Are you Social Media Addict ? Yes or No
“Internet Addiction” is mentioned on more than 26 million websites, with those at risk suffering from depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, low self-esteem, or addiction to substances, at least previously. Online surveys find that 4 to 10 percent of users meet criteria for “Internet addiction,” defined as having at least five of the following signs and symptoms:
(1) preoccupation with the Internet,
(2) increasing amount of time spent online,
(3) failure to cut back use with concomitant restlessness,
(4) moodiness or depression,
(5) staying online longer than originally intended,
(6) running the risk of losing a job, relationship, or other opportunity because of Internet use, and
(7) lying to conceal the extent of Internet use and/or using the Internet to escape negative feelings.
Social Media Addiction
Mobile social media offer a large number of experiences from a psychological viewpoint, each with powerful features that can lead to problem behavior. For example, the extrovert might spend much time on Facebook, compulsively checking their profile to see the number of ‘likes’ their latest post received.
For others, with a narcissistic inclination, Instagram may prove to be an addictive medium for them to display themselves to others with ‘selfies.’ Social anxiety can also fuel social media addiction. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can be the main reason for frequent social media use regardless of time of day at the expense of other activities.
The mobile phone can be used while walking, riding on public transportation and even while driving. These ‘micro – time slots’ in which people can engage in a multitude of online activities were not previously available. This can lead to obsessive mobile phone usage and can interfere with face-to-face interaction and harm academic performance.
Research on problematic mobile media usage is limited but has attracted increasing attention recently. A study of Taiwanese female university students, for example, found that students, who scored high on a test of mobile phone addiction, showed more extraversion and anxiety, and somewhat lower-self-esteem (Fu-Yuan and Chiu, 2012). Women seem to be more vulnerable to mobile phone addiction than men.
A Likert scale consisting of fourteen items was used to measure social media addiction. This scale was based on Young’s (1996) measurement of Internet addiction.
Table given below shows the items
| 1 | I often find myself using social media longer than intended. | YES | NO |
| 2 | I often find life to be boring without social media. | ||
| 3 | I often neglect my schoolwork because of my usage of social media. | ||
| 4 | I get irritated when someone interrupts me when I am using social media | ||
| 5 | Several days could pass without me feeling the need to use social media. | ||
| 6 | Time passes by without me feeling it when I am using social media. | ||
| 7 | I find it difficult to sleep shortly after using social media. | ||
| 8 | I would be upset if I had to cut down the amount of time I spend using social media. | ||
| 9 | My family frequently complain of my preoccupation with social media. | ||
| 10 | My school grades have deteriorated because of my social media usage. | ||
| 11 | I often use social media while driving. | ||
| 12 | I often cancel meeting my friends because of my occupation with social media. | ||
| 13 | I find myself thinking about what happened in social media when I am away from them. | ||
| 14 | I feel my social media usage has increased significantly since I began using them. |
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