The Social Media Addiction: A Review in Literature

By Stephen Rodriguez

University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract:

Social Media has become a huge phenomenon with the world today. Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, Snapchat are some of the biggest social media apps throughout the world.

Most people around the world have a social media account and use it to keep up with

local news, friends, and events. People are constantly on their phones, computers, and

tablets surfing the social media websites. With Social Media at our fingertips, it is

becoming a rising addiction problem that people don't even notice. Social Media has

gotten so popular that it’s becoming a lifestyle for many. People are constantly on their

phones, just to see if their favorite celebrities has posted a photo, or if their best friend is

doing something funny. Social Media is actually making people more “antisocial” with

each other. On their electronic devices at the dinner table, church, concerts and

festivals. People can't get off their devices. The purpose of this literature review is to

show the social media craze and how its affecting people around the world. People love

to get on social media but they don't realize how often they are doing it and how it is

affecting their lives and becoming a social issue to them and everyone around them.

The Social Media Addiction: A Review in Literature

The first social media site appeared in 1997 and the site was called Six Degrees. It was

named after the “six degrees of separation” theory and was around from 1997 to 2001.

Users could create a profile and then friend other users. This allowed many people to

confirm friendships and connect in a new way.(Hale 2014.) From Six Degrees the idea
of instant messaging and blogging started a new era. The term blog was a form of

“weblog” which was created popularly by Jorn Barger. By 2003, around 100 million

people were on the internet and it became a hobby for people to engage socially on the

internet. More and more chat rooms were being created which led to the creation of the

first major social media site, Myspace. MySpace proved to be a big influence to the

creation of the powerhouse social media apps we use today, Facebook and Twitter.

Today, Facebook and Twitter have over 500 million users on their websites. Youtube,

Snapchat, and Vine are other social media apps that have become very popular since

the turn of the decade. (Hale 2015).

Your best friends, celebrities and even politicians have found ways to use social

media in their lives. Unfortunately this use is not always good and is becoming addictive

to many people. President Trump uses Twitter as a platform to talk to United States

citizens, but many people believe he uses Twitter a little too much and not always in a

good way. At dinner tables people are surfing through the web instead of exchanging

conversation with the person across from the them. In the movie Back to the Future II,

one particular scene shows how the McFly family in the year 2015 is surrounded by

technology at a dinner table. This scene is now being played across breakfast, lunch,

and dinner tables all over the world on a daily basis by millions of families. Elise Moreau

believes there is a social media addiction craze and that people spend more time on

their phones, tablets, computers than socializing face-to-face. For these reasons, the

debate over social media craze has grown. Four questions have been serviced for

consideration:

:How do celebrities contribute to the use of social media?

 :How are smartphones contributing to the use of social media?

:How has the use of social media affected social human interactions?

:Who has benefited the most from social media?

These questions will help show the effects of this social media craze by providing

celebrity impact on social media, the impact smartphones, and who has gained the

most from social media. Social Media addiction is a overlooked topic that very few

people even recognize and these questions will help you understand the social impact it

has on everybody's life.

How do celebrities contribute to the use of social media?

Many people are on social media today and those with the most followers are

celebrities. Celebrities like to use social media as a platform to show off their looks, their

extravagant lifestyle, upcoming projects and ideas, and sell you their brand. Youtube,

Twitter, and Instagram have had a huge platform for many celebrities all around the

world. One of world's biggest singers, Justin Bieber, used Youtube as the platform

which catapulted him to stardom. Bieber also used Facebook and Twitter to help

promote tours and upcoming new songs. Vittorino Courino reports that Bieber, “has

over 100 million Twitter followers that stay up to date on the popstars lifestyle.” (US

Weekly 2018). Bieber (at 18 years old) says he loves social media and his fans

because, “he believes it helps him interact with his fans and without the presence of

social media, wouldn't be very popular.”(Courino 4). Youtube and Twitter have helped

make Bieber a star with six of his music videos reaching over a billion views and his

tweets receiving over 500,000 likes and retweets. Justin Bieber may have over 100

million followers on social media, but many are not fans of the popstar. His music video
“Baby” is the most disliked video on Youtube receiving over 7.8 million dislikes since the

video was realized in 2010. A video of Justin Bieber shouting vulgar and racist

comments appeared when he was about to release “ My World 2.” Bieber apologized for

his comments as he says “ he was just a kid,” when the video was made. Bieber has to

endure the hardships of criticism from social media, but at the same time, he is one of

the biggest stars in the world because of social media. Justin Bieber is still the most

famous “social media” start today, but the most polarizing person on Twitter right now is

the President of the United States.

Before Donald Trump took office as President of the United States, Barack Obama

became the first U.S president to use Twitter as a platform to reach out to the American

people. Obama’s use of the internet has been compared to the likes of Franklin D.

Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy’s adaption of the radio and television respectively in

the history of communication from the White House and the American Public. Obama’s

twitter account (@BarackObama) is the official account he used during his presidency

and after his presidency. The White House also has a Twitter account that Obama used

during his time (@POTUS44). Barack Obama's main account is among the top ten

worldwide in both followers and following the most people. Obama used twitter as tool

for communicating with the rest of the United States with many people liking and

retweeting his tweets. As of today, Obama remains in the Top 30 for many of his posts

about the government, opinions on race, and memoriams/celebrations to other

celebrities around the world.

After Obama finished his term as president,

the White House twitter account was taken

over by the newly elected president, Donald Trump and his staff. However, Donald

Trump rarely uses the White House account and insteads resolves to his official

account (@realDonaldTrump). According to the White House Press Secretary Sean

Spicer, Trump's “tweets” are considered official statements by the President of the

United States. Trump has tweeted about his plans for the government and political

opinions of the United States but has received polarized reviews on how he “was a

personal insult of some kind.” According to David French from the National Review,

Donald Trump has insulted 394 people, places and things on twitter, ranging from

politicians to journalists, news outlets, private citizens, and other celebrities. After

winning a championship in the major professional sports in the United States

(NFL,NBA,MLB,NHL,NCAA), the winning team usually is invited to the White House to

be congratulated by the president. The Golden State Warriors won the 2017 NBA

Championship and were hesitant about going to the White House. One week before the

NBA season was about to start, Donald Trump tweeted out:

“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen

Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!”

Curry, who said he woke up Saturday to 20 text messages after Trump's tweet, said it

was "surreal" that the president would tweet what he did.( ESPN. 2017).

Lebron James, one of the biggest voices on and off the basketball courts, tweeted out

to Donald Trump:

“ U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going

to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”

Lebron James has 41 million followers on Twitter, compared to Donald Trump's

50 million, but Lebrons tweet turned into one of the most “liked” Tweets ever.

Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Barack Obama,and Donald Trump are some of the most

followed people on social media sites and their every move is criticized and praised by

many people. They use their voices to show the world what they have to offer and were

the audience that wants to listen to what they have to say.

How are smartphones contributing to the use of social media?

Before the iPhone was created, smartphones like the Blackberry and Windows Mobile

were extremely popular in the early 2000’s. They were developed to use the internet on

their phones, keep reminders and have an appointment calendar on their phones.

Blackberrys were the highest selling phones from 2002-2008. Steve Jobs in January of

2007, released his new invention from Apple called the iPhone which Jobs called

“revolutionary and magical.” The iPhone was the first phone to not display the keyboard

system all phones had before it. The first iPhone had only a lock button, a home button,

and a wide screen which star-struck many people. Apple released a year later the “App

Store,” which was created to add-on apps for their phone and other smart-devices.

Samsung later created their first smartphone, “Galaxy S” and the arms race for the best

smartphone started.

Worldwide, smartphones were used by 1.85 billion people in 2014. This number is

expected to be 2.32 billion in 2017 and 2.87 billion by 2020 (Statista, 2017). More than

one-third of the population of the world has a smartphone. Today, the number of

smartphones have skyrocketed, and the process of communication with smartphones

has as well.

The development of Facebook Messenger, the Twitter app, made a huge impact for
smartphone users. Before these apps were available on the app stores, people would

have to log onto their computers at their houses, or local Starbucks to see what their

best friends were doing. With Facebook Messenger you could now instantly message

your friends and no longer need a computer. In 2013, Americans surfing the internet on

their phones rose higher than surfing on desktops. (Sterling 40.) On average, the

average American adult surfed the web for 27 hours from their desktop computers, and

34 hours from their smartphones. (Sterling 40.) The smartphone of today are more

computers than phones and are one of the greatest inventions of our times, but their

use with all the social apps is having a bad effect on people. Cyberbullying is now a

problem, with more than 25% females and 20% males being bullied online.(Twenge 4).

Lack of sleep by teenagers has also been attributed to the rise of smartphones. Teens

who spend more than three hours on their smartphones were most likely to get less

than seven hours of sleep.( Sherman 2). Lack of sleep affect teens mood, ability to think

and to react. Multiple studies also show that severe lack in sleep also leads to suicidal

thoughts.

Smartphones are one of the greatest tools today when used in good ways, but they can

be dangerous when used in bad ways. Smartphones are the easiest way of

communication for social media users and there are just so many other great things

they can do, but overuse and addiction to them is a growing problem. I know of many

people who can not go a day without their smartphone. That is an addiction that is not

good!

How has the use of social media affected social interaction?

A local survey was conducted that asked people who own smart-devices how they use
social media. Ten questions were asked with multiple choice and write-ins. Thirty one

people participated on the survey. One of the most popular questions in the survey

which resulted in very diverse answers was “ How often do you go onto social media?”.

The questionnaires who voted “Once a day” were all over the age of 40, while people in

ages 15-20 all voted for “Every 10 minutes or less”. The younger generation has a huge

urge to get onto social media as one of the questionnaire added the following comment

to his vote, “To keep up with friends, and important events.” Another survey question

that got mixed results was “ Do you become frustrated or angry when a social

networking site goes down or is unavailable?” Three people skipped the question while

11 voted “yes” and 17 voted “no.” Those who voted yes were again in the 15-20 age

group.

The older generation who did not grow up with social media were the group that had the

least amount of friends with social media accounts. According to Nicole Brown from

Crowdcentric, she says it is now Teens who dictate the new trends happening in the

world. Brown concludes that teens have the highest population of social media users

throughout the world and whatever they find funny or interesting, they will keep the

trend going or start a new one.

Social Media has become a huge part of our society that almost everyone uses in their

daily lives, especially teenagers. Unfortunately this has lead to some unhealthy habits

for our younger generation as they have not acquired the social skills that come with

face-to-face communication. These social skills are necessary in our society to resolve

disputes and learn how to get along with everyone. Teens find it way too easy to post

material on social media that they would never do face-to-face, which can lead to
bullying or even worse problems. Face-to-Face communication must remain a true

staple in the way we interact with people, especially for teens.

Who has benefited the most from social media?

Social Media has been impactful for the world. From small local businesses to giant

corporations, social media helps show off what these businesses have to offer and

today these businesses must have a social media presence to survive and prosper.

Fashion, retail and education have all been impacted by social media impact, but in

different ways.

In a research poll deducted by SmartBrief, they concluded that small business have

been impacted and benefitted the most by the social media explosion. Michael Stelzner

surveyed 3342 marketers, 47% of whom were self-employed or small business owners.

Ninety percent of the surveyed that Michael interviewed believe that social media has

impacted their business and is very important to their success. Forty eight percent of

small business owners saw an increase in sales due to their use of social media.

For local food business, any type of social marketing has a big impact on their

business and revenue. A small donut shop in Round Rock, Texas called “Round Rock

Donuts” was featured in a TV show Man vs. Food. The donut shop was already a

popular destination for Austin locals but it rose in popularity after it was featured on the

show.(Carranza 1.) It has since been featured in Texas Monthly and USA Today as one

of the best bakeries in the United States. By just appearing in one TV show for ten

minutes and then social media blowing up,

this small business has seen big growth in

sales and revenue.

Just like Round Rock Donuts has positively benefited from social media, many

companies have been negatively affected with social media. Small businesses with

negative reviews can easily go out of business. This is especially true in the restaurant

business where negative social media can easily and quickly close a once thriving

restaurant.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social media is having a huge impact on society in many different ways.

Celebrities are using social media as a platform to interact with their fans in ways

celebrities of the past could never have done so. Smartphones have become very

important to everyday life, but they may also be having a negative effect due to overuse.

Teens love using social media and adults also do to, but just much less. Teens are

getting addicted to social media, which is not necessarily a good thing as they are not

learning social skills acquired from face-to-face communications. We are in the start of

“Social Media Addiction,” slowly being taken over by technology. Slowly and maybe

sooner than later, if we don’t take a break from our smartphones, we may look like the

people from the movie “Walle.”

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