Problem-Solution Essay Draft 1

Since the widespread usage of the Internet in the 1990s, Internet addiction disorder has been a continuing problem till now. With the recent rise of social media, it is of no surprise that social media addiction is fast becoming a problem as well. People with this problem tend to have a compulsive urge to surf social media excessively that it affects their daily activities. According to an info graphic complied by Go-Globe in 2014, there are 2.03 billion active social media users worldwide and that is 28% global penetration. In Singapore, being one of the most wired places, the rate of Singaporean picking up social media doubled from 12 % in 2008 to 23 % in 2009 in just a year, according to a Nielsen study. Focusing on the youth group with the age range of 15-19, they spend at least 5 hours a day on average online. It is easy to see how this amount of time can spiral out of control. Even shocking is the fact that many are unaware that they might be addicted. Due to the sharp increase in social media addiction cases among youths, other than existing treatment to kick the habit, the more important solution is for the Ministry of Communications and Information and the Ministry of Education to collaborate with each other and educate the youths first.

The reason behind social media addiction has been attributed to the release of dopamine, a chemical neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward response in the human brain, whenever we received and answered a notification.  However, this instant gratification came with more dire effects than expected for youths. It is affecting them in various aspects of life. Since youths are still schooling, being addicted to social media takes a hit on their grades. They are so fixated on checking for updates that their attention span have decreased, making it hard to concentrate on their work. Also, it is ironic that social media was created to connect us easier but instead, has isolated us from the real world and made us lonelier than ever. Youths who are addicted to social media often have the illusion that online interaction equates to a real relationship and even place it higher than face-to-face interaction. They are more prone to being trapped in the virtual world and this strains family ties and friendship. This also leads to self-esteem issues. It is found that youths who spent more time online experienced more frequent feelings of inadequacy due to constant comparison with their peers on social media.

In Singapore, the government has identified that social media addiction can be a serious problem for our youths. Currently, there are two counseling centres available to help with all forms of digital addiction. They are the National Addictions Management Services and Touch Community Services. Their services range from helplines, counseling sessions and education campaigns. There are also private professional counseling groups with psychiatrists to provide treatments to those with severe addiction. However, the main problem is that youths do not even know the symptoms of social media addiction to realize that they need the treatments. Other than those being forced by their parents to go for counseling, many of those in need are still oblivious to how social media addiction is affecting them. They deem their behaviors to be the norm of their generation, as everyone around them seems to be doing it too. The education campaigns in school are mostly centered around problems like gaming addiction and cyber-bullying rather than social media addiction. This is why there needs to be a collaboration between the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) to come up with a more versatile awareness campaign that focuses on the traits and impacts of social media addiction so that youths can better identify themselves and take charge of their treatment. They can also recover from the addiction faster when they self-voluntarily go for counseling rather than being forced.

In conclusion, social media addiction is a serious problem that not only impedes the growth of our youths and also cause other related problems like cyber-bullying, over-sharing and depression. It is quite a 21^st century issue that needs to be solved before proliferating into something even more menace.