Is it time to ditch social media?

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: Is it time to ditch social media? My parents are in Dubai for a long-awaited Christmas holiday and we’re having a hoot. As we trek out onto the Jumeirah Beach for some stand up paddleboarding, I shout, “wait, wait! I need a photo for Instagram!” Cue the sigh from my father, as my mother gracefully does the honours. While I’m capturing the country’s most photogenic angles, it’s hard not to post an update. But at what cost? Am I sacrificing valuable time with my parents to ‘Face-boast’ and ‘Insta-spam’? Studies have found our generation check Facebook 14 times per day and our phones 138 times a day. Often I find myself lighting up the screen to see what has happened in the past 10 minutes that I may have missed. Just recently, singer Ed Sheeran quit the digital rat race. His last Instagram post reads: “I’m taking a break from my phone, emails and all social media for a while. I’ve had an amazing ride over the last five years but I find myself seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes. “I’m taking this opportunity of not having to be anywhere or do anything to travel the world.” With five million images being uploaded to Instagram and 500 million tweets sent each day, it does seem we are spending too much time on social media. Social media is a great communication tool, but where does the communication end and the addiction begin? Dr Saliha Afridi, a clinical psychologist and managing director at Lighthouse Arabia, a community psychology and psychiatry clinic, explains: “Biologically, addictions are based in neural pathways that are being rewarded as a result of certain activity. “Addictions to substances, shopping, and now electronics are all reinforcing the dopamine pathway in the brain. Each time a person looks at Snapchat or Facebook or get a like or a comment the dopamine is released in their brain and soon enough they are addicted. They seek the dopamine release and have withdrawals when they don’t have it. “Psychologically, individuals can become addicted to the validation of the likes and social and cultural voyeurism.” Dr Afridi also talks of a ‘virtual reality’ in which “an experience is not registered as real unless they have shared it on social media.” Experiences, to some, are only worthy through the lens of social media. Big issues. That’s why in the US, a ‘Camp Grounded’ summer camp helps adults digitally detox with attendants required to surrender all technology in exchange for a weekend of adventure in the woods. Dubai-based social media executive Sarah Aurora parted with social media for a while, despite being required to be online for work. She said: “I chose to deactivate because I was getting annoyed and irritated. It was the same thing everyday – people going out, going for holidays, girls posting ridiculous amount of selfies with ridiculous picture descriptions. It did my head in, it really did.” She adds: “It had taken over my life, I was getting irritated by what I was seeing but that didn’t make me stop seeing it. I kept checking my accounts every hour, and it was taking over me. I realised how unhealthy that was for me and my mental well-being.” Sarah is back online again, but it has changed her mindset on social media. “I’m not very active on them. I rarely check my Tumblr and don’t give much attention to my Facebook. I would definitely deactivate my accounts again. It’s not like I haven’t done it before. But the next time might be even longer.” caitlyn@7days.ae Read the original story at: Is it time to ditch social media?