Why do I check Social Media so much?

One of the most striking characteristics of social networks is that, despite having been artificially created through Through lines of programming, its operation seems to "fit" perfectly with something as natural as the brain. human. This makes us capable of losing track of time doing scroll down and, having tried to entertain ourselves for a certain hour, we realize that we have spent an hour glued to the smartphone.

In short, these digital platforms have a great capacity to take advantage of the vulnerabilities of the human mind to capture our attention over and over again. However, in some cases, the user not only spends many hours in a row on pages like TikTok or Instagram; In addition, he gets used to constantly checking social networks, to the point that he does it without realizing it. account: put your hand in your pocket, take out your mobile, and check Twitter or Facebook without a purpose concrete.

Why do I watch social media so much? This is a question that many of those who experience this phenomenon in their day to day ask themselves, noticing that it prevents them from concentrating on what is important or even leads them to waste time. In this article I will tell you what are the main causes that, combined, can explain this.

• Related article: "Time management: tips to take advantage of the hours of the day"

Why do I constantly check social networks?

This is a multi-causal problem, since there is not a single "mental spring" that activates the behavior of checking social networks in a unidirectional way; In any case, there are different mental processes that combine and lead the person to associate those actions with a transitory well-being, (or at least, a relief from the discomfort that was felt before accessing those pages of Internet).

With this in mind, let's look at the main causes of that "I constantly check social media" feeling.

1. Social networks offer a form of immediate evasion

First of all, it is important not to overlook that social networks are perfectly designed to "sneak in" at any moment of day to day; going to the bathroom, waiting for the bus, being in the elevator, etc. Its interface tries to be as intuitive as possible and offers updated content in a matter of fractions of a second., so that they guarantee immediate entertainment.

Therefore, resorting to social networks over and over again ends up being a habit of all those people who they want to escape from what surrounds them, either out of boredom or the discomfort generated by their everyday life Precisely that feeling of losing track of time is what many are looking for.

On the other hand, the torrent of content offered by social networks is not only interesting in itself; In addition, it is filtered taking into account the preferences of each user, since these digital platforms store a lot of data about each person.

• You may be interested in: "Mobile addiction: symptoms that you are hooked"

2. The Internet is the core of young and adolescent socialization

On the other hand, we must not forget psychosocial aspects such as the fact that currently the majority of young people and teenagershave social networks as the "lobby" of their socialization space; there they plan their meetings, establish conversations with the other young people they know by sight, etc. For this reason, many young people get used to constantly checking pages like Instagram or TikTok to make sure they don't miss anything that happens in their circle of friends and acquaintances.

3. orbiting

In some cases, the tendency to check social networks over and over again has to do with the orbiting; This phenomenon occurs when a person who has been sexually attached to another in the past begins to give them false hope through interactions on social networks, "testing the ground" while studying the possibility of reestablishing that relationship but, at the same time, not communicating properly and acting erratically, combining displays of interest with moments in which the other is ignored.

This incongruity usually generates a state of anxiety in those who suffer from orbiting, and it is customary to try to decipher what is happening by paying close attention to social networks.

4. Low self-esteem linked to a need for external validation

In other cases, the main reason why a person becomes obsessed with checking their pages on social networks is linked to low self-esteem. This occurs in those who pay close attention to the interactions their posts get, the engagement of your comments, photos and videos.

• Related article: "Do you really know what self-esteem is?"

5. Bad time management

For many people, monitoring social networks is often his way of coping with the indecision of what to do next. In other words, the fact of having a poorly structured schedule increases the probability of ending up in these dynamics, in the form of a work routine. procrastination.

Psychotherapy can help you stop using social media so much

As we have seen, this problematic tendency to check social networks over and over again does not have a single cause, but several of them, and most of them have to do with problems of management of impulses and emotions, which gives rise to a series of routines that the person internalizes and which become part of their repertoire of behavior patterns “automated”.

Fortunately, all these causes can be addressed through psychological intervention: aspects such as low self-esteem, Dysfunctional strategies to alleviate discomfort or time management are highly worked elements within the framework of psychotherapy. Therefore, if you notice that this phenomenon is affecting you and you seek professional help to not depend so much on your social networks and your smartphone, contact me.

My name is javier ares and I am a General Health Psychologist; I can assist you in person or remotely through the online therapy format by video call.