Social Media Addiction – Popular Strategy by Marketers – Is it a good idea?

Historically, companies have promoted many addictive offerings such as tobacco, sugar, cocaine, opioid pain medication, gambling, coffee, and Social Media nowadays.

Addiction may stem from various activities; for which consumers develop an excessive appetite.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, Addiction is defined as the repetition of a behavior with known harmful consequences.

Behavioral addiction, as extensive research indicates, activates many of the same regions of the brain as drug-based addictions.

Non-drug addiction share more in common with drug-based addictions than previously recognized!

Social Media (SoMe) Addiction is a type of behavioral addiction. It is one of the most common forms of addictions to digital experiences. See the table below to learn more about the effects of SoMe Addiction:

Habitual behavior is the building block of addiction. It may occur with either minimal self-awareness (through Classical Conditioning – e.g. the Sound of Notifications) or deliberate decision-making (through Operant Conditioning – e.g. taking selfies to gain more attention).

Today, Marketers use Data to learn more about Consumer Habits so they can maintain the Consumers’ attention. They do so by creating Addictive Designs; that are devised for COMPULSIVE USE – causing consumers to spend hours staring into screens of SoMe platforms and Apps.

Addiction is a problem!

Marketers – from Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and other SoMe businesses – keep consumers hooked by actively striking dopamine centers and causing craving for more Notifications and more News FEED.

Consumers bow their heads, checking for notifications and scrolling to infinity!

If you are an Entrepreneur, looking to build a new business or already own a small business and you desire to grow, you could use the Addiction Business to grow your business. There is no doubt that it will be a successful strategy. However, keep in mind that Consumers are AWARE of these effects and it is only a matter of time when SoMe companies will have to change this business model due to Government Policies.

Many marketers, including myself, advocate Addiction-Free Designs. We took the side of Consumers, as we believe that CONSUMER SAFETY IS AN IMPERATIVE!