How Social Media Addiction Affects Your Mental Health

Written by Nnaemeka Ikerionwu and first published in second edition of CFR Magazine.

An insidious force has crept into our lives over the last 10 years. It is made worse by the fact that it is rarely questioned & has rapidly become a deeply entrenched institution in our everyday lives. The mere suggestion of taking it away would be met with outrage — you would not only be taking away one of our main activities, but a large part of our individual identity by doing so.

Social media, positively touted as “connecting the world” by its proponents, such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, has created a crisis in modern society. I use the word crisis very deliberately here.

According to recent statistics, an average 15–60 year old Nigerian spends over 2 hours per day on social media. Most people spend 4 hours a day on social media — young people spend 9 hours. 87 percent of people wake up and go to sleep with their smartphones.

Just the presence of a smart phone reduces cognitive functionality, even when it’s off. Our average attention span is now 8 seconds. The more you use social media, the less happy you are.

In contrast, however, no digital marketer, communication executive or brand manager will vehemently oppose social media because it plays significant positive roles in creating awareness, building brands, boosting reputation and sales, among others.

The success stories of many multinationals in some departments could be attributed to the role of social media. These communication tools have, however, been bastardized in many ways than one.

Read full article here:https://www.cfrmagazine.com/2018/12/how-social-media-addiction-affects-your.html?m=1