Topic: Many young people seem to ignore their addiction to social media & smart devices. Explain how social media developers take advantage of humans’ psychology to make it more addictive. What are the consequences of this addiction?

For quite a long time, technology has become something we cannot miss out on a daily basis. We do almost everything with our phones on to check messages as soon as possible. This becomes an increasingly popular activity over the last decade. Although social media is such a great place for interacting with people, reading news articles, etc. , the excessive use of it is problematic. However, not many young people realize that they are addicted to social networks and continue repeating the activities. How social media creators make use of humans' psychology to make it more obsessive is the question we need to answer. In our brain, we have a system called reward. It has a huge impact on our decision and sensation. When we undergo something rewarding or uses an addictive substance, neurons in the principal dopamine-producing areas in the brain are activated and dopamine levels rise. Therefore, the brain receives a "reward" and associates the drug or activity with positive reinforcement. This is observable in social media usage. When we get a notification or a comment, we usually feel excited. Due to that fact, the developers create notification icons, comments, and different functions which makes people even more interested in social media. Moreover, the reward centers of the brain are most active when people are talking about themselves. Well, social media is a great place to do that. Hardly anyone knows their true colors, so they can just exaggerate about themselves that they are perfect. Being addicted to social networks is hard to realize as people seem to ignore the signs or they even do not know what are they. As a result, the situation goes from bad to worse and then out of control. Excessive social media use can cause unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life in users as the virtual world is nothing the same as our real world. Another aspect of social anxiety triggered by online media use is the fear of missing out (FOMO), the extreme fear of not being included or missing a social event. A 2017 study conducted by Harvard University found that the internet community has a remarkably detrimental effect on the emotion of addictive users and their lives. It negatively impacts not only their relationship but also their future achievements. In conclusion, we should take advantage of social media not follow what it tells us to. Do not "fall in love with" that virtual world, it might bring you some happiness at first but then it can take away your dreams and future. Stay alert of being addicted to social platforms.