"They’re all WFH employees": Internet cracks up as reports suggest 210 million people suffer from social media addiction

Addiction to social media is real, and it's not just a boomer concern. It is estimated that this issue affects 210 million people globally. Analyze your environment. At least half of the people in your immediate vicinity are probably engrossed in their phones.

The excessive usage and regular monitoring of social media platforms, which results in obsessive behavior at the expense of other activities, are characteristics of this addiction.

While the scenario appears bleak, this does not imply that people will stop making jokes. One X (formerly Twitter) user cheekily wrote:

"They’re all wfh employees."

Another user joked:

"Did they count me?"

A user went on to react with a hilariously relatable meme:

With a humorous pictorial representation, a user said:

"The people addicted to social media"

A GIF that suggests otherwise, a user stated:

"I’m not addicted."

An ironic comment read:

"Imagine being addicted to social media"

Yet another user shared a fun GIF:

A user joked:

"I am one out of those 210 million, which leaves the other 20 million."

A user quipped:

"I pay for a blue tick so I admit I am part of the problem"

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The world is scrolling… and it can’t stop

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(Image via Pinterest/ redbubble.com)

According to aprilABA.com, 5.07 billion individuals use social media worldwide, making up 62.6% of the global population.

As so many people use social media, the prevalence of addiction is also rising. According to estimates, 210 million people worldwide—4.69% of all social media users—are hooked.

Social media users are still increasing at around 5.4% annually, or 259 million new users annually.

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Who’s most vulnerable?

While anyone can develop a social media addiction, certain groups are more vulnerable than others. Millennials and Gen Z comprise the largest number of online users, as reported by Addiction Help.com.

Young adults aged 18 to 22 are particularly affected, with 40% reporting signs of addiction. In the U.S., addiction rates may soar to as high as 70% among teens and young users.

Women are also more likely to be addicted to social media than men.

As per a 2020 study published in One Health, factors such as lower age, being a student, lower education, lower income, lower self-esteem, and narcissism are associated with higher scores on social media addiction scales.

(Image via Pinterest/ bettercallsofii)

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The dark side of the scroll

Indeed, social media may be enjoyable—until it begins to impact your mental well-being negatively. According to NPR, teens who use screens for five hours a day are twice as likely to have depression symptoms.

Overuse of social media has been connected to increased loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Furthermore, 67% of teenagers report a drop in self-esteem as a result of social media comparisons, and 40.6% of young users report disturbed sleep patterns as a result of excessive social media use.

Another issue is the fear of missing out (FOMO), which affects 34% of young people when they are not using social media.

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The U.S. situation: A nation hooked

(Image via Pinterest/ MIGI)

America has 33.19 million social media addicts.

In all honesty, that explains a lot, as it represents around 10% of the population.

A significant 40% of young individuals (18–22) acknowledge that they battle addiction. Additionally, heavy users rack up an absurd nine hours of screen time each day, when the average teen only logs around three hours.

That is longer than the typical workday at a full-time job.