What Is Social Media Addiction?
Social media addiction refers to a pattern of compulsive engagement with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter that begins to interfere with daily life, relationships, and overall well-being. This behaviour often creates a pull towards constant scrolling, posting, or checking notifications, leaving individuals feeling stuck in an endless loop. For example, someone struggling with social media addiction might find themselves neglecting their work responsibilities, withdrawing from in-person social events, or experiencing sleep disturbances due to late-night scrolling. At Leone Centre, we understand how overwhelming this experience can be and how it may lead to feelings of disconnection and dissatisfaction.
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Signs of Overuse
Social media overuse can manifest in various ways, such as spending increasing amounts of time online, feeling restless or irritable when disconnected, or becoming preoccupied with how others perceive you. It may also affect your ability to maintain focus on work, relationships, or responsibilities. For instance, you may find it difficult to concentrate on a conversation or complete a task without feeling the urge to check your phone. These patterns, though common, can create a deeper sense of imbalance in life, leaving individuals questioning their relationship with social media.
Why Does Social Media Feel So Addictive?
The design of social media platforms can often make them difficult to step away from. Features like notifications, endless feeds, and visible likes tap into our brain’s reward system, encouraging repeated use. Many people find themselves drawn in by the fear of missing out or the quest for validation, which can lead to a cycle of dependency. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and anxiety as you constantly compare yourself to others’ carefully curated online personas. Recognising these influences is a key part of exploring how your interactions with social media might be shaped by deeper needs or emotions.
Understanding the Emotional Impact
Excessive use of social media can amplify feelings of anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem, often creating a false sense of connection that leaves real-life relationships neglected. Social media can contribute to body image issues by presenting unrealistic beauty standards. The constant barrage of edited photos and filtered images can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction with your own appearance. Over time, the divide between your online presence and offline life may grow, leading to dissatisfaction and a sense of being out of touch with what truly matters. Counselling can help you unpack these feelings and explore ways to bring balance and fulfilment back into focus.
Steps to Reconnect with Yourself
Rediscovering life outside social media can feel daunting, but small changes can lead to meaningful shifts.
- Set Time Limits: Use built-in phone features or app timers to restrict your social media usage.
- Turn Off Notifications: Reduce the temptation to constantly check your phone by disabling non-essential notifications.
- Engage in Alternative Activities: Explore hobbies, spend time in nature, or connect with loved ones in person to shift your focus away from social media.
- Consider a Social Media Detox: Taking a break from social media entirely can help you reset your habits and reconnect with yourself.
Counselling at Leone Centre offers a supportive space to reflect on what draws you to social media and how it may be affecting you. Together, we can work towards finding ways to engage in the online world that feel more in tune with your values, while also helping you rebuild connections in other areas of your life
Whilst many of us enjoy our connection with social media, excessive and problematic use can impact our mental health and become addictive. The damage and repercussions of some addictions or addictive tendencies are not straightforward or visible.
Leone Centre offers online and face-to-face counselling for social media addictions in London. Our experienced counsellors can help you identify if and how social media use impacts your emotional and mental health. Counsellors at Leone Centre can also help you to explore ways to interact with social media such as Facebook, Tik Tok, Twitter and Instagram in positive rather than compulsive and isolating ways.
Do you feel your relationship with scrolling, posting and being online or having an online presence is becoming problematic and obsessive?
Arguably, in modern society, we are more connected and, ironically, more disconnected than ever.
Social media and internet usage can provide a false sense of connection; often, ‘followers’ and ‘friends’ do not provide the support, safety and connection that relationships hold – essential for well-being.
The instant sense of security, gratification and pleasure is not always problematic. Still, if it becomes so, the outcome can be damaging and detrimental to one’s health, impacting real-life relationships and the ability to be present and find satisfaction in other areas of life.
Recent studies have linked social media addiction with depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem issues.
Is your increasing use of social media harming other areas of your life? Are you becoming less fulfilled and satisfied and possibly more anxious about who you are and how you may come across to others?
How Counselling Can Help
At Leone Centre, we understand that every person’s experience with social media overuse is different. Counselling provides a non-judgemental space where you can explore what lies behind your behaviours and feelings. Working with a therapist who specialises in social media addiction can provide you with personalised support and approaches for building a healthier relationship with technology.
- Identify Underlying Issues: Therapy can help you uncover the emotional needs or unresolved issues that might be driving your excessive social media use.
- Develop New Approaches: You’ll learn practical ways to manage cravings, resist urges, and deal with difficult emotions without resorting to social media.
- Build Healthy Habits: A therapist will guide you in creating a balanced lifestyle that prioritises real-life connections, meaningful activities, and self-care.
Our experienced team can help you explore what you may be seeking online and how to cultivate that sense of connection or satisfaction in more grounded and fulfilling ways. We’ll work with you to help create the shifts you need, enabling you to approach social media in a way that feels healthier and more aligned with your life goals.
Building Real-World Connections
Social media can often replace or overshadow real-life relationships, but these connections remain vital for your well-being. Counselling can support you in rebuilding relationships, finding meaningful ways to engage with others, and restoring a sense of connection in the physical world. These steps can strengthen your emotional health and bring a deeper sense of presence and joy into your life.
Taking the First Step
Seeking help for social media overuse can feel like a big step, but it is also a hopeful one. At Leone Centre, we are here to help you work through the challenges and make sense of what’s happening. Together, we can focus on what matters to you and help you build a more fulfilling relationship with both your online and offline worlds. You are not alone in this journey, and we will be with you every step of the way. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us to schedule a consultation and start your path towards a healthier relationship with social media.
At Leone Centre, we understand that addiction to social media is a very real phenomenon. We will work with you sensitively and empathetically to address what is driving this behaviour whilst helping you re-connect with neglected areas and elements in your life to establish fulfilment and empower you to reclaim a positive relationship with the online world, so you can reap all the benefits that it brings.
Starting counselling to deal with addiction can feel daunting and anxiety-provoking – we get it – and we will support you every step.
As with any addiction, we know you can recover. We promote recovery through healing so you can find fulfilment in the present.
At Leone Centre, we are dedicated to providing you with the highest quality service, professional expertise, and compassionate care, so you can heal from your addiction, knowing you are in safe and trusted hands.
FAQs
What are the signs that someone might be addicted to social media?
Social media overuse can show up in many ways. Someone struggling with social media addiction might:
- Spend a progressively larger amount of their time online.
- Feel restless or irritable when they can’t access social media.
- Become overly concerned with how others see them online.
- Struggle to maintain focus on work, relationships, or responsibilities.
How can social media negatively impact mental health?
Spending too much time on social media can worsen feelings of anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem. It can create a misleading sense of connection while leading to the neglect of real-life relationships. Social media can also contribute to body image issues due to the constant exposure to unrealistic beauty standards often presented on these platforms.
What kind of help is available for someone who wants to address their social media overuse?
Counselling offers a safe and supportive environment to understand the reasons behind social media overuse and its effects. Therapists can help individuals explore what they seek online and find healthier ways to fulfil those needs. Counselling can also support people in rebuilding real-world connections and finding meaningful engagement with others.