A look at how our society has evolved to the point where we don't just use technology and social media- we need it. (Film 260 Flipbook Assignment, May 2013)

1. Photo via Flickr commons by philcampbell
The iHIgh:
Recognizing
the
emerging
addiction
our world
has to
technology
By: Meghan
Froebelius

2. One reason people use Facebook, Twitter, and
other social networking websites regularly is
“because of an addiction to endorphins released
in the body during the process of posting.”
Photo via Flickr commons by
idovermani Source: Anthony Carpio, Social Networking Sites Creates High for Users

3. Photo via Flickr commons by west.m
Every notification
could mean
something exciting.
This results in a hit
of dopamine. Source: Facebook Psychology: Is Addiction
Affecting Our Minds? (Infographic) presented by Best Masters in Psychology

4. “Each ‘hit’ feeds our social
media addiction.”
Photo via Flickr commons by west.m
Source: Facebook Psychology: Is Addiction
Affecting Our Minds? (Infographic) presented by Best Masters in Psychology

5. The chemicals give
us a feeling of
REWARD that
rushes through
the brain and body
with every
notification.This
reward becomes
something we
CRAVE.
Photo via Flickr commons by LawPrieR
Source: Anthony Carpio, Social Networking Sites Creates High for Users

6. Repeatedly checking social media creates an
addiction similar to using coke, meth, or other
abusive substances.This creates
the iHigh.
Photo via Flickr commons by Steve Snodgrass

7. Actually, Internet
Addiction Disorder (IAD)
is now an accepted
psychological diagnosis in
China, Taiwan, and South
Korea.
Source: Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, How is Facebook Addiction Affecting Our Minds? Photo via Flickr commons by perpetualplum

8. America will follow in 2013.
Photo via Flickr commons by Steve Snodgrass Source: Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, How is Facebook Addiction Affecting Our Minds?

9. Someone with IAD will be
constantly preoccupied with
the internet and will have an
increasingly higher tolerance
against the ‘high’.
Photo via Flickr commons by kamshots Source: Alice G. Walton, Internet Addiction: The New Mental Disorder?

10. Source: Alice G. Walton, Internet Addiction: The New Mental Disorder?
They will also use the internet to
boost their mood.
Photo via Flickr commons by Johan Larsson

11. Some “argue that their
dependence is
actually beneficial,
since it lets them be more
productive professionally.”
Being constantly
connected lets you
respond quickly to things
such as “work emails,
making you a more
valuable employee
than your non-addicted
colleague.”
Source: Alice G. Walton, Internet Addiction: The New Mental Disorder?Photo via Flickr commons by sean_hickin

12. But a chemical reaction isn’t the only reason
for an online addiction.
Photo via Flickr commons by katerha

13. One reason for
online indulgence is
because of the need for
VALIDATION
in our lives.
Photo via Flickr commons by Denis Dervisevic

14. Photo via Flickr commons by owenwbrown
“The world of social media has allowed platforms like
Facebook and Twitter to play on the HUMAN NEED for
reinforcement and validation. It’s game mechanics for
“Likes” and “Comments” are those bits of validation.”
-Hessie Jones
Source: Hessie Jones, Teaching Our Kids Not to Treat the Internet as a Private Diary

15. “I like ... my voice being heard
somewhere where people care, so I make it
heard in an environment with users who will ...
read what I have to say solely out of interest.
Doing so brings me ... joy, that people care
or agree with the things I say, that I really
can’t get anywhere else.”
-Anonymous Internet User
Photo via Flickr commons by Johan Larsson Source: Jami Oetting, Smells Like Teen Spirit: Schooling Marketers on Tumblr

16. But, regardless of the
reason for it, like any
addiction the iHigh will
eventually have negative
repercussions.
Photo via Flickr commons from OSU Special Collections

17. “I get that kids need validation but this world of social has
created an environment that eventually strings them
along a path to a point where the very information they
created can be their greatest demise.”
-Hessie Jones
Photo via Flickr commons by Patrick Feller
Source: Hessie Jones, Teaching Our Kids Not to Treat the Internet as a Private Diary

18. Source: Facebook Psychology: Is Addiction
Affecting Our Minds? (Infographic) presented by Best Masters in Psychology
“Internet
addicts
have
10-20%
smaller
brain areas
responsible for
speech,
memory,
motor
control,
emotion,
sensory, and
other
information.”
Photo via Flickr commons by auxesis

19. The more connected we become with our
virtual reality, the less connected we
become to our actual reality.
Photo via Flickr commons by Susan NYC

20. “The problem is that
internet is too
much a part of
business, society,
and education to
quit cold turkey
for most people.”
Photo via Flickr commons by Johan Larsson
Source: Facebook Psychology: Is Addiction Affecting Our Minds? (Infographic)
presented by Best Masters in Psychology

21. We need to start educating about the reality of this addiction
and start preaching how just like most things,
TECHNOLOGY IS BEST USED IN MODERATION.
Photo via Flickr commons by betsyweber

22. “When it starts to intrude
on your overall well-being,
or sanity, or it takes
precedence over time
with your kids or
spouse, then it
might be time to
CUT BACK.”
Photo via Flickr by Giuseppe BognanniSource: Alice G. Walton, Internet Addiction: The New Mental Disorder?
-Alice G.Walton

23. Articles & Images Sourced
(Slideshow made May 17, 2013)
Anthony Carpio, Social Networking Sites Creates High for Users http://
sundial.csun.edu/2011/08/social-networking-sites-creates-high-for-users/
Alice G. Walton, Internet Addiction: The New Mental Disorder? http://
www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/10/02/the-new-mental-health-disorder-internet-
addiction/
Hessie Jones, Teaching Our Kids Not to Treat the Internet as a Private
Diary http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/hessie-jones/teens-oversharing-
internet_b_2923694.html
Jami Oetting, Smells Like Teen Spirit: Schooling Marketers on Tumblr
http://www.agencypost.com/smells-like-teen-spirit-schooling-marketers-on-tumblr/
Facebook Psychology: Is Addiction Affecting Our Minds? (Infographic)
presented by Best Masters in Psychology http://mashable.com/2012/11/03/
facebook-addiction/
All images sourced via Flickr Creative Commons and have an Attributions license