Addiction to social networks Internet. Social media addiction - how to get rid of it once and for all

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About a year ago, I suddenly discovered that it became much more difficult for me to concentrate on one task than usual. Having decided to deal with this problem, I simultaneously learned about how giraffes sleep, what useful things you can buy on Aliexpress for $2, how to tie a scarf with 30 different ways and what to do if you suddenly get lost in the forest...

Thus, several more months passed in the infinity of available information. In the morning I found myself on Facebook, on the tram I commented on supposedly necessary business communities, in the evening I read interesting characters on Instagram. Everything is interesting, partly motivating and even useful.

The phone lived its own life and jumped into my hands. Everything is automatic, like brushing your teeth, crossing the street or scratching where it itches. Until one day I discovered that I had nothing to be proud of. Under the bed there are Bermuda triangles of lost time, on the road there are oceans of half-thought thoughts and unfinished plans, and in my head there is a viscous, cooled porridge with disgusting lumps.

An unfulfilled morning yoga workout timidly peeks out from around the corner, and an old dream is gathering dust on the chest of drawers - sharply sharpened, pleasant-to-touch drawing pencils. All this is sacrificed to a small thin white box with a screen.

Less and less time for what really matters.

This fun unequal fight

Having realized the scale of the problem and having taken some Validol, I sat down to think about what could be done about all this. It’s simple - for starters, at least pick up your phone less often. Yeah, right now! It’s like not thinking about the white monkey - now hanging in the nets (what a word, right?) has been added to the pangs of conscience and surprise at one’s own weakness of will.

What to do?

Conscience ate me from the inside, sadness drooped the corners of my lips. It was urgent to at least start using my favorite method - the “idea of small steps” and apply the simplest solutions. I wanted to get rid of automatism and, if possible, make it difficult for myself to access social networks. The problem was that for work I still needed to be in them and respond quite quickly to messages in instant messengers. Unlimited Internet on the phone, needed for business, also did not add optimism to the decision to put an end to the problem of distraction.

Simple tricks to get started

First, I’ll tell you about a few simple tactics that I did. If this problem is also relevant for you, try it, surely something will suit you too.

gave three key work contacts a backup connection with me and disconnected instant notifications for all instant messengers, except one (probably you need to turn everything off, but I can’t do that yet),
put digital password access to the phone (it helped for the first week),
I removed the Instagram icon from an easily accessible panel on my phone and hid the application somewhere far away (it helped so much that I abandoned Instagram a long time ago!),
I started putting my phone in the far pocket of my bag and making sure to fasten it,
Now I make sure to put my phone out of sight when I'm working on the computer (it helps a lot!)
Every time I log out from all networks and mail on the computer and keep no more than 4 tabs open at the same time,
I wrote a list of pleasant and useful things that I can do instead of surfing the Internet,
when I need to concentrate, I turn it on completely silent mode on the phone.

All this is good, of course, but it’s too easy to lose control of yourself and return to telephone and social network slavery.

Getting rid of addiction: deep motivation

Then I began to look for the most convincing arguments that would really help me deal with this addiction. Crystal clear "social media is devouring your time and concentration” has not been impressive for a long time. We need something more emotional. This is what I ended up with (and yes, I know, you can argue with all this :))

Truly cool people aren't on Facebook.

Directors of large companies, experienced surgeons, successful salesmen and negotiators, talented scientists or violinists - they all have their own, focused and rich lives. There is no time to prove something or build relationships with a bunch of strangers.

We forget about the depth

Smooth phone surface and easy, effortless glide. People seriously and willingly review bright, colorful books like “Encyclopedia for Women” and are pleased to note that it has everything - how to take out a loan, how to throw a child’s birthday party and how to make a great presentation for a company. A video of unboxing small items from China is gaining millions of views. IN work time people are eagerly sharing “7 Things Every Leader Should Know” and “5 Tips to Advance Your Career.”

We believe in TV stars and pop singers, paying almost no attention to brilliant scientists, doctors, and teachers.

They're watching us

Just think about what you can learn about you by looking at your search queries, say, for Last year? What about carefully analyzing your friends’ lists? Do you know that Facebook forever saves not only deleted posts and comments, but also editions of never published texts? Often we see what they want to show us and form the opinion that they want from us. In the noise of voices, thoughts and events, it becomes even more difficult to hear yourself and figure out what is really important.

I don’t want to exaggerate, just as I don’t plan to give up Google or Facebook, but what I really recommend is watching a short series “ Black mirror“—in each episode we see a new forecast for the development of our digital future.

Concentration? No, you haven't heard!

Imagine: 10 years ago we could work on one task or study for 3-4 hours straight and didn’t even think about checking Facebook!

Now we have been defeated by Mrs. Imaginary Busyness. Here she is - plump, with large red beads on her neck and cunning in her eyes. She laughs because of your insomnia and purrs joyfully when she hears the next “I don’t have time to do anything.” Next to her are always her faithful assistants - Multiple Choices. They fly around like black flies and poke themselves right into your face - look at me! - choose me! - I'm the most beautiful! - with me you will earn a lot of money!

Have you ever just looked at your Instagram feed on the way to work and already feel kind of tired? Here it is - constant switching from patch to patch in action.

Enough. I want to have the luxury of single-tasking. Make eye contact throughout the meeting and never look at the screen, carefully read the long useful article, look at people in transport and try to guess their stories, without being distracted by working on articles... Work when you need to work and rest when it’s time to rest.

Causes of breakdowns

Wow, so many useful arguments!

But still, why am I losing my temper?

And everything seems so right, so good.

For myself, I found three reasons for breakdowns:

Fatigue

A tired person has much less self-control and is much less critical of other people's opinions. A tired person is easier to manipulate, and he performs most of his actions without thinking, automatically. My simple recipe is to get enough sleep. Let this be your main responsibility for the near future. Everything can be remade and changed. The main thing is to get enough sleep...

Reluctance to complete a task or not knowing how to complete it

When I have no idea what to write about, or how to approach a complex “elephant,” my pens reach for the entertainment-procrastinating bookmark on the computer. Unfortunately, I haven’t come up with another, more pleasant means than strict control and awareness. But strict control, by the way, only works when you are not tired. So once again - get enough sleep!

Boredom

If the task is interesting and I know exactly what to do, then there is no time for boredom or distraction. If my thoughts are at a dead end or my work doesn’t make sense, then I use every opportunity to get distracted. The solution is not so simple, but it is there - as little boredom as possible. If there is no escape from subjectively useless work, I arrange competitions with myself or try to meet a predetermined time.

Those who are not registered on social networks, even if not voluntarily, are perceived by us as people hopelessly behind the times. Doctors are sounding the alarm, comparing addiction to social media. networks with alcoholism and drug addiction. This “virus,” which is incurable by Kaspersky, also infected Orthodox Internet users.

All social networks, be it Odnoklassniki or Vkontakte, Facebook, etc., etc., are similar to each other. In them you can tell literally everything about yourself: from your full name and place of residence to personal photos. The “wall” of a page on a social network gives the public a series of statuses, experiences, statements, jokes, and, by the way, often useful things.

We must pay tribute to the social networks. The speed with which people find themselves in contact using VK, OK and FB is sometimes extremely convenient in modern world. WITH high speed works in them word of mouth through reposts. Information spreads instantly throughout the world, and often it is worthy of the attention of so many people.

However, all comforts turn into nothing when social networks A real addiction arises.

Why does social media addiction happen?

Social page networks are a small personal stage for each person. We create “our own world” on the page, which we share with others. Your illusory world. On the stage page we appear cheerful, posting our best photos. The statements of thinkers create the appearance of our wisdom and erudition...

Social addiction networks are reinforced by our laziness and fear. It’s so easy for an unkempt and unwashed person to get onto the Internet and write something to a friend from the page where yours shines. best photo. It's much easier than calling and making an appointment. After all, you need to prepare for it, put yourself in order, go somewhere. And now you are in contact... Here it is easy to engage in soul-destroying observation, developing curiosity. And there’s nothing to say about discussing other people’s pages, or rather, there is something, but we won’t: everything is clear as it is.

Orthodox communities on social networks

How good it is that after so many years of persecution of the Church, the treasures of patristic sayings have become available. Modern technologies allow them to be illustrated, designed very beautifully and published on social media. networks. The emergence of Orthodox communities on social networks has made it possible to share this with more brothers and sisters. Currently, we have an abundance of similar Orthodox groups, posts (entries) in which one another is more interesting and attractive. Outwardly, all this may seem wonderful. But let us remember the words of Isaac the Syrian: “Without measure, even what is considered beautiful turns into harm”.

Let's say you discovered your addiction and admitted it. And you rush to the extreme - remove yourself from all networks. This would not be a very correct solution, although there is no need to generalize, in some cases this is the only thing that will work.

However, the conveniences that social services bring. networks will most likely force you to return to them again. Everything will start again. You need to learn to benefit from being on social media. networks and eliminate harm. Some tips will help you do this.

In general, personal, family photos, and photos of children should not be posted on the Internet. Let's say more, this is dangerous, especially in the latter case.

One mother was shocked when she saw her child's photo as the headline in a community where supporters of the Child-Free movement had gathered. Especially negative emotions caused criticism from the baby, seasoned with profanity.

If you decide to post photos in an album, then take care of its privacy - for friends, and even better for a narrow circle of friends. Stop at a few photos. There is absolutely no need to post photos from every holiday or weekend on a social network.

This way, the number of “likes” will decrease, and your peace of mind will be closer to normal.

All this should concern us, Orthodox Christians, first of all. For sitting idle on social media. networks, everyone will give an answer. But we, believers, are aware of the matter. The more terrible the consequences. We, like no one else, should be concerned about getting rid of and preventing addiction to social media. networks.

What purity of thoughts and freedom you feel when you limit yourself from this social network buzz of posts, photos and comments! Let’s not forget that in getting rid of any addiction, as in any important matter, a prayerful appeal to God for blessing, help, and strengthening is the very first thing that we simply need to do.

Then everything will definitely work out!

Video about social media addiction

Good day to all! Let’s try today to figure out how to get rid of addiction to social networks. Scientists call it quasi-communication, that is, an imaginary form of relationship that creates illusions about a partner or interlocutor that are not at all consistent with reality. After all, the Internet is present in almost every home, and only a small percentage of the population does not have an account on social networks. Not only teenagers are under threat, but also adults, mature people who find an outlet for energy from stress and failure in the virtual world.

By the way, to determine the degree of your addiction, you can go here.

What it is?

Addiction develops gradually, sometimes even taking years. The signs should be familiar to many, and if you detect at least a third of the list, it’s time to sound the alarm.

An irresistible desire to check your email, your account, in the hope of seeing a new like or comment. And this check happens more than 10 times a day.
It’s not at all interesting to be in places where there is no access to the Internet. I would like to quickly find Wi-Fi in order to “check in”, look for some news or entertainment.
You feel tension and irritability if the time without virtual communication lasts for at least an hour and a half.
It becomes easier to text than to call someone, with friends you are already mostly chatting instead of actually meeting.
You constantly scroll through your news feed, hoping to find something interesting, and sometimes you find yourself reading completely unnecessary and uninteresting information.
Family relationships began to deteriorate as free time you prefer to spend time with your phone or tablet.
Instead of family dinners, when everyone communicates and shares events of the day, you drag your plate to the computer, preferring to eat in front of the monitor.
Even at parties and in noisy companies, you try to be alone with your phone, or take photos specifically to post on social networks.
You don't notice the wasted time. For example, they looked in for a minute, but got carried away and “sat” for several hours, forgetting about work or sleep.
There is simply a need to constantly comment and post information about your every step. The feeling of the quality of the moments lived is lost, because when traveling or meeting with friends, it is important to take beautiful photos so that they get a lot of likes.

All these symptoms manifest themselves mainly as a result of loneliness, and sometimes invented loneliness, because in reality there are close people, but from whom it is not possible to receive the required amount of recognition or attention. Also, of course, addiction appears due to the presence of complexes, because you can hide the old renovation of a rented apartment and take a photo on it beautiful background so that others may feel envy or admiration.

Stages of addiction

There are 3 groups of people based on their level of addiction who have at least one account:

Independent. Information checking occurs very rarely, maximum once a day, mostly once a week or even a month. Personal data is most often hidden from view; an account is needed more in order to find a contact the right person, or contact him when it is not possible to find him in reality.
Transition period. They are already appearing online not out of urgent need, but out of interest and a feeling of boredom. Most often, during this period, gradual adaptation occurs and the need for virtuality increases, rather than a return to independence.
Dependent. Present constant update pages, and even realizing that in this moment There is nonsense written in the feed - still scrolling through it continues. There may be a feeling of despair due to the lack of messages, likes or comments. Or vice versa, arrogance in the case of illusory popularity on the Internet.

Consequences

Relationships with loved ones, friends, and colleagues are destroyed, as involvement and empathy disappear. A dependent person gets used to treating all kinds of information superficially, without really getting involved in the process.
The level of concentration of attention decreases, it becomes “floating”, due to the constant temptation to do several things at the same time - doing work and looking at news on the Internet, for example. And even adults can develop hyperactivity, with symptoms such as impulsivity, anxiety and restless sleep.
In addition to attention, the level of intelligence also decreases, since the brain most of the time is occupied with useless information that is not absorbed. Therefore, development is suspended, although resources are expended.
Due to the fact that resources are used completely aimlessly, without bringing any benefit, over time the body is depleted, which causes fatigue, lethargy and irritability.

If you realize that you have an Internet addiction and decide to fight for the quality of your life, then the following recommendations will help you:

1.Be prepared

Besides, it will be very difficult for you. In order not to complain that a psychologist’s advice does not help, you need to understand that 90% of the result depends only on you. Use your willpower, all your resources, enlist the help of your loved ones and their support. But resist the temptation, learn to control yourself.

2.Start with a time limit

For example, at first, allow “walking” on the Internet for no more than two hours a day, while reducing the limit at least once a week. Failure to comply is punishable by an hour reduction. You can also come up with a to-do list, only after completing which you will allow yourself to look at your smartphone.

3. Think about your hobbies and occupy yourself in your free time

Something related to fine motor skills is best, and also start practicing meditation, it will help restore your ability to concentrate. Let me remind you that we discussed meditation in the article: “”.

4. Review all the groups you are subscribed to

And leave only those with the help of which you will develop and learn something new and important. Don't overexert your brain unnecessary rubbish, take care of yourself. The same goes for the list of friends. Leave the really important ones, not the ones added for quantity.

5. Read books, develop yourself, act

For example, instead of endlessly liking all sorts of photos with recipes, sign up for cooking classes.

6. Play sports

The resulting amount of endorphins, hormones of happiness, which are produced during physical activity, will be quite enough to switch attention to reality. And if you engage in group activities or games, you will also add real communication and expand your circle of acquaintances.

7.Invite friends

In nature, in a cafe, having agreed to leave the phones in your pocket or bag with the sound turned off. Everyone determines for themselves whether it is good or bad to have accounts and a constant desire to control them, but during a meeting it is important to be able to notice the other person, because the feelings received and experienced from a real relationship can never replace virtual ones, even if they are intense at first they may be brighter. Have you noticed that you don’t always reveal your condition to others in correspondence? Sending a cheerful emoji, but at the same time sitting with tears in your eyes? Over time, virtuality leads to isolation, a feeling of acute loneliness and depression. Inconsistency beautiful photos in a real life account can even lead to suicide. So call your friends to see them for real, and not behind a series of pictures and statuses.

Conclusion

That's all, dear reader! And it doesn’t matter whether social networks bring you harm or you still know how to control yourself - be careful and remember that life is worth saving without wasting valuable minutes. No one will be able to return them to you, and the time spent on the Internet will not be remembered, will not leave pleasant memories that you will want to return to again and again.

14. 10.2015

Catherine's blog
Bogdanova

Good afternoon, readers and guests of the “Family and Childhood” website. Today we’ll look at the topic of teenagers’ addiction to social networks. Social networks are absorbing more and more children and teenagers every minute. Having discovered this wonderful world, schoolchildren almost move there.

That’s why they spend all their free time online, for six to ten hours at a time. And not only on the pages of your own school, where you can, for example, learn about homework, school events and parent-teacher conferences are, of course, useful, but not very interesting. The kids climb everywhere they feel like it, and only they themselves know what they do there.

The networks have everything: cartoons, movies, games, music, not to mention dating and live communication - with real and virtual friends. It’s more convenient to exchange a few words with your desk neighbor on his VKontakte page than to call on the phone. And telling a girl (or guy) “I like you” is much easier in the virtual world.

What a pleasure it is to find the page of your favorite (or vice versa) teacher and write something for him on the wall! The nature of what is written, of course, will depend entirely on the attitude towards the teacher.

Parents look at this hobby for their children differently. Some - through their fingers. Others - with understanding and approval. Still others - with irritation. The fourth - with relief. There are also those who consider networks to be a natural disaster, with which there is no point in fighting. They're probably right. The passion for virtual communication in the modern world has become a pandemic. Almost everyone is susceptible to “network disease” (in its various stages).

They communicate online, find old friends, meet new ones, prepare for exams, look for work, buy goods, earn money, even make revolutions. This is an integral part of our life. The only question is whether such delight (and sometimes dependence) is safe at a young age.

If we talk about the pros and cons of social networks, then the arguments of their supporters and opponents are approximately equal. And both are right. Undeniable advantages, among which the opportunity to search and find friends, salvation from loneliness, help (albeit virtual) in difficult situations, increasing one’s own status, etc. - everything suggests that social networks today are the most convenient and mobile form of human communication.

What primarily appeals to teenagers on social networks?

First of all, this virtual world has unlimited possibilities and is also easily accessible. That is, you can use them at no cost and in any volume, without getting off the couch. It is common for any person to try to follow the path of least resistance, and social networks provide just such an opportunity. Click your mouse a few times and the world is at your feet.

Do whatever you want with it and enjoy it. Meet interesting people, listen to music, play online, ask for advice, express your opinion, communicate based on interests - and you will be happy, which in this context is synonymous with self-realization. That is, what is often real life lacks.

Unlike the real one, the virtual world is more structured. On social networks it is much easier to find people of the same “blood type”. Let's say that in the real world they are scattered at a distance of thousands of kilometers, and in the virtual world they are united under the roof of one community. And sometimes a congenial person lives in the same city, or even on a parallel street, and you would never have become friends with him or even known about each other if not for a social network. Under favorable circumstances, virtual friends become real.

But the attractiveness of social networks is not only the opportunity to “get hold of” new friends, but, above all, its unlimited freedom. There, no one imposes anything on anyone - you choose for yourself which direction to go and with whom to communicate. Be yourself or be who you always wanted, but couldn’t. Or, on the contrary, to finally become that real person whom you actually carefully hide from other people’s views and assessments.

Apparently, this is what primarily explains the wild popularity of social networks and the desire to plunge into them - because in the real world, very often there is no such choice. You have to do not what you want, but what you need. To avoid being a “black sheep” among your peers. And in the nets it’s dry, warm, and flies don’t bite. And if suddenly some stray troll happens, ban him and that’s it.

Therefore, it is quite understandable that teenagers, who often suffer from complexes and misunderstandings of adults, prefer virtual communication. It's very simple: it's more comfortable there. Especially when there are actually more points of contact with online friends than with the real environment. But unfortunately, it often happens that a social network sucks a person in such a way that the main experiences occur in it, and life outside it is nothing more than a forced burden.

Having barely woken up in the morning and not even having time to open his eyes, the “poisoned by the network” rather turns on the computer to see if there are comments on his yesterday’s post or status. At school or college, he mainly does not study, but presses buttons on his iPod, pausing from time to time to look at the network - something new has not appeared.

And when he gets home in the evening, he again rushes headlong to the monitor - because he needs to review his friends’ feed and Latest updates in communities, read comments on your posts and comment on others, reply to comments and comment on replies.

A person gets a thrill from his social demand, nothing else matters - not the grass on the street, not the sun in the sky, not training, not a family that lacks the attention that is so generously distributed to Internet friends. Against this background, there is more and more talk about addiction to social networks as a component in general.

So, signs of social media addiction in teenagers:

The child spends a large number of time at the computer, without being distracted even by food and sleep
Due to his passion for networks, his success at school is deteriorating;
The teenager prefers virtual friends and almost never goes out;
The teenager's interests are limited only to the computer.
The teenager becomes very irritable, or, conversely, shows complete indifference to others.

You can get rid of addiction if you switch the child’s attention to something else. To do this, first of all, you should pay attention to your family’s lifestyle - whether you devote enough time to your child, because often children become obsessed with the Internet precisely because of a lack of parental attention and love.

Another reason is failures in communication with peers. In this case, it is necessary to help the teenager gain self-confidence and find a way to expand his social circle.

Like any disease, adolescent addiction to social networks is easier to prevent than to treat later. Therefore, it is better to practice prevention. Take care of your children. That's all for today. Bye, bye everyone. See you again on the pages of the “Family and Childhood” website.

We just refreshed our news feed and, not having noticed any changes in the last minute, decided to read at our leisure. For example, about addiction to social networks. This question doesn’t concern you, but it’s just curious for general development.

Have you ever tracked how much time you devote to social networks? Can you answer without blushing why you use social networks and what attracts you to them? We hope that you will respond in kind to our frankness, so we will devote just a little of our Internet traffic to the problem of addiction to social networks.

Quasi-communication

Psychologists have long been faced with the problem of the majority modern people– a state of “loneliness in a crowd.” Signs of this problem are manifested in discomfort among people, alienation, distrust of people, and lack of outside support. A person willingly exchanges real communication for quasi (surreal) communication. We find support on the Internet, because millions of people in the world are burning with the desire to put another “like” on anything. On the Internet we have many “friends” who are willing to communicate. On the Internet we are members of communities of interests (you will perceive an offer to join such a society, but real with people in reality, with bewilderment).

In truth, it is easier for a person to communicate online, because the screen hides his true experiences, which are easy to recognize in real life by facial expressions, tonality, and gestures. Communication that consists only of words, devoid of its other elements, is called quasi-communication. It is distorted and distorts us.

Symptoms of addiction

Not dependent– they go to their page only when necessary (to find out a phone number, reply to a message, write out data, etc.). These people can do just fine without social networks (which is what they do) and go there once a day, or even once a month, purely out of necessity. Their pages are often hidden from public access, publish a minimum of personal data.
Potentially addicted– they come in once a day or more often out of boredom, just to “scroll through” their friends’ pages. Most quickly “grow up” to the third type.
Dependents– have profiles on all social networks, as well as their smartphone apps that keep them online 24/7. Such a person cannot afford to be not “online”, not to immediately read a message, not to respond to a comment, not to refresh the page and not be disappointed when he sees that no one wrote to him and “no one needs him”.

Treatment???

In fact, not everything is so scary and internet addiction is much easier to cure than drug addiction. Yes, the brain's pleasure sensors also work when receiving a new like, but you are not addicted to the use of a drug. Here are some tips:

remove from your “friends” people whom you do not know personally, as well as those who constantly update their status, write “soulful” aphorisms and sayings;
remove yourself from most uninteresting communities, leave only those that really interest you;
cancel the function of publishing friends' news on your page;
enable message notifications on your Mailbox;
take away certain time on social networks, for example: log in daily from 22 to 23 hours and no more.

We hope that another important stimulating effect on you will be the statistics on addiction to social networks, which, by the way, tends to increase.

If you want to get rid of your addiction, learn to fulfill your life real communication: attend different events, join real communities of interests, make yourself a family, meet your online friends in real life.

Statistical data: