final paper PSY406

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PSY 406

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Psychology

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Dec 6, 2023

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1 Process Addiction – Social Media & Internet Megan Kolpien SNHU PSY-406

2 Process addictions are found to be non-drug related addictions, much like shopping, sex, social media, and gambling. These addictions cause a person's behaviors to become compulsive in ways that harm their lives, not in the way that drugs or alcohol do, however, any kind of addiction can cause bodily and mental harm as well as a different way of acting towards loved ones or self. But why does this happen? To find out what causes people to get sucked into watching these videos and losing all sense of time. This also goes for applications such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and even Pinterest. When you go to check your phone in a moment's notice, you end up spending more and more time watching things you have little to no interest in. Is it because there are funny videos? Or do you enjoy the false reality and it takes your mind off of other things that consume you that you just don’t have a way of processing or dealing with in a healthy way? When conducting further research, an article/study noted that internet addiction can be linked to depression, loneliness, and anxiety. Mental health issues are on the increase and when it comes to internet addiction it is not helping the issue. Because we tend to watch videos and lean into social media in hopes to distract ourselves from the real-life issues, we are unable to face at the time. In other articles there is evidence that social media and internet addiction results in poor sleeping habits as well as a higher level of stress. When it comes to internet addiction and those who are becoming dependent on social media, tend to suffer from (FOMO) Fear of Missing Out. Those who are in college and younger generations tend to be the ones noted for higher use of social media and internet addiction. Social media and the use of the internet being so readily available on one's phone has become one of the reasons why there has been a rise in social media and internet addiction.

3 Before, in order to go on to the internet you had to get on a computer or laptop, since the advancements and invention of smartphones, like having a minicomputer in your pocket or hand at all times. The fact that information is available and able to be found out so quickly many people, specifically younger generations tend to have shorter attention spans. If we look at platforms like TikTok and Instagram, even Facebook, we went from watching videos on YouTube. However, YouTube is now a dying platform as the videos are deemed too long, people want short-form content 30 second to 3-minute videos are the “in” thing. This brings us to the next point, younger generations, even young children, do not understand what commercials are, with all of the streaming services and being able to skip videos after 5 seconds. Are letting children at a young age watch YouTube and TikTok and videos on streaming services causing a potential issue before they even get to social media? When it comes to social norms in relation to social media, the pressure to conform and act outward as someone other than your true self is an issue that many young minds face. The phrase “fake it till you make it”, is something people don’t tend to realize they are doing. From the outside looking at things people post on the internet tends to be the good things or even pretending to be okay to save face. No one wants to actually be vulnerable on the internet, when problems arise, or someone does show vulnerability on social media, they open themselves to cyber-bullying and the ability for others to insert themselves in their problems and life. When we think about these types of situations, there are those who attention seek to gain approval or compliments from others, usually people they do not even know. To post pictures of ourselves and family or friends, wanting to get the most likes or the most compliments on how well we look or how well it looks that we are doing (regardless of the actual truth doesn’t seem to matter in these types of situations).

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4 Now when it comes to the effects that social media has on adolescents and their thoughts on serious subjects like alcohol and substances or even vaping, can be thought of as well. Social media tends to have ads in videos and different targeted ads that are sent out on everyone's feeds. These can mold and form a young person's mind on these topics as well as sway their opinions because they are less likely to be able to think for themselves. When it comes to TikTok we can see all of these “influencers”, these are people who get paid to promote products and a way of life. While most of them are fashion, food, or make up influencers, their whole life tends to be shown on the internet, this can be negative if they are smoking or vaping, if they have a drink (because they are of age) young minds see this and assume that it is cool or want to be just like the influencers they think so highly of. At the end of the day, we need to know what children and young teens are looking at and watching, because they are impressionable and being able to make sure they know the difference between right and wrong is imperative. When we think about the traditional models and theories of addiction in relation to social media, we can see that opening up a social media platform on your phone while feeling upset, anxious or depressed is a way for us to temporarily fix/treat that feeling. I know that when I am feeling upset or anxious, I tend to spend more time on my phone and watch videos on TikTok or Facebook. We are treating our conflict (anxiety, depression, even loneliness) with a quick fix of a serotonin boost that social media provides us. While watching videos on social media or scrolling looking at memes we tend to spark our pleasure centers in our brains and when that happens, we are gaining small doses of serotonin, this regulates our moods and is often thought of as a feel-good type of feeling. Social media addiction is something that is becoming more and more, without people realizing it is a big issue. Those with social media addiction have been found to suffer from

5 “Fear of Missing out (FOMO)”, lower attention spans, depression and issues sleeping or higher risk of sleep disturbances. When taking into account all the mental health issues that come with social media addiction, looking into a way to treat this is something that is becoming more prevalent. One of the ways to combat social media addiction has thought to be cognitive behavioral therapy, this allows the patient to realize and reduce symptoms of depression and other mental illness. When it comes to social media addiction, mental illnesses like depression, anxiety and others are present or the main cause for someone to become addicted to social media. Social media addiction is considered a maladaptive behavior, this means that it is something that is uncontrollable, even if there are negative effects from being on social media, those addicted cannot control wanting to be on and take part in posting, sharing or scrolling. In one article it was noted that cognitive behavioral therapy in short-term based abstinence. This was a study ran on 65 individuals and they were to abstain from social media in hopes of improving their outlook on life and life satisfaction. The participants differed in levels of addiction from light to heavy as well as their work schedules. Participants were to abstain from social media use a few hours a day and keep a diary of their usage, behaviors and feelings while using social media. When it comes to abstaining from social media, while it does prove effective in boosting self-esteem and outlook on life, relapsing can occur just as any other addiction. Another article based in Serbia, provided insight on how more time spent with family can combat addiction to social media. Because social status and the appearance of yourself viewed online can become addicting in and of itself. Being able to spend time and be present in the

6 moment with loved ones and having healthier relationships in real life can be beneficial in treating social media addiction. When it comes to social media addiction, everyone is addicted in some way, whether it is light or heavy in the addiction of checking your social media. Recommendations that could be put out to help treat social media addiction, follow screen time in homes with children. Starting at a young age with children and showing them more support and love from the family in the household may help boost their confidence in real life as well as keep them from wanting to seek acceptance from strangers. Family therapy is always a good option, even if you are not at war with each other. If therapy is not something that would suit your time, family needs or wants, sitting down at dinner together or for one meal a day, with no phones and talking about your day. Get to know your children, take an interest in their life, find out what they like to do and maybe take them to do this or offer to participate or learn a video game. Much like video games, break out board games and having a family game night. When it comes to adults and their ways to treat social media addiction, abstaining from using it and taking up a new hobby or actually watching the movie instead of having it play in the background while scrolling on your phone. (This is not to shame anyone; we are all guilty of it) Calling a friend and making plans, get out of your house, get off your couch, get off your phone and be present in the moment. Live life again and learn to enjoy life and the little moments that make you smile or laugh; these moments don’t always need to be shared.

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7 References Bojić, L. (2018). Media Addicts in Serbia: Problem Dimensions and Possible Solutions. TEME: Casopis Za Društvene Nauke , 42 (2), 681–693. https://doi- org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.22190/TEME1802681B Hammad, M. A., & Awed, H. S. (2023). Investigating the relationship between social media addiction and mental health. NURTURE: Journal of Pakistan Home Economics Association , 17 (3), 149–156. https://doi- org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.55951/nurture.v17i3.282 Lu, J., Xie, J., Chen, J., Zeng, Y., Jiang, Z., Wang, Y., & Zheng, H. (2022). More utilitarian judgment in Internet addiction? An exploration using process dissociation and the CNI model. Brain and Behavior , 12 (3), e2510. https://doi- org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1002/brb3.2510 Merrill, J. E., López, G., Doucette, H., Pielech, M., Corcoran, E., Egbert, A., Wray, T. B., Gabrielli, J., Colby, S. M., & Jackson, K. M. (2023). Adolescents’ perceptions of alcohol portrayals in the media and their impact on cognitions and behaviors. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors , 37 (6), 758–770. https://doi- org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1037/adb0000907 Ragnhild Sørensen Høifødt, Christine Strøm, Nils Kolstrup, Martin Eisemann, Knut Waterloo, Effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy in primary health care: a review, Family Practice , Volume 28, Issue 5, October 2011, Pages 489–504, https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmr017

8 Zhou X, Rau PP, & Yang CL. (2021). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Short-Term Abstinence Intervention for Problematic Social Media Use: improved Well-Being and Underlying Mechanisms. Psychiatric Quarterly , 92 (2), 761–779. https://doi- org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1007/s11126-020-09852-0 Zhu, X., Zheng, T., Ding, L., Zhang, X., Li, Z., & Jiang, H. (2023). Exploring associations between social media addiction, social media fatigue, fear of missing out and sleep quality among university students: A cross-section study. PLoS ONE , 18 (10), 1–12. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1371/journal.pone.0292429

final paper PSY406

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