With all the well known social media platforms, we know (almost) everything about each other. A few popular ones are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. These social media platforms all have a different purpose. Facebook asks what are you doing, Twitter allows you to shortly update what is on your mind, Instagram shows your life in images and Youtube does the same thing in videos. In this way people get a good look into your life. Even though you do not speak with anyone in real life, you may still know what that person was up to that day. This availability of information about other peoples lives can cause a certain addiction to the social media platform. Not checking your newsfeed may results in the fear of missing out on possible important information. This phenomenon is better known as socialbesitas.
Socialbesitas has different symptons, but three of them are very common:
1: The phantom vibration syndrome. This syndrome makes you think that you feel your mobile phone vibrating, even though this is not the case.
2. The fear of missing out, or better known as FOMO. This is the actual fear of missing some information on any kind of social media platform, which results in checking the platforms obsessively.
3. No mobile phobia. This is the fear of not having your mobile phone with you. Or the fear of a dis-functional phone.
So while reading this and being honest towards yourself, do you think you are an example of someone who has socialbesitas? If yes, would you use your mobile phone and social media less? And what are the (dis)advantages of having socialbesitas?
Reference
http://mens-en-gezondheid.infonu.nl/verslaving/120657-socialbesitas-een-verslaving-aan-social-media.html
I don´t have socialbesitas. I don´t use social media a lot; I don´t upload posts, pictures and so forth. I use Facebook mainly because it makes it easier to stay in contact with friends and to get in contact with fellow students for assignments, presentations etc. A friend of mine; maybe I would not define her as having socialbesitas but when we meet she is constantly checking her mobile phone, either messages or Facebook. And it is not only a feeling but even proved that she is absent in our conversation when she is doing it. It is really annoying when I have to repeat myself because she is not listening. Every time when we meet now I am telling her that she should leave her phone in the bag; she tries her best but I think it is very hard for her.