Social media has been a topic of
conversation ever since sites like Facebook and Twitter have popped up. Those
sites have millions upon millions of users, and grow stronger every day.
Facebook has even grown to such a large size, that stocks and shares are sold
to the general public. Although the sales of those shares haven’t boomed as planned,
there is no doubt that Facebook is a worldwide success, and will be around for
quite some time. The question I have to ask, is do all these social media sites
have a grasp on us that is too tight? There is little doubt that many of us are
dependent on the technology we possess, but are we dependent on the sites we
gain access to by having it?
To begin, I want to start with the
simple part of daily routines. I can be honest with myself, and say that Facebook
has become part of my daily routine. I would like to think that I resisted this
quite a bit, but Facebook finds a way of becoming part of my day, almost every
day. If I haven’t been on my computer for days, you can bet I’ve checked the
app on my phone multiple times over that time. I am glad to say that it doesn’t
control me though; instead it is more or less a way to pass down time while I’m
bored. Do you do the same, or are you much like a few friends I know, who feel
the NEED to get on the site? People make jokes about a social media addiction,
but there are many cases out there.
Go to the link to view a case of a woman who had to seek
treatment for her addiction after even losing her job due to it:
The link talks about the disorder being an urge driven disorder.
As I write this, the Miami Heat has just won the NBA title. That means LeBron
James has finally got the monkey off his back. I can only imagine the amount of
updates and tweets that are swirling around on social media, due to people who
feel the need to post something about the game. Is that part of the “urge
driven disorder?”
Getting past our daily lives that
we live, other ways we completely depend on social media would include job
hunting/employer searches, even minimal background checks, (employers will
check a person’s Facebook page before doing a background check to see what the
person is about) product advertisements, promoting business by giving deals for
“Liking” the business, not to mention the games. Games themselves take hours
upon hours of people’s time.
The bottom line is everyone has found
a way to exploit some angle of social media. Do we as users simply take
advantage of that, or do we feel the need, the urge to take advantage of it?
I remember reading about people getting addicted to technology a few years ago. It scared me so much that I decided to go a month to make sure I was not addicted to either the TV or the computer, it was hard, but I was surprised to find how much free time I had once all the time usually spent on the computer was gone. Computers and Smartphones were designed to help us run our lives, not run our lives for us. If a person cannot go for even a single day without their phone or computer, then I think they should start to rethink their priorities.
ReplyDeleteI don’t feel I am addicted to the television or computer; however, between work and school I have to spend quite a few hours weekly on the computer. I don’t and never have watched much television. I don’t need to watch other people “live” their lives; I have my own life to live. As far as a cell phone, I wish many days that I didn’t have one. I am told quite often, “Why do you have a phone? You never answer it!”. The technological device that I am addicted to is the radio. I love music. Fortunately, I can still accomplish what I need to and can still listen to music.
ReplyDeleteInteresting topic Jake, However, I don't feel addicted to Facebook, yes it takes up most of my time when I do get on it but it has been something I have tried so much to cut out and I think I have been 90% successful. My addiction is with my cell phone because it does everything I could possibly want and at the end brings me money. I just think people should do more with their lives rather than just sit on Facebook all the time it’s a big time waster and brings nothing in return.
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