How does addiction to social networks affect personal relationships?

There is no doubt that the development of new technologies linked to the Internet and electronic devices how smartphones and tablets have diversified our ways of relating to others much.

However, it is one thing that quantitatively increases the options to communicate with others or to know about them in real time, and another thing is that our ability to connect with other people increases qualitatively. In fact, there are few cases in which the opposite occurs: that by integrating the constant use of devices connected to the Internet into the day-to-day life, the social life of the person is impoverished.

The so-called addictions to social networks are a very clear example of this: when we abuse digital platforms such as Instagram or TikTok, that dependence becomes an obstacle to socialize fully and satisfactorily. Let's see why this paradoxical phenomenon occurs.

• Related article: "How does addiction affect the brain?"

What is social media addiction?

What is known as addiction to social networks is a pattern of behavior characterized by

the abuse of digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other websites and applications that keep people interconnected on the Internet and able to publish and consume contents.

This excessive use of social networks makes the person feel a constant need to review the new content that has been uploaded to the network (and / or to contribute content with frequently), so that you partly lose control of your actions and are less able to manage your time well and focus on other important tasks and actions from day to day. day.

Due to this psychological phenomenon, people who develop this dependency link towards social networks (which are usually very young people, although it can occur at all ages) they begin to feel significantly unwell after spending minutes or hours without having access to a computer or mobile phone with an Internet connection, and this interferes with their quality of life.

Social media addiction is not a psychopathology comparable to, for example, addiction to alcohol or heroin; the way in which it develops and is reflected in people's behavior is not the same as that of the addictive disorders that appear in diagnostic manuals, so technically it is not an addiction, but another type of problem related to dependence.

Yes indeed, that it is not part of these psychopathologies does not mean that it cannot become a source of intense discomfort or even an element that increases the predisposition to develop diseases and very severe mental health problems. That is why, in situations of this type, it is important to start a psychological treatment process as soon as possible.

• You may be interested in: "Rebellion in adolescence: why it appears and what to do"

How does addiction to social networks affect the development of socialization skills?

The impact that addiction to social networks has on the quality of life goes beyond the relationships we maintain with others; For example, it can lead to dysfunctional ways of managing anxiety and facilitate the development of disorders such as substance abuse or Eating disorder. However, here we are going to focus on its effects on the way of socializing and maintaining meaningful ties with the people around us.

So, let's see how social media addiction affects the social life of the person who develops it.

1. Limit your communication skills

It's no secret that most social networks are not designed to express themselves taking advantage of all the richness of verbal language: short and colorful messages are often prioritized, something that has even led to certain cultural dynamics when it comes to expressing themselves, such as the use of hashtags or emoticons to simplify ideas.

This makes people who spend a good part of their time using social networks lose Opportunities to practice a somewhat more elaborate way of expressing yourself, allowing you to string together ideas and arguments.

• Related article: "The 10 basic communication skills"

2. May lead to avoidance patterns of face-to-face interactions

Social media addiction it can lead to the person trying to replace all their ways of socializing with interactions through the Internet, considering it a "safe" way that does not expose your vulnerabilities and prevents you from having to improvise face to face and / or manage your non-verbal language.

In other words, it creates a feeling of a comfort zone that, even if you are not aware, is limiting you from developing much-needed communication skills in real life.

This fact, in addition to impoverishing the social life of the person, causes them to feel a lot of anxiety or fear of situations in which you feel pressure to meet strangers or semi-strangers in the face of face.

• You may be interested in: "Extreme shyness: what it is, causes, and how to overcome it"

3. Leads to frustrating situations

Who develops addiction to social relationships note that any face-to-face interaction that distracts you from concentrating on the screen is a problem, an annoying obstacle.

That is why arguments at home are frequent, especially when the person's relatives or partner begin to express their dissatisfaction with the tendency to isolate themselves from that person.

4. Makes listening to others more difficult

The bombardment of stimuli to which those who abuse social networks are subjected means that, even when they are not browsing the Internet, these people always have a torrent of memories and mental images running through his consciousness. This is a great source of distractions in all areas of life, and one of them is conversations with others.. These people often have a hard time concentrating and keeping their attention focused on what the other person is trying to convey face to face.

For example, it is not unusual that instead of listening to what the other person explains, they are thinking about what they will do when they sit in front of them. to the computer and see what a user of a social network has responded to them in those last minutes, or that in a meeting they are every little time picking up the phone to simply look at their social networks, disconnecting from the people with whom they are physically.

• You may be interested in: "Active listening: the key to communicating with others"

Are you looking for professional psychological assistance?

If you are interested in having psychotherapy for adults or adolescents, I invite you to contact me.

I am an expert psychologist in individualized, family and couple intervention with more than a decade of professional experience in this field, and I attend online by video call.