Can One Become Addicted To WhatsApp?
Addicted to WhatsApp, internet addicted, Instagram addicted, online dating addicted…. No doubt people will remember the 21st century for addiction, the repeated behavior towards technology. It is a new and growing phenomenon. It is therefore not inconceivable that dependence on other types of technologies will also emerge in the future.
It happens because all behaviors that include the enjoyment and pleasures of pure instinct are reinforcing and give an urge to be repeated. That kind of behavior tends to become an addictive behavior. However, the addictive behavior will only occur if the person shows addictive loss of control when doing that kind of thing.
In addition, the addiction will continue no matter what negative consequences it may have for the person. This is exactly what happens if a person becomes addicted to WhatsApp.
It is important to note that the fundamental components of suffering from addiction are lack of control. Thus, the propensity for addiction is not limited to the abuse of chemical substances.
There are obviously harmless habits that can become addictive, such as using modern technology. The truth is that if we use something repeatedly and make its use a priority, it can literally ruin our quality of life.
The use of WhatsApp
Jan Koum founded WhatsApp in 2009. Koum came from Ukraine to the United States in the early 1990s. He spoke little English when he became head of the Yahoo platform.
This app became very popular in a very short time. Today it has more than a billion. users. WhatsApp servers never get peace. 42 billion messages are sent through WhatsApp every day. Through WhatsApp, people send 1.6 billion. pictures and more than 250 million. videos daily. This data gives us an idea of how popular and therefore powerful this app is today.
Psychologically addicted to WhatsApp
Drug addicts are usually referred to as someone who is addicted to a chemical substance. But now there is also clinical substance that one can call addiction to WhatsApp an addiction.
It is no exaggeration to point to certain behaviors as passionate gambling, addiction to social networks and addiction to food can be considered as addictions. When a person exhibits a strong psychological preference for a behavior, they may begin to show signs of anxiety and impulsive traits.
As a result, they lose interest in all other types of activities. They simply turn their backs on these activities. Thus, an addiction can kidnap the person.
It is no wonder to see people using WhatsApp all the time. It also does not seem that the person cares about where he / she is. People use WhatsApp as well as other mobile apps everywhere and all the time.
It is available all the time and you get a great reward when you use it. It gives us a good idea of how strong an addiction one can get from it.
What is the progression of being addicted to WhatsApp?
As with all other psychological addictions, here you can see how to become addicted to WhatsApp:
- The use of WhatsApp is pleasant and rewards the person. This is logical thanks to the many features the app has.
- The user starts to think more about using the app when they are not in the process of using it.
- They are starting to use WhatsApp with increasing frequency. Therefore, they lose interest in other activities that previously interested them (reading, listening to music, playing sports, etc.)
- The person tends to underplay how interested they are in the app. It is called the psychological mechanism of denial.
- There is an intense periodic desire to use WhatsApp. They have high expectations of the relief of discomfort they will feel after using the app.
- They continue to use it, even after negative consequences.
- These people usually justify their use of the app and try to convince others that they are fine. They see their actions through a disturbed adapted reality.
- As the bad sides of using the app emerge, the addict begins to become aware of reality. They try and fail to control their behavior without getting help.
- What keeps this behavior running is the fact that it is very pleasing. They have a growing sense of having to use the app to remove their discomfort. However, the relief becomes less intense and lasts for less time as time goes on. That way, WhatsApp will be their only way to deal with their stress.
- An external crisis, such as a break-up with the girlfriend, usually leads to the person or the person’s family seeking help with the treatment.
Consequences of being addicted to WhatsApp
As a result of all this, the use of WhatsApp becomes an automatic necessity. Its use is associated with their emotional well-being and the addicted person has very little control over his actions.
The person seeks towards the immediate reward that they feel when using the app, but they do not take the long-term effects, side effects and consequences into consideration.
There are two major negative consequences of being addicted to WhatsApp and other social media. One of these consequences is that one isolates oneself from one’s surroundings. The other has to do with not emphasizing other social aspects, such as work and school. Our relationship is starting to go downhill, especially the romantic ones.
As we have seen, in addition to the physiological addictions (tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, etc.) there are also some psychological addictions. The effects of constantly having to use this app can be detrimental to our social well-being. It’s a bit ironic that a social app can be socially harmful and limit and ruin our social lives.
