I.

SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND ITS

EFFECTS IN OUR MENTAL HEALTH

INTRODUCTION:

For the past few years gadgets such as mobile phones had become part of our daily life. This

gadget is intended for communication from people who are from far areas. As years pass by

social media was made. It makes better communication for people in communication it has chat

box or group chat box and video call. Indeed social media benefits us in many different ways, but

as time flies by we had been spending more time on using it and did not notice that it affects us

more than how we can imagine

Every people nowadays have their own social media account not just for communication and

information but also for happiness and satisfaction reason. They can easily communicate or chat

with each other through social media. They can also post what they want and share what they

want and share what they want. They can react or comment on somebody’s post or simply liking

others post.

Through many benefits social media can give to us, there is still many consequences of using it.

Spending more time with social media if not manage properly may cause addiction to the users.

Nowadays it is very alarming that most of the social media users experience social media

addiction and did not know how to cope from it. But Social media addiction can be cure if a

certain person wants to try to help himself/herself first.

 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research will be a great help for people who are suffering from social media

addiction. This will serves as a guide for them who are spending most of their time to

social media. Our study will include the negative effects and mental disorders caused by

social media addiction. This research will also help them how to respond or treat social

media addition especially by limiting their time on using it .we will also discuss how a

certain person becomes a social media addict.

SCOPES AND LIMITATIONS

Our research will focus on social media addiction hence most of our gathered information

will be coming from the different people who are using social media or experiencing

social media addiction. People from school, work and community will serves as our

correspondents regarding our topic: Social media addiction and its effects in our mental

health. Limiting our topic and focusing on the effects of social media which is

ADDICTION.
 DEFINITION

Social media addiction often refers to a person who totally spend most of his time

on using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

According to wisdumpost.com “Addiction simply means a compulsive behavior that

leads to negative effects. And in this case, social media addiction is referring to someone

who has a compulsive use of social media”.

Example of social media addict is a person who stays in social media for a longer time

and is constantly checking for new notifications and monitoring the like and shares of

his/her photo can get.

According to netaddiction.com “Social Media Addiction is not a formal clinical

diagnosis, it is fair to say that many people spend far too much time on social media and

may at the very least describe themselves as being “obsessed”, if not addicted”.

According to lifewire.com “Social networking addiction is a phrase sometimes used to

refer to someone spending too much time using Facebook, Twitter and other forms

of social media -- so much so that it interferes with other aspects of daily life. There's no

official medical recognition of social networking addiction as a disease or disorder. Still,

the cluster of behaviors associated with heavy or excessive use of social media has

become the subject of much discussion and research”.

II. SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION

A.CAUSES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION

Just like any addictive things in this world, social media seems harmless and only its beneficial

effects are visible to the eyes of the people who use it.

There is so many ways social media can cause addiction. Here are the following examples:

 Gives an excitement

Just like in facebook when you see notifications that someone has currently reacted to your photo,

it gives you n excitement and stay for a longer period of time in your social media to see for

people who will like, react or give you notification.

 Way to escape from something

Some people make use of social media as a way of excuse from something they don’t want to do

or attend such as doing household chores or from the loud voice of your parent when scolding

you.

It is also a way of excuse from facing problems in real life.

  For communication

Generally most of the people who are using social media are for communication purpose

and they want to be connected from a person who is far away from them by chatting or

checking its recent post on social media sites.

 Sense of belongingness

Some people who are introvert or most of the time are lonely in real word and it

seems that the only to seek sense of belongingness is in the social media world.

He/she may find fiends or joining any groups on social media.

 Past time

People from works or school when they have their vacant time, they started to open their

social media account and started browsing into their newsfeed and gets different

information that make their eagerness to get more of it .that is the reason users want to

stay to social media for a longer period of time.

 Peer pressure

Most of us now have their own social media account. when we know someone who is not

yet using social media, we pressure them to have their own and trigger them to be pressure

of being left behind.wen that person uses social media for the first time he will become

addicted to it.

 Required

in some certain works and schools their employee or students is required to have

their own account for communication and identity purposes that will bring the

employee or student to social media addiction.

B.EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION

There is so many effects social media can give to us and most of the time only its

beneficial side is visible to the eyes of the users. Its negative impact to our mental are

listed below:

 Loss of sleep

Social media addict can stay up to midnight just to check and chat with social

media friends even if it will cause them loss of sleep.

According to Joshel Gonzales,a grade 12 student “social media caused me loss

of sleep that there’s a time that I go to school with just an hour of sleep”.

 Stress

Browsing and reading too much information in social media may cause you to over think

and can cause stress

According to the wisdompost.com “Every time your brain thinks you use your will power

and energy, And when you spend most of your time on social media, you are spending

your energy there. Instead of using your downtime to rest, you use it to check updates on

social media. As a result your brain uses the energy to process information and stresses

you out”.
 Distraction

People cannot focus properly if preferred to focus on two things that is unbalance just

like social media and your studies you can’t focus on the two if you are spending more

time with social media and likely to cause distraction in your studies

 Comparing your life with others

Browsing all through the day in Social Media and looking at others post on Social Media

especially to those who are successful may create a feeling of envy to the person looking

at the post trying to compare his/her life to what is posted in Social Media.

 Fear of Missing out

Spending so much time to Social Media makes a person addicted. Browsing in social

media and getting information of what is new or what is in trend. A person was a

tendency to check or Monitor of what’s new or in trend such as new outfits for new

words.

 Conflict with relationships

Too much attention on social media can cause conflict with your relationship such as

friends and family. Conflict with loss of productivity or focus on studies.

 Less productivity

A person who is spending more time on social media than his work assigned to him/her

will likely to cause to drop in productivity he/she will think that it’s right to stay on social

media for long period of time because it gives him/her happiness

 Establishing a False Social Communication

Many people think that more friends on social media means that they are friendly or have

too much interactions with people.

This gives us a false hope that we have gain confidence by talking more on with social

media rather than in personal.

MENTAL DISORDERS CAUSED BY SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION

According to blog degreed .com “there are mental disorders caused by social media

addiction “

Below are some of given example:

 Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders are the most common types of mental illness.

The individual has a severe fear or anxiety, which is linked to certain objects or

situations.

Most people with an anxiety disorder will try to avoid exposure to whatever

triggers their anxiety.

Examples of anxiety disorders include:

 Panic disorder

-the person experiences sudden paralyzing terror or a sense of imminent disaster.

Phobias of others), and agoraphobia (dread of situations where getting away or

breaking free may be difficult).We really do not know how many phobias there

are- there could be thousand of types.

 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

-the person has obsessions and compulsions. In other words, constant stressful

thoughts (obsessions), and a powerful urge t perform repetitive acts, such as hand

washing (compulsion).
  Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

-This can occur after somebody has been through a traumatic event – something

horrible or frightening that they experienced or witnessed. During this type of

event, the person thinks that their life or other people’s lives are in danger. They

may feel afraid or feel that they have no control over what is happening

 Mood disorders

These are also known as affective disorders or depressive disorders. Patients with

these conditions have significant changes in mood, generally involving either

mania (elation) or depression. Examples of mood disorders include:

Major depression-the individual is no longer interested in and does not enjoy

activities and events that they previously liked. There are extreme or prolonged

periods of sadness.
  Bipolar disorder

-previously known as manic-depressive illness, or manic depression. The

individual switches from episodes of euphoria (mania) to depression (despair).

Persistent depressive disorder – previously known as dysthymia, this is mild

chronic (long term) depression. The patient has similar symptoms to major

depression but to a lesser extent.

 Schizophrenia disorders

Whether or not is a single disorder or a group of related illnesses has yet to be

fully determined. It is a highly complex condition. Schizophrenia normally begins

between the ages of 15 and 25. The individual has thoughts that appear

fragmented; they also find it hard to process information.

Schizophrenia has negative and positive symptoms. Positive symptoms include

delusions, thought disorders, and hallucinations. Negative symptoms include

withdrawal, lack of motivation, and a flat or inappropriate mood

  SAD (seasonal affective disorder)

A type of major depression that is triggered by lack of daylight. It is most common

in countries far from the equator during late autumn, winter, and early spring.

Seasonal affective disorder is a type of depression that occurs in the winter in

countries that are far from the equator.

 III. INDICATORS OR SYMPTOMS OF SOCIAL

MEDIA ADDICTION

 Social media is the first thing you do in the morning

Every social media addict will likely to start their day checking notifications or browsing

in their newsfeed. The person feels he/she has to be updated in the happenings anytime in

social media.

 Wasting time on browsing in social media

One thing that makes people less productive is wasting their time in nonsense things.

Looking at memes or watching a video of dancing animals in social media sites can be a

form of entertainment but in reality it’s just a waste of time.

 Posting every photos you take

Have you tried to get a photo of every meal you take and immediately posting it on social

media with a certain caption, it’s a sign of social media addiction.

 Unfinished standard tasks

Too much focus on social media sites may cause you to forget to finish some tasks

resulting from unfinished chores, if this will happen to you it’s a sign that you are a social

media addict.
  You used to compare

If you use to compare your social media account content with the others it might be a

sign or indicator of social media addiction.

 Forgot necessary things

If you are an addict and only focus on social media you have a tendency to forget

necessary things and will caused you to regret.

According to Robin nedal, a product presentor “I uses social media and forgot

necessary things to do”

 Presence on all social network

A certain person is truly addicted when he/she has more than three social media accounts

just to get busy of himself/herself and surfing on social media sites.

 You become a loner

When you don’t want to talk to anyone just to scroll on your newsfeed this might be a

serious problem for your social interaction in personal is lessened.

 Always monitoring likes and shares you received

A user of social media will be addict because on how he/she feels when he/she

receive likes and shares of his/her photo that will make him/her to assumed for

more.
 Looking for internet connection

Social media won’t work without internet connection that’s why social media

addicts are always looking for a fast internet connection, and if not get it will

caused them stress.

 Midnight wake up

Do you usually wake up at late night and start up your phone to browse in your

social media account, and then you are a social media addict.

 Feel depressed in absence of your phone

Do you always feel depressed when your phone is away from you to open up

your social media; it is a clear sign that you are a social media addict.
 IV. HOW TO STOP OR CURE SOCIAL MEDIA

ADDICTION

The rate of person who is totally addicted to social media is very alarming, and what is

more totally alarming is that they don’t know what are the ways to stop or cure social

media addiction.

Below is the list of given example on how to cure or stop social media addiction:

 Make yourself busy with other things

One person cannot focus on many things, keeping yourself busy with other things rather

than social media will caused you to totally forget it.

 Set a limitation

If you can’t really stop using social media, don’t pressure yourself and start in

moderation by limiting your time on spending with social media.

 Delete the app

If you can’t really stop yourself to use social media you can uninstall it on your phone so

there’s no need for you to use it.

  Acknowledge your addiction

A social media addict must acknowledge first his/her addiction so at least he/she must be

the one to ask for help or advice from people who suffer in the same thing on how to

overcome it.

Ask for advice:

 Ask for your pastor or spiritual leader

You can ask them on how to stop social media and they will give you tips or

advise to become spiritually safe from the harm that social media addiction can

give to you.

 Ask for your teacher

Ask for a teacher for advice on how to escape social media addiction

For a better result of understanding

 Ask for your family

Your family is the one who is with you from the start and they will give you some

advice that will benefit you and they can help you to stop social media addiction

with their guide.

 Ask for your friends

Your friends is the one who can understand you better and wont not judge you but

will give you many ways on how to solve your problem

  Use it for necessary things only

One way to stop being addict in social media is by using gadget for other things or for

necessary things only.

 Keeping away your phone

Your phone is your gateway to social media addiction, keeping away your phone from

you is keeping you away from social media addiction.

 Interacting socially with your friends

If you want to stay connected with your friends then interact with them in person so

there’s no need for you to use social media.

 V.CONCLUSION

We therefore conclude that social media addiction is very harmful to us but only its

benefits are visible to our eyes. Social media addiction is very alarming nowadays for its

high rate but there’s no need to panic for we have gathered information that will help you

as an answer to your problems.

Thus social media is not only beneficial, it also causes harmful effects that many user

addict will suffer if not manage properly. In our gathered information we presented some

medication and tips to cure or stop social media addiction. Although many people are

addicted to social media they may not know that in their selves they are actually addicted

to it. According to the result of our survey 41% of our correspondents are not sure if they

are really classified to as a social media addict.

According to our survey most of the social media addict uses facebook(78%) most of the

time than any other social media sites.

According to our survey only 35% of our correspondents is aware that social media is

harmful to them.
 A. SUMMARY

Holding your phone anywhere you go is one of the gateways to social media addiction,

making it hard for us to keep away from our own social media.

Some signs of social media addiction include spending lots of time on using it and

causing you some sleeping problems. But if you will pay attention, you have to

acknowledge your addiction to social media and be the one to help yourself first.

Later on if you can’t control yourself using your social media you can ask for advice to

your spiritual leader, family, teacher or even friends so you can cope up easily with your

problem.

Totally we will not suffer from these effects of social media addiction if it’s not our

own fault. At first we must be the one to control our own time on using it and we must

balance our time on more important things than using social media. We have to set

limitation on how many hours you will only use your social media, and for additional it

is a great help for you if you will focus on other important things so that your attention

will be focus to something else.

 B. RECOMMENDATIONS

We highly recommend this research for those people who will most need it just like

people who are suffering from social media addiction that has no idea on how he/she

can cure it.

This is a great reference for them to have, so they can immediately cope up with

regards to their problem which is social media addiction. This research does not

exclude other ages but includes all the ages who has now the capability of using social

media.
This is our group at Aplacador’s house. It is our first meeting as a group .we

discusses some important matters regarding our topic. We also start up making

our questionnaires for our survey that we need to conduct.

PROGRESS OF OUR INTERVIEW

This is our all throughout process in conducting our interview with the
different people in our community. Some of our correspondents are students,
principal’s secretary, janitor, assistant administrator, product presenter,
assistant pharmacist and religious people .

At first, we make our questions for our correspondents to answer. We also

tackled about the proper etiquette to be made when conducting a interview.
rate of answer of our correspondents if they
are social media addict

26%

41%
maybe
yes
no

33%
 most used social media sites

others

twitter

instagram

facebook

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

facebook instagram twitter others

most used social media sites 78% 7% 7% 4%

social media addicts that says social media is

beneficial and harm ful to them

35%

65% beneficial
harmful