Essay Sample on Social Media Addiction and Loneliness: Risks of Interaction

Millions of people are using social media and social networking sites to interact and find new friends. Unfortunately, social media poses several and serious risks that are harmful to users. Some of these threats include addiction and loneliness. This paper discusses addiction and loneliness as two risks, which are embedded in social media and social networking sites.

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Social media users are becoming more addicted to the platforms. Lancaster University (2019) indicated that instead of users switching off the social media sites, they move from one site to another to escape the stress without leaving the social media site where the stress originated (Lancaster University, 2019). A study of 444 social media users revealed that stress occurs when users scan through the sites to find news feeds, chats, and new updates (Lancaster University, 2019). Switching between activities is the reason for the addiction.

Social media use causes loneliness. University of Pittsburg (2019) conducted a study in 2017 and found that increased use of social media causes loneliness. Loneliness or perceived isolation has links to depression, high blood pressure, and heart disease (University of Pittsburg, 2019). The university conducted a survey of 1,178 students from West Virginia University regarding their social media use and participants reported a 13% increase in loneliness. For example, public arguments on social media are the likely cause of social isolation (University of Pittsburg, 2019). When people give greater weight to the negativity in social media, the feelings of loneliness manifest.

There are some steps to mitigate the risks of addiction and loneliness from social media use. For example, regarding addiction, the best way to mitigate the risk to find a new hobby during free time to avoid scrolling through news feeds. Concerning loneliness, the best way to mitigate the risk is to avoid escalating public arguments. Macionis (2016) talked about interpretive sociology, which focuses on discovering the meanings individuals attach to their social world. In the use of social media, users need to know the reasons they use the sites to avoid cases of addiction and loneliness.

Overall, the use of social media enhances the socialization process. However, it is becoming more problematic because of its risks. Users have to devise new ways to deal with the risks. Researchers need to delve deeper into tracking the long-term implications for excessive use of social media.

References

Lancaster University. (2019). Social media stress can lead to social media addiction. EurekAlert. Retrieved from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-08/lu-sms082719.php

Macionis, J.J. (2016). Sociology. 16th Edition. Harlow, UK: Pearson.

University of Pittsburg. (2019). Negative experiences on social media tied to higher odds of feeling lonely. EurekAlert. Retrieved from https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-01/uop-neo012219.php