Traits Involved in Social Media Addiction
Social media enables one to be connected with anyone across the globe instantly, regardless of location. Just by tapping on a screen, one can update family, friends, and strangers on even the most mundane aspects of life. Many consider social media to be supplementary: it makes everyday aspects of their lives easier such as planning a vacation with friends or networking with colleagues. However, for others, the amount of information may be overwhelming and interfere with daily life. That is when social media use can become an addiction.
Addiction to social media can cause detrimental effects to one’s mental health and well-being. It can cause anxiety, lowered confidence, and social anhedonia, the inability to find enjoyment in activities that are usually pleasurable. Furthermore, addiction to social media can disrupt normal sleep patterns and decrease the quality of sleep.
Previous research implicates personality traits of extroversion and neuroticism as causes for social media addiction. Studies found that extroverts were prone to social media addiction as they used social media to enhance social connections. On the other hand, neurotic people were susceptible to social media addiction as they may compensate for their inability to talk in person by relying on communication over a screen.
Addiction to social media can cause detrimental effects to one’s mental health and well-being. It can cause anxiety, lowered confidence, and social anhedonia, the inability to find enjoyment in activities that are usually pleasurable. Furthermore, addiction to social media can disrupt normal sleep patterns and decrease the quality of sleep.
Previous research implicates personality traits of extroversion and neuroticism as causes for social media addiction. Studies found that extroverts were prone to social media addiction as they used social media to enhance social connections. On the other hand, neurotic people were susceptible to social media addiction as they may compensate for their inability to talk in person by relying on communication over a screen.
Image Source: JGI/Jamie Grill
However, a recent study led by David Blackwell at the University of Mary Washington, suggests that additional factors may be better indicators of social media addiction than major personality traits. Blackwell et al. examines additional traits such as attachment, age, and fear of missing out (FOMO) to determine the leading cause of social media addiction. They found that while age, neuroticism, and FOMO predicted social media use, only FOMO predicted social media addiction. FOMO is a fear that people are having fun without them, and as such, social media may be a way for people to still participate in activities, despite not being present. This could lead to lowered self-perception and disruptive behavior such as compulsively checking one’s social media for updates.
Additionally, attachment style, namely anxious and avoidant, predicted addiction. Someone with an anxious attachment may doubt their personal relationships, an action that can cause them to use social media for assurance frequently and to stay in touch with others. However, an avoidant attachment may cause one to seek distance from others, an action that may be counter-intuitive to social media addiction. The researchers theorize that a combination of these attachments causes social media addiction as they allow one to feel close to others without social interaction.
Despite these findings, researchers acknowledge a few shortcomings. Due to recruiting participants from the Internet and a general psychology subject pool, their participants were mostly white, college-age females who may not be indicative of other socioeconomic groups. Additionally, the data used came from self-reports, which could be unreliable. Finally, since FOMO is a recently operationalized variable, there are not many studies examining its relationship with social media addiction. As such, future research regarding FOMO should examine its long-term effects and its role in social media addiction.
Additionally, attachment style, namely anxious and avoidant, predicted addiction. Someone with an anxious attachment may doubt their personal relationships, an action that can cause them to use social media for assurance frequently and to stay in touch with others. However, an avoidant attachment may cause one to seek distance from others, an action that may be counter-intuitive to social media addiction. The researchers theorize that a combination of these attachments causes social media addiction as they allow one to feel close to others without social interaction.
Despite these findings, researchers acknowledge a few shortcomings. Due to recruiting participants from the Internet and a general psychology subject pool, their participants were mostly white, college-age females who may not be indicative of other socioeconomic groups. Additionally, the data used came from self-reports, which could be unreliable. Finally, since FOMO is a recently operationalized variable, there are not many studies examining its relationship with social media addiction. As such, future research regarding FOMO should examine its long-term effects and its role in social media addiction.
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