Peoples addiction to social media is caused by the brian receiving a pleasurable feeling.

Addiction corresponds with the sensation of pleasure in the brain or that of feeling rewarded when talking about themselves. Addiction is also related to feeling the need to do a certain thing or activity. Hence why so many people enjoy putting their thoughts and feelings out on social media like twitter. When we talk about ourselves we feel pleasure and enjoyment. This is why media addiction is a real issue. Although most people don’t realize or want to admit it they’re probably already addicted or well on their way. Checking your phone every hour to see new Instagram posts your friends have put up or tweeting 10 plus times in one hour are both on the path to addiction if not already. People nowadays are so involved in their phones they miss a lot of what is going on around them; they walk into people or trip up a step. The fact that most people can’t take their eyes off their phones even while walking to or from class is definitely something that is caused by addiction. Even feeling like we always have to rely on our phones for updates on what’s going on in our friend’s lives and in the news. Within a day I engage myself in media all the time. Even though within the last few months I have limited my amount of social networks to only two (Instagram and Snapchat) I still feel myself checking my phone just as much as when I had 5 social media apps. I would have to say that when checking social media apps I too get that pleasurable feeling and perhaps I too am on my way to becoming addicted. My phone is definitely a huge distraction to me in class. Every time I space out or find what the professor says to be boring I take out my phone and check my social media apps. Although I would like to see some kind of rules set up about usage of technology in classrooms I believe that they do not have a right to tell you that you cannot use your phone. If you want to pay extreme amounts of money to go to college and fail because you were on your phone all class that is your own fault and you then have to deal with it. Maybe this will actually help some people learn to stay off their phones in class. Growing up at home I was only allotted a certain amount of TV or computer time a day and did not receive a cell phone until I was 14. I think most parents should this to help prevent their child from becoming addicted to their phones, social, media, etc.

http://marketing.wtwhmedia.com/new-harvard-study-shows-why-social-media-is-so-addictive-for-many