Social networking sites prove the thief of time(2)

The overuse of social media has become a problem for young adults and teenagers. Although to some extent the sites can help people to build up social networks and feel less isolated, the researchers found that social media can also make people less happy. Excessive use can even point to psychological problems, such as anxiety, mania and narcissism.

Judith Wright, author of The Soft Addiction Solution, included "endlessly surfing the Internet" in her definition of "soft addictions". They "are those seemingly harmless habits like over-shopping, overeating, watching too much TV, procrastinating - that actually keep us from the life we want. They cost us money, rob us of time, numb us from our feelings, mute our consciousness, and drain our energy," she wrote.

According to Wright, the deeper cause of soft addiction is that people who are stressed out are trying to comfort themselves and constantly visiting these sites can provide reassurance and rewards, such as positive comments from friends about photos they have posted. The addiction becomes a problem when it begins to bother the addicts instead of soothing them, according to Wright.

After a serious of fruitless, unproductive evenings, Zheng realized that she needed to address her problem. "At the beginning, it was fun to read friends' or schoolmates' information online. However, later I realized that I wasted a lot time doing so, which bothered me a lot because it didn't leave enough time to read all the books and essays in the time allocated. Every night, I promised myself I would quit the next day and focus on my essays, but the next day I repeated the previous day. So I stopped working in my dormitory and instead went to the library, where you can't just idle away time checking the social media. Things are becoming much better now."

Zhu Yanshao, a researcher at the Institute of Psychology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said, "Some social media addicts feel anxious when they can't use their computers, cellphones or tablets to access the social media. Once they are able to, they will unconsciously click on social network services and waste their time there, resulting in inefficiency in study and work".

In addition to the negative influence on work and study, for some people overuse of social media can have a disastrous effect on real-life communications.

'It's as if we are not there'

Qiu Yonghong said her 17-year-old son is a social media addict, and that's led to serious strains between the parents and the child.

"My son goes directly to the computer in his room when he gets home after school. Except for meals, he doesn't walk out of the door. I really want to know about his school life, but I don't know what to do," said the 42-year-old from Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

Once, the high school senior told his father in front of the whole family, "I have nothing to share with you", a statement that embarrassed and upset his parents.

"We know that he plays online games, has a girlfriend and uses WeChat and Weibo, but he seldom talks to us. He never stops looking at his smartphone during meals - it's as if we are not there at all. We want to know about his world, but everything we have tried has been in vain. I registered a WeChat account to see what he posts and know more about him, but he blocked all of us," said Qiu.

Zhu explained that addicts become so used to expressing themselves in virtual space, that their real-life communication skills may become passive and they may feel uneasy during face-to-face conversations.

In addition, social media also influences mental health, according to Zhu, who said that memory and attention spans are changing as a result. He cited academic research showing that the average attention span of US citizens dropped to eight seconds in 2012 from 12 in 2000. That decline suggests people are switching the focus of their attention more rapidly. Moreover, in a small number of Internet addicts, some regions of the brain - often those associated with speech, memory, and the control of movement and emotions - can be 10 to 20 percent smaller than usual.

Research conducted in 2012 by a team led by Larry D. Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, found that young people checked their smartphones every 15 minutes or less, sleeping with them next to the bed, disrupting their sleep (which is when the brain cements learning from the day), and become highly anxious if they can't check in as often as they wish.