Things You Must Know About Social Media Addiction

Part 2: What is Social Media Addiction?

Social media addiction is used to refer to somebody spending too much time using social media sites, so much that, it interferes with other aspects of their daily lives. Addictive social media use is similar to any other substance use disorder. The symptoms include mood modifications, experience unpleasant emotional symptoms, anxiety, and sleep disorder.

Although there is no official medical recognition on social media addiction as a disease, the habit of excessive use is a matter of concern. Social media addiction means compulsive use of social media. For instance, children who use social media the first thing in the morning, check-in everywhere they go, check notifications all the time, constantly monitor likes and shares, and check their social media account whenever they are free.

Social media addiction occurs in kids due to FOMO, and how many people like and share what they have posted. The more the likes and shares, the more famous they are and people like them. These rewards and the pleasure kids receive using social media, programs young minds to crave for more. If this continues for a longer period, it quickly becomes a habit and the disorder eventually takes place.

However, social media is not that bad too, there are various benefits of social media such as children share knowledgeable information, can group study, get updates on current affairs and a lot more. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of social media.

Part 3: Pros and Cons of Social Media

Social media tends to form an integral part of tweens' and teens' lives and also parents. It has changed the way we communicate; get our daily news fix, and so much more. With said above that social media causes addiction, it largely depends on how we and our kids use it. There are pros and cons to everything in life, and that includes the pros and cons of social media.

Pros of Social Media

Offers more information on current affairs

With social media, teens can easily find about what is going on in the neighborhood, school, state, country, and even the entire world. It is an important way to equip ourselves with ample knowledge of current affairs.

Easier to study and carry our research work

Social media platforms act as a great study tool for students. They use them to ask their friends difficult questions that they aren’t able to solve on their own. It also makes group discussions and group study easier. Students can also post research work on social media platforms to educate other students on a particular topic.

Boosts self-esteem

Social media is a place where teens can freely express themselves. They join groups and fan pages that they are interested in and which reflect their unique personality. This empowers them and makes them know that their opinion counts. Their confidence online is also transferred to their physical lives where they can pursue their passions to the fullest.

Assists in securing jobs

There are various jobs posted and applied for using social media. Teens can find part-time, full time, volunteer positions, internships or contract jobs easily. It also provides users with the ability to create a unique profile of skills and interests. Social media allows teenagers to have access to new job opportunities, especially in their locality or city.

Keep up-to-date with new technology

In this age of rapid technological advancements, social media helps children keep up with the changing trends in technology. This is because most businesses now have social media presence and whenever a new technology comes in, it’s first updated here.

Cons of Social Media

Exposed to cyberbullying

Cyberbullying and cruel comments are the negative aspects of social media, especially for teenagers. It gives a platform for cyberbullies to taunt and bully others. Due to the huge level of networking offered by social media, cyberbullying moves from bad to worse in a matter of days causing long-lasting pain.

Decrease in productivity

Social media platforms are very engaging that leads teenagers to spend a lot of time on them. Due to this, they neglect their school work, don’t participate in extra-curricular activities, and don’t interact with family and friends in person. This reduces their productivity levels. They may end up being addicted to social media.

Leads to disclosing too much information

Social media has a way of making teens disclose a lot of personal information that they would not disclose face to face. By giving out too much information, for example about where one lives, where they go to school and other personal details, the teen could unintentionally make it easier for people to harm them.

Isolation

Teens can become a target of prejudice from their fellow teens. This can make them feel isolated and lonely. The situation is made worse when teenagers carry on with their online attitudes even when they are interacting face to face.

Destroy social skills

Teenagers spend a lot of time interacting in the virtual world of social media. This affects the face to face communication and social skills. Knowing where to hold our hands and what kinds of facial expressions to hold is something that comes with face-to-face interactions and children interacting more on social media lose those skills.

Part 4: Signs that Someone May Be At Risk Of Having Social Media Addiction

If you are a concerned parent, there are signs to watch out for that your teen is a social media addict.

• They want constant access to social media
• Share everything on social media
• Spend more than 4 hours a day on social media
• Stressed or upset when getting no likes, shares or comments
• Stalk other users
• Always irritated
• Don’t understand real-world consequences
• Wake up in the middle of the night to check posts

If you find these signs in your child, don’t worry, FamiSafe app can help curb social media addiction.

Part 5: What can FamiSafe do If Your Kids Have Social Media Addiction?

FamiSafe is a parental control app to keep tabs on how much time your kids can use social media and other apps.

It helps you keep kids safe from the dangers of social media. Let’s see how.

App Blocker – FamiSafe app blocker feature allows parents to block distractive apps like social media and games. The apps can be blocked at bedtime or study time and certain places. Also, it gives you an instant notification, if your teen tries to access the blocked app.

Screen Time Control – It allows you to block access to all third-party apps with just one click. Easily set screen time limits and ensure that they do not use social media during study or sleep time. You also, get a report on how long your kids use their device.

Detect Text on Social Media – This feature gives you instant notifications whenever suspicious words are used or send in your kid’s WhatsApp, SMS, and social media. Customize the list of offensive words and get real-time alerts to signs of cyberbullying, sexting, online predators, suicide or depression.

Smart Schedule – This feature gives parents more flexibility to control their child’s device. It helps discipline your child. Easily create a schedule when they can and cannot use social media platforms. For example, you can create a schedule for studying from 3 pm to 6 pm, then sleeping time from 10 am to 7 am. During this time, all the apps will be disabled and your child can not access them.

These powerful FamiSafe features help you give more control over how your children use their devices and have access to social media. Thus helping them get out of social media addiction and lead a happy, healthy life.

Part 6: Conclusion

Young teenagers today have a heavy infatuation with social media apps. They spend many hours texting their friends or in some cases, unknown people, make calls, browse their friend's social media accounts, or stalk them from the morning and until the end of their device’s battery. This social media addiction has negative effects on their lives. We parents, need to protect our children from the negative consequences using the FamiSafe parental control app.