Essay on The Impact of Obsession with Social Network

Social media has become an important part of modern life, and it seems that the modern lifestyle is incomplete without the essence of social media. How important it has become for societies all around the world, it can be figured out by looking at the latest facts and figures. According to the “Global Digital Report” issued in 2019, 4.388 billion people are using the internet worldwide, whereas out of this number, 3.484 billion people are using social media platforms. The report has also revealed that the percentage in terms of increasing the number of social media users is 9% per year, and this number is increasing with the passage of time. It shows the importance as well as the large scale social media in modern society, where people are used to these platforms because the number of smartphone users is also increasing. The report has also revealed that when mobile social media users were analyzed, the number was 3.256 billion people. It shows that social media is penetrating all over the world (Chaffey, 2019). There could be various pros and cons of using social media, but one of its primary negative impacts is its obsession. People get addicted to the use of social media, which isolates them from society.

            It is a fact that when social media is evaluated with regards to the modern lifestyle, the people are chained to it in so many ways. There are various benefits of social media and they are good for individuals as well as society, but things are getting worrisome with regards to its obsession and addiction. The overindulgence of social media is causing problems for individual users as well as for society as a whole. It has been observed that low productivity at the workplace has been linked with obsessive use of social media. The social media addiction is affecting the lives of people in so many different ways (Mendys, 2019). The experts such as psychologists and doctors have contributed to various studies to know why social media is an addiction, and how one would know that he/she has the obsession of social media. They have talked about different factors such as people use social media so that they can alter their mood. People tend to get information on the harmful consequences of social media but still, they continue to use it. The people addicted to social media become socially isolated because they minimize their social activities, and they are tied with social media all the time. The obsession and addiction to social media are evident when people are not able to limit their social media use. This thing really diverts focus from almost everything, making people unproductive in all aspects (Parker, 2019)

            Furthermore, the use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Whatsapp etc is increasing with each passing day, and this trend is likely to continue in the future as well. It has been observed that social media obsession is linked with anxiety. A study has found that 20% of people using social media in their daily lives, cannot stay away from it for more than 3 hours, it shows the level of addiction and obsession. So, this obsession is now being referred to as social media anxiety disorder, like people have other anxiety disorders. The people with its obsession are found antisocial as they don’t like to mingle with friends and family, rather they are always found with their smartphones using social media. The bad thing about this obsession is not only being antisocial, but people are also getting mental health issues with its overindulgence. Once this obsession controls people, it gets impossible for them to get out of this obsession (Fader, 2018)

            It has been found that use of social media with its obsession is really having a negative impact on teenagers. The experts have found that kids with social media addiction and obsession are showing more anxiety in their behavior, and it is also lowering their self esteem. This kind of information is a big concern for parents because they certainly want to see their children growing with anxiety. The Royal Society for Public Health has conducted a recent survey to ask about impact of social media on young people ranging the age bracket of 14 to 24 years old. The answers taken from young people revealed that use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram were related to increase the level of depression, loneliness, and anxiety. The kids are also facing other negative impacts like cyberbullying and harassment, which is another major factor to put negative effects on their individual. If kids will not be stopped from this obsession of social media, then things will turn out to be more dangerous in the future (Ehmke, 2019)

            Social media has been a worry not only for parents, but for teenagers as well. It has been observed that use of social media is increasing in teenagers, making an impact on every aspect of their lives. A recent study has revealed that teenagers strongly believe that social media is putting a negative impact on them, and it is getting them worried. More than 2/3 teenagers believe that social media is a big worry for them, as social media platforms are manipulating them to get addicted to it. However, there are almost 40% of teenagers, who also feel that social media is helping them to form new relationships as well as strengthening existing relationships (Gonzalez, 2018). The researchers have been conducting various research studies to dig out more about addiction and obsession with social media, having a negative impact on people. A study was conducted to see the relationship between academic performance and the mental health of college students. The survey results proved if different interventions were used to lower the use of social media in these college students, the significant improvement was noticed in their academic performance as well as mental health. It shows that mental health, as well as the academic performance of college students, is negatively affected by the obsession with social media (Hou, Xiong, Jiang, Song, & Wang, 2019)

            It is important to mention here that obsession and addiction of social media is not harming only young people, but it is also having negative impact on married people. The psychologists as well as Sociologists have been trying to explore the social networking impact on real-world relationships. A report issued by the Wall Street Journal that out of every five marriages, one is ruined by social media platforms such as Facebook. There are researchers who have researched this topic and found that social relationships such as marriage are being affected by social media. That’s why use of internet and social media has been given a new term as “Internet Addiction Disorder” (Walker, 2019). A study was conducted to dig out the relationship between poor academic performance and use of social media in Iranian students studying medical sciences. The results of the study after collecting data were compiled, which shows that students were found obsessed with social media, and their obsession to social media has negative impact on their academic performance, which established a significant relationship between poor performances in studies with use of social media. It is another evidence from the real world that impact of social networks obsession is negative ad harmful in so many ways, and if adequate measures will not be taken, then situation can get even worse (Azizi, Soroush, & Khatony, 2019)

            After looking at different facts and figures about social networks and their use in daily life, it can be concluded that things are raising various concerns, because social media use is having so many negative impacts on lives of people from all age brackets. The kids, teenagers, young people as well as married couples have been found obsessed with social media and this excessive use is making them antisocial. The people are also observing issues in making new real-world relationships; rather they are focusing on making friends on social media networks. It means that their interest with family and friends is decreasing with the passage of time. All stakeholders must look at this obsession of social media more seriously to combat with this issue.

References of The Impact of Obsession with Social Network

Azizi, S. M., Soroush, A., & Khatony, A. (2019). The relationship between social networking addiction and academic performance in Iranian students of medical sciences: a cross-sectional study. BMC Psychhology .

Chaffey, D. (2019). Global social media research summary 2019. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

Ehmke, R. (2019). How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/

Fader, S. (2018). Social Media Obsession and Anxiety. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://adaa.org/social-media-obsession

Gonzalez, G. (2018). Social Media Obsession Worries Teenagers, Study Finds. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://www.inc.com/guadalupe-gonzalez/social-media-teenagers-facebook-instagram-twitter.html

Hou, Y., Xiong, D., Jiang, T., Song, L., & Wang, Q. (2019). Social media addiction: Its impact, mediation, and intervention. yberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace , 13 (1).

Mendys, J. (2019). Social Media, Socially Crippling - Are You Obsessed With Social Media? Retrieved October 14, 2019, from http://www.techaddiction.ca/obsessed-with-social-media.html

Parker, E. (2019). WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND ITS EFFECT TO PEOPLE. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://thedigitalrenewal.com/effects-of-social-media-addiction/

Walker, L. (2019). What Is Social Networking Addiction? Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-social-networking-addiction-2655246