Victims of Creativity
The roots of social media addiction
People are exposed to many dangers in their lifetime. Many of them we are not aware of at all.
Addictions are some of the most underestimate perils that may ruin completely one’s life.
Addictions are hard to overcome. Often individuals willpower is not enough, professional help is needed and quite often fighting addictions lasts a lifetime.
Addiction to alcohol, drugs, gambling are most recognizable. They come from times immemorial and have accompanied people throughout the history of mankind. That shows how doomed people’s struggle with addiction is.
The modern times brought new perils, new modern diseases and alas — completely new addictions. While the old addictions are well recognizable, we often don’t pay attention to the new, don’t recognize them or underestimate them. Such modern time’s addictions are the addictions to Internet and especially the social media addiction.
The Internet now is firmly attached to our lives, and the access to the social media is just on one click away, not only at home but also when we are on the road, on our work place, and some times we can not escape even in nature.
Why do we develop addictions so easily is a complex issue. The origin of all addictions is in our brains and ultimately comes down to a balance of the same hormones independent of the specific addiction. But here we will not discuss chemical side of the matter, nor the biological one.
Why we so easily get addicted to social media and it is so difficult to overcome it?
As James Julian noted in his article, “Toxic Habit Prevents You from Making REAL Money Online,” social media addiction might actually be even more damaging than alcohol addiction.
I’ll take the liberty to quote James again:
“Most people are content creators, and they don’t even realize it. If you post a picture on your Facebook wall, for example, you’re a content creator.”
When I read this, something clicked. There it was—the key. Deep within everyone lies a creative spirit. Even if you see yourself as an “ordinary person” and have never (really never?) created something yourself, there is a creative spark within your soul, waiting to be awakened.
Steve Jobs once said, “I thought that would happen with the Pixar computer, just as it did with the Mac,” as cited in the book “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson (Chapter Ten).
Isaacson continues, “But the machine never took hold with regular consumers.”
A similar story unfolded with the first Macintosh computers, as sales fell far below Jobs’s expectations. Yes, Jobs was right—creativity is deeply embedded in people. But they are also lazy creatures. Or, rather, we are lazy creatures, myself included. I’ll admit it: I’m lazy. Being human comes with certain traits, after all.
Simply having the tools to create isn’t enough. You need motivation, persistence, and, most importantly, the willingness to work.
On the other hand, posting on social media is effortless. You find an interesting picture online and repost it, or perhaps you craft a clever-sounding remark. Even leaving a “wise” comment on someone else’s post brings almost instant rewards. You collect “likes,” enthusiastic comments, compliments, and virtual pats on the back.
No hard work—just a nice feeling. The sleepy creative spirit is satisfied, the happiness hormones flood in, and you want more. Again and again. And again. And it’s never enough. Another mediaholic joins the ranks of countless zombified social media users.
Resisting this modern addiction is nearly impossible, as most people aren’t even aware they’re addicted, and the temptation is everywhere.
How do I personally try to combat my Internet addiction? By trying to create more meaningful content. Like this article, for example.
Maybe?
About the Creator
Bozhan Bozhkov
Hi, dear readers. I'm Bulgarian. I used to be a physicist, that's my education, but now I work as a network administrator. For many years, I have been writing a blog, and have also written several fairy tales and short stories, and a novel.
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Comments (1)
Internet today is pretty much a utility without which it is impossible to live quality life. As long as you make it work for you rather than become a slave to it, you are not addicted.