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Social media is addictive precisely because it gives us something which the real world lacks: it gives us immediacy, direction, a sense of clarity and value as an individual.

― David Amerland,
The Social Media Mind: How social media how social media is changing business, politics and science and helps create a new world order.

"Do I believe that people can be so engrossed in social media that they neglect everything else in their life?” he asks. “I do think it can be potentially addictive."

― Mark Griffiths,
Nottingham Trent University

"Social networks are massively addictive. Most people I know check and interact on social sites constantly throughout the day. And they have no idea how much actual time they spend on social media."

― Mike Elgan,
Contributing Columnist, Computerworld

"Most of the major social network companies, as well as social content creators, are working hard every day to make their networks so addictive that you can't resist them."

― Mike Elgan,
Contributing Columnist, Computerworld

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These days, everyone seems to be on social media. You can connect with your friends, family, and even develop meaningful relationships with people that you may never actually meet face to face. Social Media platforms now offer everything we need to connect with one another (and more) for free...to everyone throughout the world. This unprecedented human network has affected our world in ways never thought possible, but are there drawbacks to this level of connectivity? Through videos, statistics, interviews, and a rolling conversation, we seek to examine the concept of Social Media Addiction.

interviews

Social Media Addiction can affect anyone. We interviewed real people to find out their feelings on social media addiction, as well as their own social media usage habits.

daily social media use

Social Media usage has become a daily habit for a majority of people worldwide, and daily usage rates have steadily risen over the past 15 years (and continue to rise). Is this constant increase just a symptom of how dependent we are on technology in modern times? Or is it a sign of a growing social media addiction worldwide?

learn more and share your thoughts

Social Media Addiction is an important topic in today's society. Recently, there have been many stories published about excessive social media use and its affect on emotions. We are also now seeing the maturation of the first generation that has lived with the Internet all their lives. Social Media has become undeniably tied into our day to day lives, but where will it end? Will we see the usage trends continue to climb? And if so, what affect will all that time spent on social media have on us as people, on our society, and on our abilities to interact with one another.

We urge you to review the videos below and learn more about Social Media Addiction, then, share your thoughts about social media addiction on Twitter using the hashtag #SocialMediaAddiction, and follow the conversation below.

learn more

View the selection of videos below to learn more about social media addiction and the effects it has on individuals, and on society.