Addiction to social networks is becoming more and more widespread in adolescents around the world. Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, as well as WhatsApp, are very attractive social networks because their operation is based on immediate interactivity. Thus, their use has a social character to communicate but this, without educational control, can disrupt the reality of some people, especially in cases of adolescents.
Although the use of social networks was created under some positive principles, the problem lies when it is detected that young people leave aside the rest of the obligations of a normal social life, such as studying or working, playing sports or other hobbies, going out with friends or doing activities with the family.
Many studies have found that excessive use of social networks results in a detachment from the patient’s real life environment, as well as causing high levels of anxiety, affecting self-esteem and may even end up causing a loss of self-control.
There are usually more vulnerable people, which makes the profile of “addicted” to social networks quite specific.
Although social networks are available worldwide, only a small proportion of users are abusers. Normally, adolescents are a group at risk, as they are the ones who are most connected to the Internet and are most familiar with new technologies.
Addiction to social networks is linked to young people who have emotional deficiencies, so they make up for them with networks or profiles that are not real. There are certain personal characteristics or emotional states that increase the psychological vulnerability of the addicted person.
Psychiatry specialists explain that, in cases of addiction to social networks, the patient usually suffers from an underlying problem that must also be treated by psychology. Some examples that may be behind the addiction are excessive shyness, rejection of body image, hyperactivity, depression or low self-esteem. In these cases Internet addiction works as a kind of “smokescreen” that makes it evident that there is a personality problem or mental disorder to control.
In other cases it is people with a personal dissatisfaction with their life, and they try to hide social or family deficiencies. In these situations, social networks function as an escape from real life but, in the long term, have negative consequences.
There are some common symptoms in patients with social media addiction:
- Emotional distress
- Impulsivity
- Search for strong emotions
- Intolerance to negative stimuli, both psychological (worries and responsibilities) and physical (fatigue, pain and even insomnia).
The problems related to social networks have to do with malpractice. The fact that social networks allow to have a public profile and get followers, being able to become known quickly (by tastes, looks, behaviors, etc.), hides how difficult it is to be exposed to public opinion, which generates a great addiction.
It is important to be able and know how to identify if our family member or friend is hooked to the Internet, and try to change the habits when it starts to be detected. If it is uncontrollable, treatment will be necessary.
The treatment of addiction to social networks usually requires psychological interventions and, in some cases, complementing it with psychopharmacology.
Thus, psychological and sociotherapeutic treatment is very important for the behavioral disorder due to abuse of social networks, which manifest themselves in different contexts, where the plurality of human beings, their environment, their personality or their problems influence.
Psychology will be very important as a therapeutic treatment. They are based on an individual evaluation, with a totally individualized program, which aims at the improvement of the patient.
Pharmacology will be used according to the severity of the patient’s situation. As with other behavioral addictions, addiction to social networks can be related to bipolar disorder or anxiety. Depending on how the person evolves and how it affects his or her health, drugs aimed at reducing episodes of impulsivity, mood swings, etc., such as antidepressants, which will improve anxiety, may be useful.
It is essential that the prescription of medication is made by a psychiatrist with expertise in addictions.