Are You Addicted to Social Media?

Social media is growing rapidly, with Twitter at the forefront growing over 1,000 percent since February. New sites are continuing to constantly rise and fall in an attempt to innovate the social media market place. Communicating has never been easier, and social networking sites help people touch base. It starts out innocently enough with people reconnecting with friends from the past. Then you start connecting with friends from work and then maybe even their friends and then sometimes even celebrities or organizations.

This new rise in social media's popularity has caused the workplace to respond harshly. Most businesses have set limits on the access to social media websites. Statistics show that over 70 percent of employers have banned such sites. This has lead to the popularity of mobile social media. Although teens are the ones who paved the way for mobile social media, it is the adults who have the most use for it. As long as there is good cell phone coverage, and the boss isn’t standing right there, a working man can get his Facebook fix at any moment in time.

You must be careful though not to become a social media addict; doctors are saying social media has started to act like a drug. Harry Haroutunian, a doctor at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, works with people who have chemical dependencies, and he says that as technology and especially social networking expands, he's seeing more and more people with significant in-balance in their lives, spending more time isolated.

A recently released report out of UCLA states the top five signs that could mean you're addicted to social networks.
-you lose sleep over social networks (you're logged in overnight causing you to be extremely tired the next day)
-you spend more than an hour a day on networks-you become obsessed with old lovers or exes you reconnect with
-you ignore work in favor of networks
-the thought of logging off causes stress and anxiety

Dr. Harry says, "Do I have a tolerance to (social networks), like someone can build a tolerance to drugs that's more and more exposure is required to get the satisfaction or the 'high' from using the technology and are there withdrawal symptoms if I try to stop suddenly."

I'm a big fan of social media, but I wouldn't say I'm addicted to it. I do not feel stressed when I can't reach it for awhile and I don't have the Internet attached to my phone so I don't have to worry about using it while away from my computer. However, I do see how social media can consume a lot of one's time. There are so many social media tools to use and you must update yours often and keep up with friend's changes to know what is going on. I can take a lot of time! Just make sure you're not giving up other aspects of your life and watch how much time you spend on it. Lastly, remember people do not need to know everything you're doing or what you think at all times!!!