Thanks to new technologies, today it is possible to be connected at all hours and check email or social networks at any time. This makes many people unable to resist the temptation to enter their Facebook profile or check their Twitter account at every moment. A study that will be published in the journal Psychological Science affirms that social networks cause more addiction than alcohol and tobacco.
Researchers from the Booth School of Business (University of Chicago) conducted a survey of more than 200 people between 18 and 85 years of age in order to find out which are the most common daily temptations and those that are most difficult to resist. Although the results showed that the most frequent cravings have to do with sleep and sex, people give in more easily to the temptation to consult social networks, since this is an easier desire to satisfy. On the contrary, it is easier to resist smoking a cigarette or having a drink, factors that are usually the cause of addiction. While alcohol, coffee or tobacco are actions that have an economic and health cost, access to the networks is perceived as an action in which “it costs little” to participate, according to the researchers. For this reason it is, precisely, much more difficult to resist the temptation to use them.
