Is Social media taking your life over and is it getting harder to turn Social media off?
Social media can be amazing. It can bring old friends together and even rekindle old romances, but are we allowing social media to control us, when we should be controlling it?
Think now and ask yourself, when was the last time you went a full day without checking Social media and how would you feel if you couldn’t check your social media accounts?
Do you feel stressed or anxious about that thought?
The whole concept of social media addiction all hinges on the chemical dopamine.
Contrary to popular belief, dopamine has nothing to do with pleasure. The dopamine system actually has more to do with anticipation and motivation. Dopamine can make a person desire something and that mindset can then compel a person to act. When you act to satisfy that desire, the brain releases endorphins, which are pleasurable and rewarding and lead you to want more.
Unfortunately, some characteristics of social media can abuse our dopamine systems
For example, instant gratification, which could be the result of sending a tweet or checking your Facebook status. There is also incomplete gratification which can occur when your brain enters its reward-seeking mindset, all you have to do is send out a tweet and your brain will interpret that as having acted, thus releasing feelings of pleasure as a reward.
Another aspect of Social media can be unpredictable stimuli which occurs when the brain releases dopamine if something unexpected happens, like a social media notification.
And finally, anticipation and conditioning
As your brain is involved in dopamine-triggering stimuli, your brain begins to anticipate them even before they happen, this can result in social media withdrawal and that is when the compulsive need to check social media kicks in and before you realise it, you are hooked and checking Facebook in the middle of the night.
There can also be other factors about Social media that can cause anxiety. People very rarely post if they are having a bad day, so it can sometimes appear that everyone is living the best life they can, all of the time, Social Media is a false reality. Logically we know that isn’t true, but if someone is in a bad place themselves, seeing other people’s ‘perfect’ lives can amplify the bad feelings they might be feeling about our own lives.
Social media can also encourage narcissism, likes and retweets are all about you and these can also be addictive some more people.
So, if you think you may have an issue with Social media, why not try a Social media Detox tied in with a course of Hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy can help to get your life back, so you are in control and enjoying a balanced life with and without your devices. Hypnotherapy can help to clear the addictive associate behaviours and help you focus again on life.