Tuesday, April 1, 2025

January 22, 2018

Watch This Video If You Think You Or A Friend Might Have A Social Media Addiction (Which Leads To Depression)

Chances are you're a regular user of some or other form of social media, but if you find yourself checking in a little too often you're headed down a dangerous road.

You’re an addict, but you just don’t know it yet.

This month, BBC Future is exploring social media’s impact on mental health and well-being, and you can bet those stories are going to push a few buttons.

Ever caught yourself scrolling through social media whilst at a robot? Ever felt shitty because your picture didn’t quite rack up the likes you thought it would?

Oh dear – you might just have a serious problem on your hands.

We’ll tee this one up from the BBC story:

Social media addiction has been a much-flouted term lately; maybe it’s because it’s January and users are looking to be more active and spend less time online, or maybe that’s because social media can have a negative impact on our mental well-being. But a growing body of research is seriously considering whether problematic and excessive social media usage could be pathological and, in turn, designated as a mental health disorder.

To the video we go:

Step back from the screen.

Pat a dog. Stroke a cat. Hug a friend. Shame a neighbour for watering their garden. Stop posting crummy travel quotes to Instagram and using the hashtag #wanderlust.

And be warned, influencers, not everyone is a big fan.

[source:bbcfuture]