Somehow, we can all admit that it's far too easy to spend hours a day on our smartphones, checking and re-checking our social media apps, and making sure we're constantly caught up with all the newest posts. Whether or not we want to admit it to ourselves, social media is an addiction. Seeing what others are doing, saying, and posting, as well as updating our own profiles, becomes a habit that's hard to kick. So why are we always refreshing, scrolling, and posting? What makes social media so addictive?
For some, it feeds the ego. Updating profile pictures and keeping an Instagram theme can easily make users obsessed with their own outward appearances. I know for me personally, I always check the way my profiles look to others to make sure I'm pleased with these representations of myself – a concept that is, of course, ridiculous. People cling to these false representations of themselves, finding comfort in the idea that if their social media profiles look appealing, their lives must be in order. Users obsess with record "likes" and "follower" counts that they sometimes neglect to remember that these numbers have no real meaning. It becomes an uncompromisable obsession.
For others, social media keeps the mind busy. In this day and age, most of us find it impossibly uncomfortable to sit and wait without scrolling through our phones to make sure we're constantly busy. Social media busies the wandering mind and having that kind of distraction constantly in our back pockets has become a type of comfort to us. Waiting for a coffee order or the bus is no longer a time to people watch or enjoy the view, but to check Twitter or post another Facebook status.
Social media also comforts users in that it provides a type of company. Even if you're alone, you don't feel like you are because you're watching Snapchat stories from across the world and reading people's thoughts on Twitter. Of course there's also direct messaging on most social media apps, making sure conversations are constantly flowing even if no substantial thoughts are being shared. It allows us to stay close to those we don't see often and become even closer to those we do. I personally can't imagine a world where I go home and don't communicate with anyone outside my house until I leave again. The world has changed, and social media connects us in a way that is addicting.
Social media makes us informed of the world around us and brings society together as a whole. The addiction to social media, as its core, represents what makes us all human. We all want to feel comfort, avoid loneliness, and be accepted by others. It makes sense that these apps on our smartphones are constantly in use when they're feeding our human desires. As long as we are mindful of our usage of these apps and do not allow ourselves to become immersed in the digital world, our connection to social media is absolutely human nature.
