Technology Addiction is a drug

SOME DRUGS ARE PHYSICAL SOME ARE MENTAL

CREDIT GOES TO hawkmotivationig @ INSTAGRAM

DENZEL WASHINGTON SAYS MOST OF US ARE ADDICTED

ACCORDING TO COPILOT: STUDY ON SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Title: “Social media addiction: associations with attachment style, mental distress, and personality” Authors: Christiane Eichenberg, Raphaela Schneider, and Helena Rumpl Published in: BMC Psychiatry1

Abstract: Social media platforms offer both benefits and downsides, including addictive behavior. While an ambivalent closed insecure attachment style has been linked to internet and smartphone addiction, its association with social media addiction remains unexplored. This study investigates social media addiction, focusing on attachment style, mental distress, and personality among college students with and without problematic social media use.

Methodology:

Participants: Data were collected from 571 college students (mean age = 23.61, SD = 5.00, 65.5% female) via an online survey at Sigmund Freud PrivatUniversity Vienna.

Measures: Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS): Differentiated between socially media addicted (SMA) and not socially media addicted (NSMA) students.

Attachment Style: Assessed using the Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire (BFPE).

Mental Distress: Measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18).

Personality: Evaluated using the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10).

Key Findings:

Prevalence: 22.7% of students were identified as addicted to social media.

Personality Traits: SMA students reported significantly higher neuroticism values compared to NSMA students. SMA also scored higher on depressiveness, anxiety, and somatization.

Attachment Style: SMA students more frequently exhibited an ambivalent closed attachment style.

Cluster Analysis: Secure Attachment: Linked with fewer occurrences of social media addiction and lower mental health problems.

Ambivalent Closed Attachment: Associated with a higher rate of social media addiction and increased mental health problems.

Ambivalent Clingy Attachment: Medium prevalence of social media addiction and relatively equitable mental health profile.

Conclusion: These findings align with previous research on internet and smartphone addiction, emphasizing the relevance of an ambivalent closed attachment style. Therapeutic interventions for social media addiction should consider these insights.