Our fascination with social media has taught us how to avoid our fear and loneliness. We have also learned how to mask our unwanted feelings and fall deeper into the mindless activity of scrolling, liking, and commenting. We often don’t realize the countless hours we lose to our virtual addiction.

It is an endless cycle.  We post to get likes and the more we get, the more we post. As we see the notification of another like, we feel instantly rewarded.  Without even realizing it, our brains have become slot machines for neurological pleasures. Social media was not designed to make us social, but to keep us on the site, mining our data, and selling us things we most likely don’t need. Social media is a way of avoiding ourselves as we endlessly chase after affirmation and excitement from images and narratives.

In this article by Dr. David Greenfield, he explains the cycle of social media and how it has become the way we judge others. The most important thing is how do we change these habits and begin to use social media in a healthy way.

To learn more about changing your social media habits, please visit the following link.

At Lifeskills South Florida, we focus on helping patients find fulfillment from other real-time activities as well as making social connections and ultimately learn to use social media and other internet technology in a healthier and more balanced way. Contact us to learn more about our Video Game & Technology Addiction Treatment, where we use a whole-person approach and four-phase program.