Just a quick check… Anything new? What friend’s saying what? Been where? Tweets – anything new? Better check - I might be missing something …

Sound familiar? While for some people social media is a fun and useful networking facility, for others it can take over their day.

Some people are now so addicted to social media that they have difficulties keeping their phones or PCs out of use- even on a first date, in work or during a meal out with friends.

That’s according to Shane Kelly of the Irish Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (IACP).

The increase in social media addiction recently led the IACP to give seminars around the country entitled “The Internet and Mental Health – Positives and Negatives”. That’s after counsellors reported a rise in internet and social media addiction cases presenting nationwide.

LIVING STERILE LIVES

“Social media is so prevalent now,” Shane says.

“It is part of our lives and can be extremely useful and good fun but when people tip over to the point where everything revolves around Facebook or Twitter it can end up that those people are living quite sterile lives.

“That’s because, rather than talking to people and making the effort to meet people on a one-to-one basis, they are concentrating on social media and not really getting out and meeting people in a real sense.”

The social media phenomenon is quite recent, Shane says.

“The progress in mobile technology has put these things in people’s hands and you can do it at any moment and at any time now – it’s everywhere.

“What’s happened is that we’ve moved from a situation where it is extremely convenient to be able to access information and access social media on the go right up to the situation where you just keep accessing it all the time to see what’s going on. You want to see if anyone’s sent you a message, to put something on, to check what’s going on ...

“When it comes to the stage, though, where people are getting anxious when they are not able to access their social media that’s when you know it’s a problem.”

QUITE AGITATED

People who are addicted can become quite agitated, he says.

“They’ll find ways to d it – grabbing a couple of minutes here and there. Think of someone who smokes and is in the office – you’ll see people running out to check their Facebook or Twitter page in the same way, so exactly the same reaction is happening.

“You can replace the words social media with cigarettes or alcohol because the same processes are happening for people so it’s an addiction in the true sense.”

The IACP is finding that media addiction is affecting relationships. They are recommending that we all take a hard look at something called the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale to determine if we are social media addicted.

This scale or psychometric tool was developed in Norway and rates addictive behaviour via a checklist of statements. The overall study found that social media has become more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol.

They ask:

If you feel the urge to use Facebook more and more

Do you use it to forget about your personal problems?

Have you tried to cut down on the amount you use it but can’t?

If you become restless or upset if you can’t use Facebook or if it is prohibited.

“There are also questions about whether your usage is having a negative impact on your job or your studies,” Shane says.

“If you are rating high on this scale you know you have a problem.”

“Some teenagers are now using Facebook all the time. Sometimes you can get onto a full bus these days and it’s very quiet and all the heads are down looking at telephones. Buses used to be noisy places.”

‘X FACTOR’ ELEMENT

There’s an element of the X Factor generation to social media addiction, Shane says.

‘Depending on the age group you’ll notice it – everyone can be a ‘celebrity’ in a way. You can create public exposure of yourself and self-promote in a way not possible years ago.

“You’ll see young people on social media presenting themselves as pop stars or rock stars or models so it mirrors what’s going on in popular culture.

“Basically Facebook is a website and you have your own website page and your friends are your audience so everybody is famous – and not famous at the same time.”

It’s important for people using social media to remember that it is not their own private world, the IACP counsellor says.

“People forget that because of the ease of access to it and because they are talking to their friends they think it’s okay but you are actually publishing your words and pictures to the world.

“While it’s a fantastic phenomenon – years ago the best thing you could do is get something printed in your local newspaper – now you’ve got to remember that it’s going on the world wide web.

“In most cases it doesn’t go very far but it can take off and you have no control over it. Not only have you no control over it after that but once it’s gone it can turn up anywhere even in 20 years’ time when you’ve changed your thinking about a lot of things so you’ve got to be careful.

“Yes, it’s a fabulous social media tool but it’s so new to everybody that we’re still learning how to use it. We haven’t fully figured out the etiquette and the dangers of it yet but addiction is becoming a problem for some people.”

WHAT IF I AM ADDICTED?

When you have all these symptoms – you’ve tried to cut down but can’t etc, it’s at that point that you realise it’s having a negative impact on your life and that action is needed, he adds.

“Tackling social media addiction is similar to tackling any addiction. The steps involved in overcoming it include changing your environment and creating boundaries around what you do and adding alternatives.

“If every day you were checking Facebook at that time of day do something different instead – read a book, go for a walk. Exercise is free and has a very positive effect if people use it in a healthy way to replace addictions,” he says.

GET SUPPORT

If you want to stop overusing social media it’s a good idea to also tell your friends and family that you are going to do this.

“Tell them you are going to make a change so that you get support from people around you. Counselling can help to tackle the addiction too.”

How exactly?

“Counselling gives you the space and time to sit down and think about what you’re doing. It’s the same as for any addiction. You have time to think about whatever activity you do and how it’s impacting negatively on your life.

“It will give you the space to figure out what you can do differently and how can you get over it. Not everybody needs counselling but it is a viable option that people can consider if they are addicted.”

Habit or addiction?

And how do you know which it is? With a habit you are in control of what you do and you can stop if you want to.

With addiction you are unable to stop.

Dr Cecilie Andraessen at the University of Bergen, Norway who developed the scale mentioned on the previous page also found that people who are anxious and socially insecure use Facebook more than those who are not.

“That’s probably because those who are anxious find it easier to communicate via social media than face-to-face,” she says.

She found women to be more at risk also.

For more information about counselling or the Bergen scale see www.iacp.ie