Hi. My name is Lindsay and I’m addicted to social media. I have a personal Facebook page, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram that I check on a regular basis. I check it every hour or less every day whenever I get the chance.
My personal feed isn’t the only channel that I manage though, and that can be a scary thought. I manage all Argonaut social platforms. Altogether, eight different social platforms take up space in my brain every single day.
I’ve always been an advocate of social media — it is literally my job. But, I know how problematic it can become.
Lindsay Trombly | Argonaut
Social media isn’t good for your body. When you check your social feed too much, your brain sets off a chemical reaction that acts similar to a cocaine addiction, according to one CBS News article.
I can’t stop myself when I scroll through my feed for hours at a time. I have a real problem, and I know others have this too. Social media addiction is a real thing, and it should be more heavily addressed in society.
Technological advancements are rapidly increasing, and new apps are created every day. It’s taking over our lives, and we need to be more careful about how frequently we use it. For some people, though, it’s their livelihood. Social media has become a career — the kind of career that takes 24 hours of your day, not just the usual eight.
Social media has been an outlet for jobs everywhere, especially in the marketing industry. Businesses use social media platforms to advertise their products, or organization as a way to pinpoint target customers and keep track of them. When I worked at Albertsons Companies during the summer I saw how they use social media to grab their customers attention and get them into the store. Employees get paid to create posts on social media platforms, just like how I post on the Argonaut’s pages.
Even individuals make money without being a part of a large corporation through social media. The Kardashians make money just by clicking “post” and reaching millions of followers.
Social media can produce positives because it benefits society in ways that we normally don’t consider. The unhealthy mindset and addiction surrounding social media is its largest pitfall.
Social media is a very complicated issue to talk about, but I think it’s something that we should think about more often.
Remember when everyone was worried about the addiction to texting or the average cell phone? Social media addiction and cellphone usage go hand and hand. We have become dependent on our phones, and checking social media.
When I broke my phone during the summer I had a difficult time going weeks without it, and I had an even harder time not being able to check social media constantly throughout the day.
I’m a social media addict, and that is something that I deal with on a daily basis. This habit isn’t going away anytime soon, but hopefully, the effects will die down gradually with continued thought.
Lindsay Trombly can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @lindsay_trombly