The Addiction and Cost of Social Media

The Huffington Post:

Have you ever found yourself asking, “Where did the last hour go?” when connecting with friends or colleagues in social networks? Social media is like a drug; just a little taste and we can’t help but want more. Social networks are the drug dealers; they facilitate our addiction to this gateway drug with one-click access to our social graph and a multitude of other sites and apps.

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Social media is often criticized for creating a culture of “over-sharing.” Real-time connectivity via mobile devices and one-click “share to other network” options in mobile apps means we have the option to share the minutiae of our lives: what we we’re thinking, eating, watching, reading or doing. Opening ourselves up in this manner is an emotional investment. We put a bit of ourselves into every post and with each share we’re creating a digital version of ourselves, which isn’t necessarily a constructive outlet. For example, a study by the University of Waterloo as reported in Psychological Science demonstrated that Facebook engagement can increase the likelihood of depression in some people.

Read the whole story: The Huffington Post