructively complement your personality, rather than distract from it

If you are interested in these topics, I recommend subscribing to the blog by email, and also, haha, to our profiles on social networks:

Just ten years ago, the term “social network” did not evoke any associations in us. And the Internet was not so firmly integrated into a person’s daily life. We went to the library for the necessary information, and communicated with friends and family either in person or by phone (home phone, with a wheel). Remember this time? In fact, it is very difficult to imagine that communication was once so “alive.”

Today you won’t surprise anyone with the names “VKontakte”, “Odnoklassniki”, “Facebook”, “Twitter” or “Instagram”. Surely, everyone is registered in at least one of these social networks, and maybe in all of them at once. But everyone’s time and purpose for being on social networks are different. Someone goes to their page solely to chat with friends, someone to listen to music, and someone strives to learn as much as possible about their friends and acquaintances by looking at photos and news (“news feed”).

Today, psychologists, along with alcoholism and drug addiction, increasingly mention addiction to social networks. Indeed, with the advent of such “benefits” as the Internet and social networks, those who began to abuse these “benefits” immediately appeared. Moreover, every day they began to become more and more numerous. Why is it that so many people, once “caught in the net,” can no longer get out of them?

Causes of addiction to social networks

The first reason why social networks are so attractive to humans is that when we “wander through the open spaces” of social networks, the pleasure centers in our brain are activated. This is greatly facilitated by positive ratings (“likes”) and pleasant comments on our photos. What do we do when we receive a pleasant emotion? Right. We return to the network to get it again. So it turns out that the more a person is approved on a social network, the more time he spends there.

The second reason is related to the peculiarities of a person’s perception of information posted on social networks. We get it quickly and little by little. Moreover, this information is extremely diverse and heterogeneous. For example, when visiting the VKontakte website, we can immediately turn on the music, while simultaneously viewing brief news, small notes and articles, comments, and at the same time still have time to respond to messages from friends. Our brain begins to quickly adapt and get used to this pace. It's like a quick and easy process of "clicking" seeds.

Here it is also worth emphasizing the heterogeneity of the information received. This distinguishes it from information in search engines. To find something in search engine, for example, “Google” or “Yandex” you need, at a minimum, to know exactly what to look for. Moreover, you still need to formulate a fairly clear request. And this, of course, requires some time and effort. In turn, to find something interesting on a social network, no such effort is required - you just need to open the news feed. Thus, social networks attract people mainly due to their accessibility, simplicity and diversity.

The third reason is people who are unsure of themselves, suffering from complexes, such as, for example, an “inferiority complex” with their appearance, or they lack attention in real life. And on social networks, few people know who we really are, because if we have a rich imagination, you can present yourself as a hero-lover, a macho, or just a super-smart genius.

Negative consequences of social media addiction

So, we found out why social networks are so attractive to people. Now let's figure out what, in fact, is the danger of being too active use social networks? Why, in this case, do scientists increasingly use such a harsh word - “dependence”? This is due to the fact that dependence on social networks causes a whole range of negative consequences, both for the person himself and for his loved ones. Let's look at them in more detail.

Firstly, very frequent and prolonged stay on social networks leads to the so-called attention deficit disorder. This means that a person loses the ability to concentrate on one thing for a long time. To explain this, it’s enough to remember how we receive information on a social network - quickly and in small portions. People dependent on it become so accustomed to this “portioned” mode of receiving information that after a while they can no longer, for example, spend a long time solving any given task. After all, on the Internet we often have to switch our attention from one thing to another: here we are listening to music, then reading a short article, and now writing a message. Over time, even reading your favorite book can become difficult because the brain, out of habit, begins to constantly “look” for reasons to switch to something else.

Of particular concern in this sense are the younger generations, who have been stuck on the Internet and social networks almost since childhood. Their thinking is very flexible and very easily influenced. Therefore, dependence on networks poses a particular danger for children and adolescents, which should be avoided in modern world It becomes extremely difficult.

Thirdly, very often “abuse” of social networks causes constant fatigue syndrome, as well as stress. Although scientists say that the human brain's capabilities are almost limitless, it still needs some rest. At a minimum, in order to process and structure the information received. When a person is constantly online, information flow to the brain practically does not stop. This causes the brain to become overloaded. Therefore, a person begins to feel constant fatigue and is in a stressful state.

Fourthly, overly active communication on social networks often leads to the loss of “live” communication skills. This is perhaps the most obvious negative consequence of this addiction. Constantly communicating on social networks, we very often lose the emotional component of our communication with friends and loved ones. There is simply no time for emotions online. Music, comments, “likes”, news, and only in between – a message written by touch.

And finally, fifthly, as a result of all the above consequences, a person receives a general decrease in intelligence. Here, of course, the same features of “network” information play a decisive role. A person loses the ability to concentrate on one thing, find a solution to an important problem, or seriously think about the task at hand. His brain can no longer work effectively. He gets used to simply receiving an endless stream of information without analyzing it in any way. It turns out that a lot of information is received, but it is not absorbed and as a result the person knows nothing.

These negative consequences are enough to imagine and slightly appreciate the seriousness of the situation.

I would also like to note that most people suffering from addiction to social networks also have alcohol or at least nicotine addiction, and those who have not yet encountered this are on a direct path to alcoholism or drug addiction, taking into account the fact that social networks are now not only a mass media, but also trading platform for alcohol and drug dealers, the latter, in turn, are actively promoting goods on the Internet, which can already be purchased for a long time practically without leaving home. And the majority of well-known and famous people, whom modern youth are now so accustomed to looking up to, in their creativity make alcohol and drugs an integral part of life, leading to “success”, which, with one click, immediately ends up on social networks, and therefore in mass access. Then it may happen that we will have to face more than just one bad habit.

“Symptoms” of social media addiction

It is well known that any addiction is also a kind of disease that has its own symptoms. Social media addiction will be no exception here. It also has certain “symptoms”, although not as categorical as, for example, the flu. So, how can we “diagnose” this disease in ourselves?

The first and most obvious symptom is that you spend a lot of time on social networks. In a good way, you shouldn’t stay there for more than an hour a day. Although this is a very relative figure. If you work tirelessly from early morning until late at night, and before bed you only have an hour of free time, which you spend on the Internet, this is something worth thinking about. This symptom also suggests that a person constantly wants to be “in touch” (“online”). He can’t shake the feeling that while he’s not online, something extremely interesting will happen there: unique news will appear, someone will comment on his photo, or one of his friends will post their photos from a recent trip.

The second symptom is the appearance of the most typical online jokes and expressions in your conversational speech. For example, expressions like “thank you” instead of “thank you”, “preved” instead of “hello”, and other popular jokes on social networks can serve as an alarm bell.

Symptom number three is an overgrown photo album. If you daily publish photographs of your loved one (“selfies”) in absolutely ordinary life situations, or photographs of food, legs, arms, nails, eyebrows - in a word, everything you see around you - this is also a cause for concern.

The fourth symptom is to “sit” all day on some social network without communicating with anyone. Remember why they were originally created? For communication.

And finally, the fifth symptom is that turning off the Internet causes you to panic, feel isolated, lonely, cut off from the world, and even feel depressed. Although in fact, only when the Internet is turned off and there is no access to social networks do we truly live and communicate. We must try not to forget about this.

If you experience one or more of these symptoms, it is very likely that you have some form of social media addiction. In this case, you should immediately contact specialists.

In our age of computer technology, everyone is familiar with the concept of the Internet. Today even a child has access to information resources world wide web. All kinds of online communities have become perhaps the most important attribute of the modern world; people are increasingly giving preference to virtual communication. A social network is a universal means of communication and finding people; with its help you can always stay in touch, find out news about friends, and for many people it is a very convenient way of self-expression. The development of social networks began almost from the moment the Internet itself appeared in 1969. At first these were communities of people who were united exclusively by professional interests, then associations based on hobbies and hobbies appeared. It is believed that the very first official social network resource in 1995 was Classmates.com, which translates as Odnoklassniki; this network operates and develops to this day and already has more than 50 million users.

The problem of communication on a social network

Signs of addiction

1. There is a constant compulsive need to look at your inbox, even knowing that no one should have written, you are still drawn to turn on your personal computer and check it out. Or perhaps you are constantly online, even without turning off the Internet at night, so as not to miss anything interesting.
2. You spend too much time in front of your monitor screen, and every time you go to a social network, you promise yourself that you will only be there for a couple of minutes, but in the end you are horrified to discover that half a day has passed. You are drawn to look at your friends’ pages dozens of times a day, hoping that at least one of them has updated the information.
3. You feel a strong desire to regularly update the status on your page, discuss your every step with friends, take pictures of yourself anywhere and everywhere, and post new pictures more often. You care about how many people visited your page during the day and how they commented on your updates.
4. All communication with friends occurs mainly through a social network; you have already forgotten the last time you saw them.
5. - Game of various applications is a good alternative to others everyday affairs, you are drawn into this process, it is important for you to complete more levels and increase your rating.
6. - You experience terrible irritation if for some reason you cannot get to your page on a social network. You become as if cut off from the outside world.

How can you get rid of your addiction?

1. First of all, limit your time on a social network, set yourself a time frame. Better spend it free time With benefit for yourself, you probably have accumulated a decent amount of unfinished tasks that you have been putting off “for later”. I also advise readers of MirSovetov to turn off all social network notifications received by email, so you will be less tempted to visit your page at an unplanned time.
2. Try to meet your friends in person more often, call them more on the phone, invite them to visit, visit some cozy place together where you can have a good time, and you will understand that this is much more interesting than spending your evening in front of the monitor. Choose for yourself at least one day of the week that you can certainly devote to live communication.
3. Spend your time outdoors more often, find yourself an interesting activity that will distract you (for example, buy a membership to a sports club; physical activity will help not only keep you in shape, but also always be in a good mood).
4. Replace reading news on a social network with reading interesting books and expand your knowledge. Perhaps you have long dreamed of changing your job or improving your qualifications - this is a great chance to change your life for the better and devote time to your career.

There are a great many temptations in the modern world. Indulging in them beyond measure often leads to negative consequences. A person loses control over his behavior and is unable to exist normally in the absence of the object of adoration. This state is called addiction. This feeling is experienced by the majority of people living on our planet. However, not everyone is ready to admit this not only to others, but also to themselves.

Dependency Types

Each of us has a need for something. An example of this would be the desire to take a sip of water.

Some types of addiction are vital for us. So, we cannot exist, create and breathe without food. However, some people become addicted to various tasty treats, fruits or vegetables. At the same time, having opened the refrigerator, a person is not able to refuse a piece of his favorite delicacy. It beckons him and attracts him to itself, becoming an essential item.

A person can also become addicted to new things. This category of buyers is called shopaholics. These people fill their closets with various rags, which sometimes they do not need at all. However, after the next purchase, shopaholics’ souls become much easier.

There are also some types of addiction to your hobby. This happens when a harmless hobby develops into fanaticism. This happens to those who collect stamps and to those who cannot imagine their life without computer games. Such people are simply not aware of their own actions. They become like zombies. The classification of computer-type addictions includes constant presence on social networks in its list.

There are people who are literally obsessed with their feelings. It seems to them that breaking off relations with the object of their adoration will lead to life chaos. This is love addiction.

IN lately young people began to get involved in extreme sports. They also create a certain dependence.

Religious fanaticism poses a danger to the peaceful existence of society. This is a type of addiction when a person acts contrary to common sense, without recognizing any other ideologies. Dependence on a chosen idol is close to religious fanaticism.

Sometimes a person cannot exist without smoking, alcohol or drugs. These are very dangerous forms of addiction. For the sake of a dose, such people are capable of any action.

In the modern world, people's dependence on money is considered quite common. Of course, this is not bad, but often the desire to achieve financial well-being goes beyond all existing boundaries. Money becomes the main subject in life. Everything else just fades into the background.

Thus, human addictions are different. Sometimes people simply don't realize they have a problem.

Social media

They have firmly entered our lives. What are social networks? This is a certain collection of sites on the Internet through which communication between people from all over the world is organized. It occurs by discussing a problem, exchanging photos, audio and video.

Is there an addiction to social networks? Or is this just an opportunity to constantly expand your circle of acquaintances? No definite answer has yet been received. Opinions on this matter are polar. However, the majority is still inclined to believe that this problem is an addiction.

Social networks for a person are a whole virtual world in which problems are reflected modern society. Visiting all kinds of sites has its positive sides. These include communication with family and friends located far away, correspondence with friends with similar interests, exchange of information and job search. However, prolonged use of such resources separates a person from the real world, causing damage to his life. This could mean social media addiction, which is classified as a disease.

Negative health effects

It would seem that existing networks are an invaluable resource that allows a person to satisfy his need for communication. However, a study of addiction to such Internet sites showed the opposite result. A person partially loses touch with the real world and begins to experience a lack of live communication. All this, according to doctors, worsens the overall well-being of the online consumer. At the same time, the immune system is weakened, and a hormonal imbalance is observed. Addiction to social networks leads to vascular diseases and disruption of the thought process. A person runs the risk of developing mental disorders, oncology, dementia, and heart disease.

Teenagers' dependence on social networks is especially dangerous. At such an early age, it seems that friendship, love and respect are quite easy to win and then destroy without any hesitation. Just a few key manipulations are enough. However, this path is false. The dependence of young people on social networks leads to the fact that the younger generation is not prepared for the realities of life. Teenagers do not realize that everything requires patience and intelligence. They turn into impulsive, intolerant and often unpredictable people. The most terrible result that this Internet addiction presents to society is suicide attempts, which occur under the influence of strong emotions. And all this is only because the bright, fast-flowing life that young people see on the Internet does not coincide with reality.

How does addiction occur?

At first, a person is simply interested in an Internet resource. The user registers in one or another network, and then begins to gradually expand his account. Over time, correspondence becomes more and more lengthy. A person constantly looks at new messages, takes part in forums, plays games and is addicted to applications. This gradually develops into a pathological addiction to social networks. A person begins to evaluate the day as boring and uninteresting if he was unable to visit his favorite Internet resource.

Who is prone to social media addiction?

Not every person shows increased interest in Internet resources. There are people who visit social networks only occasionally, communicating on them with healthy prudence. There is also a category of Internet users who this resource doesn't recognize it at all. What is the reason for such different attitudes towards social networks?

Experts believe that Internet addiction develops only in those individuals who are unsure of themselves and have low self-esteem. Everything is explained quite simply. No one will see you on the Internet. When posting a photo, you can choose the most successful shot, or even hide behind the picture. Only on social networks is there freedom for teenagers to express their own opinions without the fear of being stopped by constantly critical parents or unfriendly classmates.

Portrait of a regular social network user

As a rule, people who strive for virtual communication love to fantasize and embellish the existing reality. Such users are humanitarians with a romantic mood. Psychologists classify these people as mentally unstable. They suffer from a chronic sleep disorder. Signs of addiction appear already after appearance. You can recognize such people by their moist and shiny eyes, as well as by excessive sweating. A user who is constantly present in networks increases the level of dopamine in the brain. This substance is almost an analogue of adrenaline. This is why networking causes a certain surge of energy and excitement. A person strives to get such pleasure again and again when sitting down at a computer monitor.

Symptoms of Internet addiction

1. He is worried about the fact that his message did not receive a response. This is the first wake-up call. We can talk about a deterioration in the condition when the user calls the recipients, asking them why they are silent.
2. He spends six hours a day or more on websites, neglecting his business and health.
3. The virtual world begins to replace the real one. For example, such a user clearly remembers his friends on the Internet, forgetting about those who are close to him.
4. He constantly updates his own page on the Internet. At the same time, in the virtual world he has a huge number of friends (within 200-500 people).
5. If you can’t get to your page, depression or panic immediately begins. This is how addiction manifests itself. The lack of virtual communication is akin to not getting the next dose for an alcoholic or drug addict.

Fighting Internet addiction

About how to get back real communication, over time, more and more users around the world are starting to think. Of course, the Internet provides an excellent opportunity to communicate with the most different friends and provides numerous information for rest, work and health. And all you need to do is click the mouse.

Computer addiction is sometimes compared to drug or alcohol addiction. However, this is not at all true. After all, the first of them is eliminated using psychological techniques, and the other two are eliminated by drug treatment.

How to wean your child off social networks?

Most of the users of Internet resources are children. After all, it is not yet easy for them to get used to the world around them and boldly enter adulthood. Treatment of addictions at a young age cannot be done without the help of loved ones and psychologists. In this case, you will need to teach your child to be calm about stupid jokes from ill-wishers, to be friendly and purposeful. This applies most of all to the youngest age, when the formation of one’s own “I” occurs.

The highest prevalence of addiction to social networks is observed in children 10-12 years of age. This is the period when the child strives to become an adult as soon as possible, but does not yet know how to do this. The Internet helps him with this. The virtual screen allows you to express your thoughts without fear of being laughed at. Social networks for a child are a game of adulthood, where there are no moral teachings from parents, various problems and worries.

However, constantly being at the computer at such an early age results in overexertion. Lack of physical stress and communication with real people may lead to serious problems in the future. And here you will need maximum parental participation. They should take the path not of banning the Internet, but of reorienting life interests by sending their child to a sports section, a dance club, etc. We must try to ensure that the child spends more time in live communication and accustom him to work.

Eliminating addiction in an adult

There are simple rules that, following them, will allow you to easily wean yourself from constantly sitting at the computer. First of all, you will need to reduce the time you spend on social networks, minimizing it. For example, on the first day it could be six hours, on the second - thirty minutes less, etc. During such a period, you will need to increase your communication with people living in the real world. Make it a rule to take evening walks. Go to the movies, concerts and theaters. Invite some of your already forgotten friends with you. And you will certainly be surprised at how many acquaintances managed to miss communicating with you while you disappeared on social networks.

To eliminate dependence on Internet resources, you will need to set a limit on your stay in them. The time allocated for viewing correspondence and photographs should not exceed twenty minutes during the day. To control the limit, you can install a special program that will remind you to leave the site, and, if necessary, block the resource until the next day.

A fairly effective option is to delete all accounts. Your absence from social networks will allow you to say goodbye to addiction in just a month.

A modern person rarely imagines his life without a computer and the Internet. Yes, such advanced inventions really help us in life - it is much easier to search for information and work with it, everything is always available. But such “gifts of civilization” are also fraught with many dangers, literally dragging ordinary people “into the net.”

Only two-day-old babies now do not have pages on social networks (and then, most likely, because their mother was “not up to it” in the maternity hospital) or hundred-year-old people (they still remember what communication really is). Everyone else checks in regularly, using this opportunity in any open wifi, sit for hours, looking at new photos and statuses of “friends”. Here, this Lyubka from a parallel class, with whom we communicated in real life only twice, accidentally sat down at the same table in the dining room. So, look, she bought herself a Ferrari... And Tanka, from my year at university, got married and gave triplets to her husband! But the most “joyful” thing is this Lilka, the second cousin of my grandmother’s neighbor, look, she posted a photo of her and a dark-skinned macho sunbathing in Bali! No, well, not an infection, eh?

And here I am, all good and wonderful, living alone with a cat in a shabby communal apartment and getting to my work at the housing office by tram... But they all don’t need to know about it. So, friend, take a photo of me next to this Lexus, yes, which is parked on the side of the road - so what, let them think that it’s mine. I’ll also beg my sister for a prom dress and take a picture in it against the backdrop of a waterfall in the botanical garden - why wouldn’t you like an overseas holiday?

What do such “exercises” on social networks give us and why do we do it? To increase self-esteem? Affirmations of self-worth and importance? Out of a desire to appear better than you really are? Or is it because of the nagging feeling of loneliness in a crowd of people? Let's figure it out.

It is one of the symptoms of Internet addiction. The phenomenon of Internet addiction has been described more than once by researchers. At the same time, scientists classify dependence on social networks as a separate group - dependence on so-called “cyber relationships”: communication in chats and teleconferences, which can ultimately lead to the replacement of real friends and family with virtual ones.

According to researchers, the time spent on searching, communicating, virtual flirting, as well as viewing photographs from the lives of old acquaintances, former classmates and classmates, often exceeds the time spent performing the work duties of employees. As a result, administrators often corporate networks They specifically block access to social networks. But, of course, at home it is unlikely that anyone will interfere with such communication, so the problem does not disappear completely.

Scientists call such virtual communication on social networks quasi-communication - that is, imaginary, apparent. Naturally, it is virtually impossible to classify it as effective and complete communication. A person has the illusion that he knows well all those whose pages he regularly views. It is easy to guess that in fact such a statement is far from the truth.

Who “sits” on social networks?

1. Independent people. Representatives of this group appear on social networks very rarely – once a day, a week or even a month. At the same time, they do not post much information about themselves on their pages, and sometimes even hide it from view. They go online only out of urgent necessity - to find someone’s address or telephone number, to answer important message. If there is no need to go to your page, such people do not appear there;
2. Transitional type. This group of “users” are starting to visit their accounts more often – more than once a day. At the same time, they do not need any visible reasons– just a desire to “look through” the pages of friends or groups is enough and thus dispel boredom. At the transition stage, people usually “hold on” for about two to three months, and then “jump” into the third type (we will talk about it below). In very rare cases there is a return from this stage to “independent”;
3. Dependent people. Unfortunately, this type of social network user is the most common. Such people do not forget to update their page every 10-20 minutes - what if someone writes? The resulting correspondence “about nothing” can last for an hour and completely separate the “owner” from reality. And, if there are no messages, there is a feeling of being useless and unclaimed - why, no one writes to me! Representatives of this type most likely have “facebook”, “vkontakte”, “twitter”, etc. applications on their smartphone, which work at least 6-8 hours a day - thus, the person is almost constantly “online”. And it’s very difficult for him to survive a day or two without his favorite social network.

More often than others, lonely people become dependent on social networks - in this way they create a “surrogate” of communication for themselves. But often this loneliness is false and invented - that is, a person physically lives in society, but in fact does not communicate with those around him. Frequent guests social networks become people with heaps of complexes; teenagers who cannot build relationships with peers; young mothers - “while the baby is sleeping”; and also very sociable people - just give them a reason to communicate. Over time, the line between the real and the virtual blurs in the head, and a person forgets that you can just go to a friend’s house for his birthday, and not send him emoticons with a cake and flowers. Virtual communication becomes the only means of communication for addicts, and only a global reason such as a temporary lack of Internet can tear them away from their favorite activity. But it is precisely at this time that such interesting, lively, real life is happening around! However, addicted people no longer notice it.

If you notice that your loved one begins to live on social networks, confusing virtual and real friends, you need to sound the alarm! After all, the distance from reality only gets worse in the future. According to some data, every fifth or sixth family breaks up due to social networks. Aren't these terrifying numbers? Sometimes the starting point of the breakup is that one of the spouses devotes many times more time to the Internet than to the family. Or your significant other suddenly starts flirting on a social network. It’s rare for anyone to be pleased to see their spouse’s love correspondence with other network users. Thus, loneliness also turns from far-fetched to real.

“Getting out” of social networks alone is very difficult. The name speaks for itself - networks! They contain too many seeming available opportunities and temptations. Therefore, the sooner the relatives of the “victim” begin to act, the greater the likelihood of returning him to the real world as effectively and quickly as possible. And here you often cannot do without the help of an experienced psychologist.

1. The duration of concentration and concentration decreases. By communicating online, a person trains his brain to absorb information spontaneously, quickly and in tiny portions. The ability is gradually lost for a long time to keep your attention on something. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may develop. This is a side effect of data integration: a person is tempted to perform several processes in parallel - communication, discussing meetings, listening to playlists, etc.

Subsequently, it becomes difficult to concentrate for a long time, for example, on a book. After all, the brain, out of habit, shifts attention from one subject to another. As a result, we are faced with “floating” attention. There is no need to explain that this feature can have a negative impact on many types of activities. But this problem is especially acute for children - a child’s thinking is more plastic, and it is much easier for him to absorb harmful standards of thinking, formed, among other things, by social networks;

2. Decrease in intelligence, alienation. Numerous hours of “in contact” occupy our brain with aimless and meaningless activity. It cannot be called intellectual work - after all, no one thinks about the quality of the incoming information. The brain is simply busy all the time, but it’s not clear what exactly and why. He's just chewing his internet cud. But this time could have been spent on much more useful things - reading books, planning, thinking about what is important to you.

The continuous flow of information does not provide any opportunity to think about it, to digest it. Then real empathy, passion, interest, and compassion for other people disappear. It’s trite - they never have time to manifest themselves, because the information changes too abruptly and quickly, and there is simply not enough time for everything;

3. Information dependence. Often, having accustomed the brain to a constant flow of data, and then suddenly interrupting this “chewing gum” for a while, we feel a very real “withdrawal”. In moments of “information vacuum” - that is, in fact, at all moments when the network is inaccessible - it becomes more and more difficult to relax. The brain simply requires more and more pieces of information!

4. Stress, fatigue. There's probably no point in explaining much here. It’s just that in a series of constantly changing impressions, the human brain gets very tired, and the body experiences stress. Plus, your eyes get very tired.

Social media addiction is not on the list of diseases. However, it can seriously ruin your life to modern man. So, if you are determined to get rid of this addiction and become a truly “living” person again, listen to simple advice:

1. Set restrictions on your online presence using special programs. Such programs simply block the site after a certain time. Try to limit yourself to a maximum of one hour per day;
2. To experience withdrawal pain less painfully, keep your hands busy with something useful. Monotonous work is good: modeling, knitting, weaving, designing, drawing, etc. Such activities are a kind of meditation - they calm you down, focus your brain on fine motor skills of your hands;
3. Unsubscribe from various entertainment groups. Remember – there shouldn’t be hundreds or thousands of them! It’s better to join educational, developmental groups. Such information will save your brain from gradual “dullness”;
4. “Clean up” your friends list - remove those who constantly bother you with stupid statuses and messages. Or even just “listed”;
5. Hide news that is not interesting to you. It is unlikely that it is vital for you to read all these pretentious statuses;
6. It may not be easy at first. But over time, you will be happy to notice that you feel good without social networks, and if you get there, you spend time usefully. And that means you are living real life again!
7. And finally, if you can’t cope alone, seek help from a specialist.

Anna Kutyavina