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Blog, Facebook, Humor, News, People, psychology, Social, Social media, Twitter
Okay, so as the title presents, it’s a little extreme, but put in context, social media is pretty addictive.
As a self-proclaimed social media addict, I tried a little social experiment to not use social media for a week, to see what impact it would have.
After the first day I was pretty much scratching my head to try and see what’s going on with friends and the news, but I stayed strong. After the third day I realised I could do this easy, due to the fact I’m focusing my time on other activities and actually meeting up with friends.
I didn’t want to live a digital life, I want to be able to hang out with my friends and speak to them directly, but then is essence I don’t want to have the fear of missing out (FOMO) what’s going on through Facebook and Twitter. FOMO is definitely one of the human traits driving to why social media works, especially with the younger audience.
The emotional attraction is perceived by me wanting to share my experiences/messages with the audience; our obsession with self drives to take selfies, update a status, share photos or just chat online and is one of the psychological reasons to why brands exploit this.
Social ego is one of the drivers that give users the chance to brag about our social life. We like to express, where we’ve been on holiday, the new shoes we’ve purchased, or things we’ve experienced. Once again brands like you to champion their brand giving you the power because it comes from choice.
I kept going without my social accounts and focused on myself with work, reading and going to the gym. I actually enjoyed these activities because I wasn’t on edge to see what’s going on. I was living my life.
Sometimes I’d sit there just to see the running feed of what’s happening. Now I realise that’s pretty sad. Think of the time right now you’ve missed by sitting on social sites and how a few minutes turns into a few hours. For some people this can affect their job on getting tasks done. So, if you can actually admit you’re an social media addict, do something about it, try a digital detox and see what you can accomplish; Phone a friend, read a book, go for a jog, or even find a new hobby.
Overall, as long as you can limit the time you spend on social media, this won’t become a big distraction in your life.
End result; back on my social accounts … but not as often.