If students are on social media, chances are they’ve gotten a notification, went to check it and 30 minutes later, they’re still on their phone wondering where all their time went.
Students say social media can be a major distraction when trying to get work done, it can be addicting and can cost them countless hours that would be better spent on more productive things.
Citrus freshman Nathan Sorchini said social media is a “big distraction.” Sorchini estimated that he spends about six hours on his phone, mainly on social media, every day.
“When I’m supposed to be doing my homework I’ll stop real quick because I get a notification and then next thing I know 40 minutes goes by,” he said.
Citrus freshman Brianna Ayala agreed with Sorchini, but said she spends even more time on her phone.
“I spend around like seven hours, sometimes even eight because I’ll get the thing on screen-time and it will be like eight hours or something like that,” she said.
Ayala said social media negatively affects her job performance.
“Even when I’m working I’m always on my phone, and sometimes I’ll get distracted and bump into things,” she said “…I feel like when I’m at work, time goes by so slowly but when I’m on my phone time goes by so quickly.”
Citrus student Deven Gunawardane said social media is addictive, even going so far as to compare social media to nicotine.
“It’s a habit your brain forms,” he said “It’s just like hitting a vape, it’s just like dopamine.”
Although Gunawardane manages to keep his time on social media to a minimum, lately he’s been having an increasingly difficult time doing so.
“(I spend) like 30 minutes a day,” he said “the past few months it’s been bad, more than an hour a day.”
Citrus sophomore Vee Magallanes shared some strategies she uses to stay off of social media.
“I put my phone on to not disturb; it will just be off and I’ll put it in my pocket or in my bag,” she said.
Citrus psychology professor Andrew Kim said that overuse of social media can be a serious problem.
“Social Media can be addictive in a similar way that activities like gambling and compulsive shopping can also become addictive. …(They) all work through the same reward circuit in the brain,” he said in an email.
Kim wrote that apps with infinite scroll features like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube can be particularly time-consuming.
“The app lets you swipe endlessly at a never ending series of new content,” he wrote “There are no ‘end of chapters’ reminding us that it’s a good time to close out and come back later. Instead, users can easily lose track of time as they swipe video after video.”
Citrus freshman Serena Hernandez said social media “definitely” gets in the way of doing homework, and she estimates she spends about six hours per day on TikTok.
“It’s just like an addiction,” she said.
