Are social networking sites addictive?
1With the increasing popularity of wireless devices like
smartphones — devices that can move lots of data very quickly
— users have access to their social networks 24 hours a day.
Most social networking sites have developed applications
for your mobile phone, so logging on is always convenient.
Social networks also tap into our human desire to stay
connected with others. Besides, the rush of nostalgia as you
connect with your former grade-school classmate on
Facebook can be quite heady and exciting.
2But what's the main reason we find these sites so addictive?
Plain old narcissism. We broadcast our personalities online
whenever we publish a thought, photo, YouTube video or
answer one of those “25 Things About Me" memes. We put
that information out there so people will respond and connect
to us. And being part of a social network is sort of like having
your own entourage that follows you everywhere, commenting
on and applauding everything you do. It's very seductive.
3In 2008, researchers at the University of Georgia studied the
correlation between narcissism and Facebook users.
Unsurprisingly, they found that the more “friends" and wall
posts a user had, the more narcissistic he or she was. They
noted that narcissistic people use Facebook in a selfpromoting
way, rather than in a connective way. It may be an
obvious theory, but it also suggests that social networks bring
out the narcissist in all of us.
4Social networks are also a voyeuristic experience for many
users. Following exchanges on Twitter or posts on Facebook
and MySpace are akin to eavesdropping on someone else's
conversation. It's entertaining and allows you to feel like a “fly
on the wall" in someone else's life.
5Social networking sites also publicly list your “friends" or
“followers" — giving you instant status. How many people do
you know online who spend all their time trying to get more
friends, more followers, more testimonials? We work hard in
real life to elevate our statuses, make friends and search out
boosters for our self-esteem. Online social networking
provides this to us, and we don't even have to change out of
our sweatshirts to get it.
(adapted from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/socialnetworking/information/social-networking-sites-addictive2.htm)
Glossary
addictive: viciante; tap into: explorar/tirar proveito;
broadcast: anunciar; entourage: comitiva/séquito; akin to
eavesdropping: parecido com bisbilhotar; booster: aquilo
que impulsiona; sweatshirts: camisetas
The pronoun 'they' in “They noted that narcissistic people use Facebook in a self-promoting way, rather than in a connective way"(paragraph 3) refers to