A total of 50 participants, aged 10 years and older, were asked a series of survey questions and the answers were tallied. The main aim was to determine the number of people that use social media, the frequency, purpose and the mental attachment as well as the attitude towards it. The responses were marked on a tally chart to review the correlations between the use of social media, the frequency, the purpose, and the attitudes. A review of literature and subsequent research was carried out to determine or classify the addiction and evaluate if there was any relationship between the use of social media and addictive behavioural traits. The survey questions were designed to collect data pertaining to the driving force that triggered people to use social media. A street survey was chosen since it consumes less time and therefore, encourage more people to participate and respond, which helped in more accurate and efficient collection of data.
As innovation continues, the processes become easier, faster and more accessible to make our lives more comfortable. Ofcom Statistics (2018) show “the percentage of the UK population owning smartphones was at5 93% in 2016, and at 94% in 2017.”
A majority of the participants confirmed that they access their social media accounts through their mobile phones. This further reinstates the fact that social media has been integrated into our every day lives in all possible aspects. It is quite difficult to define “addiction” since there are numerous classifications and behavioural traits for different kinds of addictions, the common theme being that it is “a distinct pattern of behaviours relating to obtaining a substance or activity” (Williams, 2016). When looking at social media as an addiction, it is important to not solely look at addiction as a niche as there are various forms to it.
‘Behavioural addiction is typically characterised by the compulsive, repetitive involvement in a rewarding non-substance-related behaviour, despite consistent adverse consequences’ (Williams, 2016).
Behavioural addiction focuses on “non-substance related behaviour,” fitting when correlating against (SM) traits. Although social media is not a substance, it is a trigger, a motivation and or a habit which continues to grow throughout society and the modern-day environment. It is used to gain some form of feedback from the surroundings and further afield. Be it positive reinforcement or negative, behaviours are acted out for instant feedback, instant gratification of some sort, information exchange, to seek experiences or broadening networks for some form of personal gain or interest.
Graph 8.4 within the appendices shows the main reasons participants had to use social media. The main reasons highlighted are ‘personal use’, posting and contacting friends / family and for work / marketing purposes. Analysing this data showed a slight correlation between the age of the participant and the motivation of using social media. Data shows 95% of the younger age group 10yrs old – 20yrs old use social media for interacting within their network, but also ‘for no particular reason / out of boredom, with no answered / collected data of this age group using social media for work related purposes. The focus changed within the 21-30yrs old age group towards a more specific reason for accessing platforms; work related issues and family interaction being the dominant instigators. This age group showed a lack of interest in procrastination and not using social media for no reason behind it. Summarising the trends that have been shown, the younger generations use social media for more personal reasons, such as friends, family, boredom, and to pass their time. Whereas the older generation generally tend to use it for working and marketing purposes, and also because their friends and family use the platforms as a means of communication. Social media is not only a vehicle of communication but also the reason for it, and in many cases, it has replaced personal forms of communication.
Social media cannot however be classified exclusively as an entity that causes individuals to get addicted to it. The platforms have a significantly important role to play when it comes to balancing the power of the media of different sides. Groups of like-minded people can now come together and connect with newer individuals from almost any corner of the world and become the forces through which political change can be brought about. Many political campaigners have realised the power of this phenomenon and have utilised it to their benefits, mostly by leveraging the platforms and influencing the voters in the desired way. Additionally, it is an avenue where one can express their opinions in a unbiased manner with a certain amount of freedom, and this can be useful for people who might find it difficult to interact with others or express themselves in real life.
Graph 8.6 shows the responses of the different age groups when asked if they could go without using social media for a span of one day. The responses varied greatly across the participants, and corresponded largely with their lifestyle, which is directly dependent on their age. A similar pattern of behaviour can be observed in Graph 8.7 as well, where the respondents had to rate the importance of the validity of public opinion on their life and choices. The younger age groups showed the most amount of inclination for using social media to gain this validation, while the tendency for the same reduced drastically with the increase in the age of the individuals.
Conclusion
The purpose of the questions focusing on mental aspect of participants was to gain a perspective of how they would feel emotionally, drawing upon the correlation between addictive traits, i.e. withdrawal symptoms, anxieties, worries or stresses when unattainable. Addiction consumes, it is the first thought in the morning, something you cannot do without emotionally and physically. Combined graph 8.8 looks at correlation between those considering themselves to be independent or dependent vs social media usage. Results show young participants found themselves to be dependent, with 100% of those actively using social media, yet as age increases so too does independent nature, with a drastic decrease in numbers using social media down to 1/3rd of older participants. Being logical, this could possibly be assumed, although assumptions can be dangerous and therefore inaccurate.
It would be however not very insightful to term social media as being of addictive nature, since the usage of the platforms is not restricted to just sharing posts or gaining likes. Social media has surfaced as one of the most important platforms for marketing and reaching the target audiences of the various organisations that intend to capture larger market shares in the present global scenario. In other words, the professional use of social media as a tool for marketing and optimising the publicity of an enterprise has gained a lot of importance, and the older age groups tend to exhibit lower levels of social media usage for their personal gains. Moreover, the fact that almost every generation now has access to a smartphone and consequently the social media platforms has made it almost necessary to use it, since it is a seamless and easy method of communication especially when one has friends and family in different parts of the world.
“In order to be able to use the ‘metaphorical mirror’ effectively and to examine practices in a thorough and thoughtful way, a high level of self-awareness is essential, this can be achieved part through self-evaluation” (Bassot, 2013, p10).
Placing participants into a quieter, personal environment may improve future research into getting more in-depth answer through self-reflection. The focus can also be narrowed down to one age group or generation. As age increases, there was reduced social media usage, and therefore focusing on younger age groups could produce more accurate results if it is to be taken that social media is indeed an addiction. Instead of young people answering if they think it is an addiction, parents could be asked about their own children’s use. The public environment the survey was asked in was focused on quick responses. The wording could also be altered slightly, as generally people would like to consider themselves as independent, strong willed and may struggle to admit being addicted to something. Research interviews could focus more on participants personal health, sleeping patterns and affects they feel after using social media platforms. Thus, this would help to gain a better understanding of effects social media usage has on people and what motivates them to continue usage, even after negative experiences.
References
Bassot, B., 2013. The Reflective Journal. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Elgan, M., 2015. ‘Social Media Addiction Is A Bigger Problem Than You Think’. [online] ComputerWorld. Available at: <https://www.computerworld.com/article/3014439/internet/social-media-addiction-is-a-bigger-problem-than-you-think.html?page=2> [Accessed 7 July 2018].
Ofcom Statistics, 2018. ‘Social Networking’. [online] Available at: <https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/facts> [Accessed 9 July 2018].
Oxford English Dictionary, 2018. What is Social media?. [online] Available at: <https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/social_media> [Accessed 5 July 2018].
Williams, S., 2016. ‘Are Behavioural Addictions the Same as Drug Addictions?’. [online] Mental Help. Available at: <https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/are-behavioral-addictions-the-same-as-drug-addictions> [Accessed 09 July 2018].
BlueSofaMedia, 2012. ‘Use a learning theory: Behaviourism’. [online] YouTube. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYDYzR-ZWRQ> [Accessed 2 July 2018].
Galer, S., 2018. ‘How Much is Too Much Time, on Social Media?’ [online] BBC. Available at: <www.bbc.com/future/story/20180118-how-much-is-too-much-time-on-social-media> [Accessed 1 July 2018].
Kuss, D. and Griffiths, M., 2011. ‘Online Social Networking & Addiction, A Review of The Psychological Literature’ [online] NCBI Journals. Available at: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194102/> [Accessed 3 July 2018].
The Telegraph, 2012. ‘Facebook and Twitter More Addictive Than Tobacco & Alcohol’ [online] Available at: <https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9054243/Facebook-and-Twitter-more-addictive-than-tobacco-and-alcohol.html> [Accessed 5 July 2018].
Unplug & Reconnect.com, 2012. ‘Lure of Online Media Hard to Resist’. [online] Available at: <unplugreconnect.com/2012/03/lure-of-online-media-hard-to-resist/> [Accessed 6 July 2018].
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