HSCI 1180 Drugs & Society: Social Media & Smartphones Addiction Essay

This essay explores the controversial topic of whether social media and smartphones should be classified as addictions and considered drugs, as per the HSCI 1180 Drugs and Society assignment. It presents arguments for and against this classification, supported by literature, and includes a critical reflection on the author's own position. The essay discusses both the negative impacts, such as spamming, time misuse, and mental health issues, and the positive aspects, like enhanced socialization and crisis communication. It also addresses cultural and gender-related experiences with social media, highlighting the mixed responses received by individuals from diverse backgrounds. The author also shares personal experiences with social media, noting both positive support and negative feedback. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a range of academic resources for students.

Running head: DRUGS AND SOCIETY
Drug and Society
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
Smartphone and social media users have become some of the unavoidable aspects of the
modem lives. Particularly the teenagers and the adolescents have a great tendency towards then
usage of these materials. This is because of the fact that smartphones and social media have
become some of the basic necessities of life. The teenagers use smartphones and the different
social media network for the purpose of connecting with people all around the world. However,
in the modern scenario, many of the teenagers have started developing a mind of addiction
towards the use of smartphones and social media. Not only the parents but the teenagers
themselves often find that they are getting too much involved within the long usage of these
items.
This is a very important and modern topic to be explored in this 21st century. This is
because life has become very fast and people everywhere are looking for some faster and easier
methods for getting all their information. Many of the students feel that they will be getting a
major amount of information regarding all the burning topics from Smartphones. There are so
many users from all across the world using the different social media sites like facebook, twitter,
and other such sites. Thus, teenagers often feel that initiating conversations on these social media
platforms will be helping them to get a wide range of views and opinions from many different
users. Apart from this they also try to look for new companionship on the social media platforms.
However, it has been seen that the users often develop the habit of logging onto their social
media many times in one day. The users’ often get so much addicted that they cannot spend their
time without looking at the updates that might have been shared by them and the other users on
the internet. This might also create lots of stress over their eyes and their mental set up as well.
The over usage of the smartphones and the social media can be termed as drugs and their
excessive use can also be termed an addiction.
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 2

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
As per the opinion of the Boulianne (2015), there are many disadvantages of using social
media sites and also smartphones. Spamming is one of the major aspects that often affect people
in a harmful manner. The excessive usage of smartphones and social media sites often make the
make their accounts filled with viruses. This might affect the smooth functioning of the
Facebook accounts and the other social media accounts that are used by the individuals. It is seen
that the teenagers who have their accounts in the different social media often misuse their
valuable time.
Topolovec-Vranic & Natarajan (2016) has suggested that these people have become too
active in their accounts rather than doing some good and useful work. There are many school
goers and the college students who have their accounts on social sites. Due to their addiction to
these sites, they often get drifted from their studies. They pay much less attention to their exams
and their studies. Instead, they have the habit of logging onto their social sites and talk with
people coming from many different backgrounds. They are so frustrated in their lives that they
enjoy the virtual company that they enjoy.
Houston et al. (2015) have also suggested that the level of frustration is increasing in this
modern day scenario. Ss a result of thus the adolescents are trying to find solace and company
within the virtual world. In other words, they try to find some friends online or on the various
virtual platforms. They make sure that they do not have to interact with anyone face to face or in
reality. They just try to escape from the real world scenarios and interact with someone that they
do not know in person. Van Laethem, Van Vianen & Derks (2018) has also agreed to it saying
that the millennial have the habit of looking for their solutions within the virtual company that
they can find in their social sites. They have a habit of compulsively checking their updates and
the pictures that are being shared by all the users on social sites. This is because they are
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 3

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
developing this view that online friendships or relationships are the best places where one can
seek valuable solutions to their problems.
Cheever, Moreno & Rosen (2018) is of the opinion that extensive and prolonged usage of
the social sites often hurt the confidence and the thought process of the Millennial. The problem
with social media is that there are so many users from all across the world. All the users are
coming from much different cultural and social background. It is thus evident that these people
might have some kinds of comments or share some opinions that might hurt the sentiments and
the emotions of people. For an instance, if a teenager shares some pictures on the social site there
is a chance that the other online users will be giving their comments over the same. However, the
teenager will not be getting only positive or good comments. There can be many other users
using the social sites who will be giving some negative comments over the pictures. Seeing these
negative comments the teenagers might feel that they are being insulted and demeaned by these
negative comments.
Thus the self-confidence of the users will be hurt through these kinds of comments. However,
teenagers or adolescents will also not be able to share their thoughts and feeling with their
parents.
They will be storing these negative aspects within themselves. This will make them very
upset and will also affect their mental balance. They might also start suffering from mental
issues, anxiety and many other such problems. There has been a sharp rise in the percentage of
the entire population that uses social media sites. It is perhaps no surprise that, over the past ten
years, there has been a sharp rise of about 20 percent. The population belonging in the age group
of 16 to 24 years of age that are engrossed in the usage of social media sites like facebook,
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 4

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
twitter, and other such profiles. Thus, it is evident that just like the other drugs the usage of the
social media platforms is also becoming one of the major additions in the lives of the teenagers
and the other people of the similar age group. At the same time, one cannot ignore the
advantages that one can get while using social media platforms. Hughes & Burke (2018) has
argued that the social media sites also helps people in socializing with the other likeminded
people living in different other parts of the country. There are also many people particularly the
senior citizens who often feel that they are being abandoned by the society, They can get a good
source of connecting with the other people who might be interested in initiating and maintaining
contact with them.
The social sites are also used to convey the message during any crisis to the masses. In
other words, the social sites are good means or modes of communication through which the
people living at one corner of the world can actually send the message to the others living in
different other parts of the world. For an instance during the time of any environmental crisis like
the earth wake the relief group people make sure that they are being able to circulate the message
from the crisis point to the rest of the people so that it can be solved properly.
Sciandra & Inman (2015) is of the opinion that they are also many health issues that can
crop up due to the extensive use of smartphones. Smartphones have become one of the major
tools that individuals need in their day to day lives. This is because smartphone technology has
helped to make life much easier. Too much usage of these smartphones will be creating harmful
impacts on the lives of the users. Too much exposure to the phone screen will harm the eyesight
of these people. The smartphones emit the HEV light rays that often can cause harm to the retina
of the users. This is one of the major reasons that will be harming the teenagers from using it.
The other problem is a huge burden. With the extensive use of Smartphones in the job sectors,
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 5

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
the employees are facing an extra burden of work. They have to carry on the normal work along
with some added works as well. This increases their work pressure. Lanette et al. (2018) are also
of their opinion that there are a lot of privacy concerns that might crop up with the usage of
Smartphones.
There are many threats that are associated with the random use of smart Phones as there
is a lot of hackers who might somehow hack and get access to private data. However, there are
also some good aspects of using this material (Eger, 2015). They are helpful in bringing about
many different kinds of entertainment and education. It is through the use of Smart Phones that
teenagers can get easy access to all the Internet sources that will help them in getting large-scale
information for their academics. However, they have to make sure that they are making a
checked and proper usage of their smartphones and their social sites.
I feel that there have been both good and bad experiences in the usage of social media
sites and smartphones. I have received good moral support and also some bad comments on
some aspects. This is because often when I wanted to get some opinions regarding any
educational topics or any kinds of other problems. I have always seen that people from the other
parts of the world try to give all their views and opinion. This is really very helpful as it helps in
understanding the viewpoints and the perspectives of people belonging from many different
cultural backgrounds of the world.
The smartphones and social media sites are used by people belonging from all the
genders. Male, female and even the people belonging to the ‘other' category have their access to
the usage of the social sites. However, I have seen that people belonging from the queer or the
‘other' genders often receive a mixed kind of response. In other words, at the time they receive
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 6

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
good support and cooperation, whereas, on the other hand, they are often bullied by the other
users who are present on social networking sites.
During the present scenario, people belonging from the teenage group are mainly getting
attracted to the usage of social media sites and Smartphones. It is to be noted in this context that
the smart phones and the social sites are actually very helpful for the educational purposes and
for connecting people across boundaries. However, at the same time, parents must make sure that
they are keeping a proper check over the amount of time for which the teenagers are being
exposed to the social sites and the Smart Phones.
Culture and religion also play a major role in the usage of social sites and smartphones. I
have seen that people belonging the western culture are quite open with their friends and their
families regarding their experiences. Thus they will also share their happy and sad experiences
with their families. Thus they will be getting good advice from their parents on how to use the
same. On the other hand, there are some people who belong from traditional and orthodox
cultural backgrounds. People from the less developed places like Africa, Uruguay, and others do
not often have access to the internet, smartphones or social sites. Thus, it will be easy for then
online hackers to track down their personal information. This they have to make sure that they
are using the proper privacy tools.
Thus, it can be concluded that people all over the world are using social sites and smart
phones. They serve as very good ways of creating global relations. However, apart from
globalization too much usage and unchecked usage of social sites will cause harm to the users.
There are hackers who often try to hack all the personal data from the profiles of the users. Thus
the teenagers have to make sure that they are sharing all their experiences with their parents or
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 7

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
any close ones so that they can be guided in the right path. Precautions also have to be taken by
the family members to guide their children so that they do not get addicted to smart phones. The
users must make sure to maintain a proper gap in the time spans for which they are using their
smart phones.
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 8

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
References
Boulianne, S. (2015). Social media use and participation: A meta-analysis of current
research. Information, communication & society, 18(5), 524-538.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1008542
Cheever, N. A., Moreno, M. A., & Rosen, L. D. (2018). When Does the Internet and Smartphone
Use Become a Problem?. In Technology and Adolescent Mental Health (pp. 121-131).
Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-69638-6_10
Eger, L. (2015). Is Facebook a similar learning tool for university students as LMS?. Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 203, 233-238.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815049356
Houston, J. B., Hawthorne, J., Perreault, M. F., Park, E. H., Goldstein Hode, M., Halliwell, M.
R., ... & Griffith, S. A. (2015). Social media and disasters: a functional framework for
social media use in disaster planning, response, and research. Disasters, 39(1), 1-22.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/disa.12092
Hughes, N., & Burke, J. (2018). Sleeping with the frenemy: How restricting ‘bedroom use’of
smartphones impacts happiness and wellbeing. Computers in Human Behavior, 85, 236-
244. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563218301523
Lanette, S., Chua, P. K., Hayes, G., & Mazmanian, M. (2018). How Much is' Too Much'?: The
Role of a Smartphone Addiction Narrative in Individuals' Experience of
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 9

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
Use. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 2(CSCW), 101.
https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3274370
Manca, S., & Ranieri, M. (2016). Is Facebook still a suitable technology‐enhanced learning
environment? An updated critical review of the literature from 2012 to 2015. Journal of
Computer Assisted Learning, 32(6), 503-528.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcal.12154
Ngai, E. W., Tao, S. S., & Moon, K. K. (2015). Social media research: Theories, constructs, and
conceptual frameworks. International Journal of Information Management, 35(1), 33-44.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026840121400098X
Nkhoma, M., Cong, H. P., Au, B., Lam, T., Richardson, J., Smith, R., & El-Den, J. (2015).
Facebook as a tool for learning purposes: Analysis of the determinants leading to
improved students’ learning. Active Learning in Higher Education, 16(2), 87-101.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469787415574180
Sciandra, M. R., & Inman, J. J. (2015). Smart phones, bad calls? In-store mobile technology use
and consumer purchase behavior. ACR North American Advances.
http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v43/acr_vol43_1020071.pdf
Soror, A. A., Hammer, B. I., Steelman, Z. R., Davis, F. D., & Limayem, M. M. (2015). Good
habits gone bad: Explaining negative consequences associated with the use of mobile
phones from a dual‐systems perspective. Information Systems Journal, 25(4), 403-427.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/isj.12065
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 10

DRUGS AND SOCIETY
Topolovec-Vranic, J., & Natarajan, K. (2016). The use of social media in recruitment for medical
research studies: A scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 18(11).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5118584/
Van Laethem, M., Van Vianen, A. E., & Derks, D. (2018). Daily fluctuations in smartphone use,
psychological detachment, and work engagement: The role of workplace
telepressure. Frontiers in psychology, 9.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6166396/
DRUGS AND SOCIETY Page 11