Are You Addicted to Facebook?
understatement. But is the overuse of so- cial networking sites like Facebook on par with the use of physically addictive and/ or mind-altering substances? In a trend that shows no signs of slow- ing, the number of people who use social media has experienced a meteoric rise from just under a billion worldwide users in 2010, to more than 3 billion estimated users by 2021. With nearly 2.2 billion ac- tive users each month, Facebook leads the pack as the social networking site (SNS) where we’re spending the bulk of our time online.
W
hen describing the cultural impact of social media, to call it “phenomenal” would be an
Not only are more people using social
networking sites, we’re also spending in- creasing amounts of time each day liking, commenting, and sharing our lives online. Don’t assume that this is only a fad amongst young people: since 2012, adults are spending 50% more time on Facebook each day. An adult in the U.S. uses Face- book for an average of 135 minutes per day, equating to nearly 16 hours—that’s two full workdays—per week. What ac- counts for the magnetism people young and old, feel for social media?
Social Engineering Let’s break it down into parts. Social— our inherent human need to connect.
MARSHALL C. FREEMAN, MD Specializing in the diagnosis
and management of complicated
headaches. We are dedicated to helping patients treat their headaches and return to normal activities.
BOTOX • Clinical Trials
1414 Yanceyville Street • Greensboro, NC 27405 336.574.8000
26
www.HeadacheWellnessCenter.com NaturalTriad.com
Media—today, media is essentially, digital information. It comes in many forms: ar- ticles, photos, videos, infographics, to name just some of the media types we are routinely exposed to on social networking sites. So far, it doesn’t sound all that sinis- ter, right? This is the part that should prick ev-
eryone’s ears. The delivery of articles, ads, and even your friends' posts,
is called
“serving content.” This content is designed to stimulate our sense of connection, or opposition, with the world around us. Marketers know what keeps us up at night, and they know what we are (Google) searching for. The exact content that YOU are getting served is determined by com- plex, proprietary algorithms, and code that adapts to nearly every online action that you take. One thing is certain: you are being served content that is specifically curated to get your attention. Sure, it’s ad- dictive. It’s designed to be that way. We live in a time when many people feel socially insecure. “FOMO,” the “fear of missing out,” is a known motivator, especially among younger users of social media, that keeps them in a state of ha- bitually checking social accounts for status updates, responses to posts, reactions to shares. For some, the ability to Like, Share, and Comment on Friend’s musings pro-
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
