Time to Logout and Regain Brain Cells
Emotional Issues
We've all indulged in some sort of social media site, online gaming or binge watching a television show. Society finds comfort in the conveniences of electronics and demands more devices to make their lives easier and more entertaining. However, if you were to stop and think about the supply and demand effect. You'd find a vicious cycle quietly moving behind the screen and wreaking havoc on your emotional and mental state. With the cycle in full swing, most people in today's society are suffering from Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU). For every text looked at, Facebook and Twitter post like, or knowing details about a tv series adds to the problem by perpetuation. The brain fills with a chemical dopamine similar to an alcohol or drug addict. With the importance of knowing specific details about a tv series, the need to have TikTok or Twitter followers, or having to have precedence being the addictive substances. The need to be noticeable is exponentially rising. Everywhere you look or go is a trigger, a potential TikTok or Snapchat moment adding unnecessary pressure and stress to yourself by judging own self-worth on the amount of "Likes" you've accumulated.
First Stage:
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Salience
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Second Stage:
Mood Modification
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Society has plugged themselves into the cyber-world through social media and are attaching their emotions to every click of a button, word read, and image seen. Whether it's using Facebook to cope and vent, Twitter for most current gossip, or TikTok for popularity. The difference in emotional states widely vary. A person could be feeling anxious and stressed about a current TikTok post. After a few hours they check their account to find it's quite popular, sending an endorphin rush of excitement and happiness throughout their brain. Shortly after glancing through some comments, they come across one that's devastating and crushes the rush dead in its tracks. Now sad, lonely and becoming depressed. The only thought that comes to mind is condolence and reassurance. So, indulging in another social site to seek sympathy and self-assurance begins. All those emotions in such a condensed and intense nature puts strain on your nervous system making your body produce a chemical reaction for each emotion experienced which inflicts damage to organs and causes mental illness.
Every person has a breaking point. It varies from person to person, but they all have something in common. The willingness to suffer emotional and mental turmoil for a moment of instant gratification. Some people can withstand a great deal of criticism and degrading while others get their feelings hurt by an outfit another person has on. As the push from society for more online interactions increases, so does the stress, pressure and obligation on millions who suffer from social anxiety. Increased online interactions will lead directly to more exposure to online harassment, sexting, fatigue, cyber-bullying, and emotional suppression. Leaving even the strongest will powered people doubting themselves and seeking condolences, sympathy or professional help to deal with the relentless torture endured from social media outlets.
Third Stage:
Tolerance
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Fourth Stage
Withdrawal
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How many times have you checked your phone? because you could've sworn you heard and/or felt it vibrate. That's known as Phantom Vibration Syndrome (PVS). One contributing factor to PVS is dependency. The amount of time spent relying on our phones to think for us, provide us with entertainment, instant gratification and satisfaction. Withdrawal symptoms aren't necessarily on the physical range like an alcoholic, they're mainly psychological. Some psychological symptoms are depression, loneliness, rage, anxiety, isolation and more. We've all worked in or been in a no phones allowed area but how many actually put their phones away? Ones who couldn't leave their phones alone for a few hours experience a wave of withdrawal symptoms. As the need to check for messages or news updates grows so does becoming defensive and flustered as time passes until they're able to reunite with their phone. However, phones are only one source of the problem. Computers, video games, movies, tv shows, podcasts. Any one or a combination of a few could be toying with your emotions and destroying your self-esteem.
Do you remember the heavy breathing, accelerated heartbeat, clammy damp palms, or eyesight going slightly blurred? As you're responding online to whatever set you off in the first place. Those endorphins rampaging throughout your brain and body are the culprit behind it all. They're the same endorphins thriller seekers look for skydiving, bungee jumping, or best example are military personnel. War is a drug due to the correlative nature of conflict and adrenals. More conflict means more adrenaline output. Like any other substance abuse case. The longer a person is subjected to a substance the more they'll crave or have to have it especially when excitement, thrill and adrenals skyrocket. Since humans, like any other species are naturally competitive, it's easy to slip into a conflictive state. The frequency in which a person enters into a conflict relies on their emotional stability. Are they lashing out because they feel left out or not the center of attention? Are they trying to bring others down to join in their misery? How about feeling pressured into something they want no part of. The possibilities of why are exponential. One sad truth is most people start a conflict due to boredom, feeling isolated, or feel they're superior and it's just a game to them toying with others emotional state. A more common conflict seen are relationship dilemmas broadcasted online inciting others to join in the conflictive debate. As we navigate through the cyber-world conflict is as simple as a click of a button, but the amount of conflict varies depending on the people viewing things from the other side. One thing to keep in mind is your mental status and emotional state. How are you feeling, why, what's the potential outcome if you respond to a conflict? What's the backlash going to be, and can you withstand the pressure it brings? Tread cautiously and be aware of your overall emotional and mental states.
Fifth
Stage
Conflict
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Sixth Stage
Relapse
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We've all experienced a relapse in some form or another. Whether it's a failed lifestyle change, diet, learning something new or dealing with drugs. Online and social media are no exceptions. Millions of people in society try to limit the use of online apps or social media but end up relapsing due to the mental stress and emotional issues they're overwhelmed with. As an individual tries to navigate away from the cyber community, they're faced with triggers and temptation wherever they go. From the radio, billboards, millions of people walking around with phones, blu-tooth headphones or electronic gizmos. The individual is stressed and feels obligated to dive back into the online surf. Only to get sucked back into the mental issues of dependency, depression, and anxiety. This state of mind fuels the turmoil brewing beneath the surface until the day comes when they'll erupt like Mt. Saint Helens. Online and social media use needs to be checked and limited in order to become healthier emotionally and mentally.