Is social media addiction growing

Well, here's a question. Is the amount of time we spend glued to social media harmful? With users reporting an overall increase in social media, some people are worried they are becoming addicted to their phones. Is there a way to break the cycle though? NBC's Savannah Sellers looked into it. 

From Facebook to TikTok, to Instagram to Twitter, the number of social media platforms keeps growing, and with it, the amount of time people spend on them. I'm getting 6, sometimes 7 hours just checking throughout the day. Initially designed to increase connections, social media is now having the opposite effect. More users report developing addictions. You might seriously need to consider doing a dopamine detox. 

Maritza Artola is a digital marketer. Her family. Calling her out, my daughter started pointing it out to me and she would grab my phone to get my attention and not really like that. That's just like that. Really. Put it in perspective for me, I'm like, this is too much. The average daily time spent on social media has increased 63% since 2012, according to an Internet tracking site. So I definitely saw my usage go up every year to the point where, you know, last year I think it was like 5 hours a day on my phone. When virtually everything is online these days from school to work to doctor's appointments. It can be hard but not impossible to unplug. 

I am going to show you how to invest in the stock market. Nate O'Brien is a popular YouTuber who makes videos on personal finance. Every 2-3 minutes I would just be getting a buzz on my phone and I'd say, OK, well, what's this? It might be something important. I have to look. It's just a Twitter notification, but you know, it's kind of funny, and then I click on it and then I end up in this social media vortex and I'm just in it. Suddenly 45 minutes go by. Experts recommend doing a digital detox, where you intentionally reduce or completely disconnect from your devices for a period of time. It can be as little as an hour one day a week or more. I've been training myself now where I'll go days without using my phone and I've gotten very good at it. But initially, when I tried doing that, it was tough and it was like I would always be reaching for it. 

Maritza feels she can't completely detox, but is trying to wean off trying to replace screen time in the morning with things like meditation. I am a firm believer in taking small steps because I believe that leads to sustainable changes. Instead of just saying like not to do, not to check your phone at all, maybe replace it with something else to another activity.