Need to know
I have researched technology use and its pitfalls for close to 20 years and, in that time, the use of social media has developed in ways I never would have imagined. With smartphones and tablets always an arm’s length away, the boundaries between our private and public lives have become increasingly blurred. The kitchen table has become a place for networking on LinkedIn. Movie time has become a chance to check your Instagram feed. For some – and perhaps for you – it feels as if social media is taking over their lives; they want to reduce, or make better use of, the time they spend on social sites and apps. It is estimated that the billions of people around the world who use social media spend an average of 145 minutes on it per day – amounting to an astonishing total of 5.7 years across an average lifespan.
This heavy usage, as many now know, can have downsides for a person’s wellbeing. Work by my colleagues and me, and by other researchers, indicates that increased social media use comes with the potential risks of increased anxiety and depression and decreased life satisfaction. In our research at Nottingham Trent University, we have also found that, for a small minority of people, social media use is associated with experiencing the symptoms of an addiction. When excessive use leads to significant problems and interferes with daily functioning, a person might benefit from the support of a trained professional. Yet many other users will experience some of these symptoms, to a degree:
- repeatedly thinking about the next time you can use social media
- using social media to make you feel better in the moment, perhaps allowing you to escape your daily problems
- increasing the time spent on social media in order to experience the same pleasurable effect that you felt initially
- experiencing unpleasant feelings due to not being online, such as irritation, anxiety, headaches or heart palpitations
- for some heavy users, periods of abstinence are followed by a return (or relapse) to the problematic behaviour
- internal conflict – you are aware there is a problem, but feel that you cannot stop yourself – or interpersonal conflict with family, friends or others. One example of the latter is ‘phubbing’, the act of snubbing someone by using your phone when you’re with them.
For most people, experiencing just a few of these does not reflect an addiction to social media. However, the behaviour may still be problematic, in one or more of these ways, to the extent that it’s worth putting in place good strategies to tackle it. And there are various other reasons your social media use might be troubling you. Many users find that inordinate amounts of scrolling through social media feeds leaves limited time for other pursuits, such as offline meetups with friends. Frequent social media use can involve regular ‘doomscrolling’ – excessively looking over negative content, such as distressing news. Habitual social media sessions before bed can interfere with falling asleep. Social media can also lead you to make unfavourable and harmful comparisons between yourself and others. Our research has shown that the use of Instagram, for instance, can be particularly problematic as it has been associated with body image dissatisfaction as well as feelings of depression, anxiety and signs of addiction.
If you’ve had some of these difficulties yourself, you might be wondering what to do about them, or whether you should quit social media entirely. But you probably don’t need to go ‘cold turkey’: there are ways you can take more control and use social media with greater intention. In light of my research on technology use and the problems it can cause, I have compiled a list of tips on how to be more mindful about your use of social media – some of which I have tried to apply in my own life as well.