The Enticing & Alluring Effects Of Social Media [Comic]

If you are a social media addict, you may wake up in the morning thinking, “It’s not going to swallow my day today,” but inevitably, you spend hours tweeting, updating your status and posting pictures. I know what that’s like. I used to do that. I’m a recovering social media addict, and although I still love my social sites, I’m happy to say I have gotten over what was once a real addiction. The effects of social media on our brains can be very powerful, like a drug.

Last year, the researchers at Harvard released the findings from their study which somewhat explained why social media is so addictive for many people. According to WTWH Marketing Lab, “Through a series of experiments, the researchers at Harvard University learned that the act of disclosing information about oneself activates the same part of the brain that is associated with the sensation of pleasure, the same pleasure that we get from eating food, getting money or even having sex.” Like I said, the effects of social media are powerful. You can download a PDF of the study directly from the Harvard website.

On the flip side of that, social media is just plain fun. If we stop looking at the serious effects of social media and just be more lighthearted about it, it becomes a whole different thing. It’s the world’s biggest cocktail party. You can sit in your PJs and make new business contacts, new friends and laugh endlessly. What could be better than that?

Whatever your reasons are for being on social media are up to you. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you that you are on there too much or too little. It’s a personal decision, and if you’re like me, you’ll digest social media in waves – and go in and out of it. In the meantime, I thought this little comic would make you smile. It’s by CommitStrip.