You’re sitting in your car at a red light. Naturally, you check your phone to see if you’ve received any new email from work, interesting Facebook posts or if you have any new followers on Twitter. You drive half a mile and are stopped at another red light. You are not anticipating any urgent messages so of course you wait patiently for the light to change. Yeah right. You check your phone again.
Nothing new.
What did you expect?! You checked less than 2 minutes ago?
You my friend, just may be a socialholic: Addicted to social media.
Is that possible?
In his book Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek explains that your brain releases dopamine when you get an email, text, or post on Facebook. You like the sensation of someone liking the picture you posted, caring enough to send an email or favorite your tweet.
Social media, along with more sinister substances like cocaine, nicotine and alcohol, is actually hijacking the dopamine reward system in your body.
Dopamine is intended to reward you for an activity that helps you survive, like eating or achieving a goal.
Think you’re not a socialholic? Ok. Here’s a test: Have you ever checked social media while driving?
If you said yes, then you put the dope in dopamine.
Now step away from the smartphone and go release some endorphins with a good work out.
kerryoreilly 
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