Marthijn de Vries

Am I addicted to Social Media?

· Marthijn de Vries

This week I came across a tweet from Alexander Klopping. A Dutch enterpreneur who also hosts a Dutch podcast called ‘POM’ (Podcast over Media). He talks about the future of tech, personal development en other intresting things in a fun but critical way.

he tweets the following, translated from Dutch.

“I’m addicted to my phone. I tried a lot, but little helps. But I have now found a solution: the app One sec. This app puts a barrier before you can open a particular app by forcing you to pause for a few seconds.”

I checked Instagram 56 times before 8pm

After reading Alexander’s tweet, I installed the One Sec app in the morning. It’s really simple. You can setup a Shortcut on your iPhone and add One Sec to it. I linked it to the Instagram app. Now, when I try to open my Instagram account, it will open the One Sec app, saying to take a deep breath. After a couple of seconds, you’re asked if you want to open Instagram of go back to your home screen.

So, during the day (it was a Saturday, I had the day off) I tried to access my Instagram account a couple of times, at least that’s what I thought. The One Sec app also tracks the times you’re trying to open the app. It’s was saying 56 times. Just 10 hours after installing, I opened Instagram more than 50 times. I was shocked.

Recognition is a prerequisite for change

I know I’m on my phone for a least a couple of hours a day. Because of my job, I have to be on top of the lastest things in the social landscape. At least, I should, right? But isn’t always liking, scrolling and tweeting not effecting my health in the long run? Opening a Instagram app 50 times in one day isn’t healthy right? Does the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? 🤷‍♂️

So I read some (medical) articles. I came across something called the The dopamine loop

Using social media can lead to physical and psychological addiction because it triggers the brain’s reward system to release dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical. Dopamine is actually a neurotransmitter (a chemical messenger between neurons) involved in neurological and physiological functioning. It’s the same chemical our brain releases when we eat, have sex, or gamble—or use our smart phones.

For some users of social media, their brains may increase dopamine when they engage with Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram or other social media platforms. When a user gets a like, a retweet, an emoticon notification, the brain receives a flood of dopamine and sends it along reward pathways. It feels wonderful, but it also acts to reinforce our need to satisfy the feeling next time.

Hello, my name is Marthijn and I am a dopamine addict.

According to this article, I am. Right? I have the need to get another shot of dopamine. Why would you else check instagram tons of times a day. But he, Recognition is a prerequisite for change. So for the following week, I’ll tracking my screentime and keep using One Sec. Really curious of the decline of instant gratification will reduce my need for dopamine.

This is what Open Sec is saying when you use One Sec for a couple of weeks:

Our study with the University of Heidelberg and Max Planck Institute detected a reduction of social media usage by 57% thanks to One Sec.

I’ll try to publish my findings within a couple of weeks.

Some tips & tricks I came across the internet about reducing your Social Media usage.

1. Matt D’Avella on Youtube

Check video here -> 30 days social media Detox.

2. Quiet build by Peter Cammeraat

If you want (or need) a really hard cut-off, try Quiet.

3. Research about social media addiction from Stanford

Read here -> Stanford

See you at the next one! 👋🏻

This post is part of my #100daystoOffload challenge. Post 4/100.