Social networking has the kind of following that has achieved legendary proportions. There is no doubt that this phenomenon has brought people closer, but to paint social networking with only a positive brush, isn’t going to offer you the right picture. There are plenty of problems that are raising their ugly heads when it comes to this online service.

It might come across as a surprise to many people, but social networking and social phobias walk hand in hand and are a partnership made in hell. From the outside things look rosy, but dig a little deeper and the problems start pouring out. If you are addicted to being a part of and making regular use of a social networking then it’s of paramount importance that you are aware of the various dangers that are a natural occurrence of addiction to this form of social interaction.

Internet and Social Isolation and Loneliness

There is a dichotomy at work when it comes to the internet. At one end, it is a platform that helps encourage social interaction, but in the same vein it also encourages our isolation from society and prompts loneliness. It’s the kind of social phobia that the internet was supposed to act against, but it’s doing just the opposite. People are spending a large part of their waking hours in the virtual world and socializing with people whom they don’t even know. They get so absorbed in this pseudo-socializing that they ignore live social interaction and the people who really matter in their lives. The outcome is that they are disconnected from reality. People are increasingly not giving importance to physical contact that is a prerequisite of a healthy social life and long hours spent on the internet are resulting in isolating them socially.

Loneliness leads to Depression

You must have come across such statements before “I love ”, “I simply can’t do without my daily dose of socializing on the Net” and so on and so forth. While there is absolutely no doubt that social networking sites have loads of benefits, it’s important to put things in perspective and not to get fooled by these statements. So if you think, you or a person you know is spending a lot of time on social networking sites, its time that you got a reality check. You are susceptible to depression and this is a fact that psychologists do not deny. Addictions to sites like Facebook, results in sleepless nights, a tendency to feeling listless if you are not on such sites and basically being disinterested in the world around you.

This is not an exaggeration. There are plenty of people out there who are being treated for depression linked to an incessant use of social networking. These are the kind of people who simply cannot stay away from their favorite social networking site for any length of time. Be it home, office, school or college, they find ways to stay connected. What they don’t realize is that too much of a good thing is also bad.

The Anxiety Problem

And if depression wasn’t enough, you also need to contend with another social networking phobia –. This condition is a direct result of obsession with the various forms of social media. The problem is that a people post quite a bit of information about themselves that can be regarded as highly sensitive and then wonder whether they have gone overboard in sharing information with people. Let’ say a person ‘A’ posts certain private information about herself regarding her views about a certain topic. She does this on good faith and as natural etoro consequence of a vibrant process of interaction. But when the interaction is over ‘A’ stops to think a bit, anxiety can begin to rear its ugly ahead.  She begins to obsess about the post and keeps wondering whether it was right to share such information with people who she hasn’t met in real life.  This condition worsens overtime as the person cant let go of interacting through social media sites and at the same time is worried that her messages, pictures etc and everything else that she has shared with people might be used in various was against her.

It’s important to note that this is just the beginning when it comes to identifying the various phobias, problems or disorders that are being linked to excessive use of online social networking. The networking phenomenon is changing day by day and so are its risks. Most people who are addicted to these sites, don’t realize or for that matter refuse to acknowledge this fact. They are well aware of the endless time they are spending on a particular social media site, but for them it’s a way of improving their social circle; it doesn’t really matter whether it’s online. So, apart from friends and family members who they interact with in a live environment, they also connect with people who they have never met, who they are not likely to meet ever and whose profile information cannot be verified or trusted.  They begin trusting them and sharing personal information with them, which lead to many different problems.

Social phobias or problems associated with online social networking come in many different hues. Their treatment requires those suffering from these problems to limit their use of online social networking or stop it altogether. By ignoring this problem users will make themselves susceptible to even more problems.

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