Take a good look at your phone. What is the first thing you see? Is it Facebook? How about Twitter? Snapchat, even? We, in our day in age, thrive off of social media. Keeping us connected globally and socially. But what happens mentally with us when we go into Instagram and we get all the notifications, or the lack of notifications on our pictures?
I have a feeling that our lives are subconsciously based upon this distorted reality that the amount of likes on our pictures, or the amount of retweets we get from one of our posts is based and is a reflection of our mental stability and our happiness. Here are three signs to look for if you fear your life is like this;
The first sign is pretty straight forward; Do you spend more than the life of your phone battery on social media, or with your phone going? I say this because more so than not, is this a straight connection to the amount of time you are on certain applications as they drain your battery faster than others. I have seen people drain their phone battery, plug it in and continue to use their phone while it is trying to charge. I have also seen people carry around a small portable charger pack to give them the ability to charge their phone while they are away from outlets, etc.
The second sign is a bit harder to realize but it is still common for Social Media junkies, and that is the need to always have your phone in your hand. Sometimes you just don’t realize that it’s in your hand but you’ve gotten so used to holding your mobile device that it has become part of you. You go to do something, realize your phone is in your hand, and it triggers you to check your phone. This is also a correlation with the ghost vibrations we get in our leg, or our side as if our phone vibrated (because let’s be honest- we all have our phones on vibrate) We go check our phone, realize we actually have no messages but then continue into an application as if there might have been a notification.
The last sign that would prove you are a Social Media junkie is if you constantly talk about social media when you are with a group of people. The way I see it is if you saw it on Facebook, guaranteed everyone else saw it, or saw a rendition of it from someone else. If we are constantly talking about the latest thing on Facebook or what Zac Efron posted on Instagram, we are inviting those around us to part take in the addition that you have.
I can say with honesty, and regret, that I am a Social Media junkie. I love to know about the inside stuff, and I have approximately four to six applications going on my phone. I am not trying to reason with my addiction but if I look at what I could be doing verses what I am doing, it could be a lot worse.
What do you think? Is the craze for Social Media gone too far? What are some ways you use to regulate how much you spend on Social Media?