The most addictive social networks in Mexico are Facebook and Tiktoksince of the total time that users spend using the Internet, 75.4 and 50 percent of this period, respectively, are dedicated to these platforms, reported the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT).
Facebook is the one most used by those over 18 years of age in the country, with 60 percent of the public.
When segmented by age group, the institute highlighted that in the case of the application owned by Meta, Users between 18 and 26 years old were those that showed the greatest dependence with 81.5 percent.
“When a person is very active on this network, that is, they upload content, their addiction increases. when wanting to obtain views, likes, comments, etc. That somehow make you feel accepted, valued and a member of a social group. Addiction is generated by this need for acceptance,” commented the IFT.
In the case of TikTokthe age segment that reported having a greatest addiction to the platform was 18 to 26 years old with 66 percent, followed by the group of 27 to 41 years old who reported having dependence at 55.8 percent.
About other networks like WhatsApp, Youtube, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), also showed levels of addiction considerable within the survey with the youngest age segments being the most attached to the platforms.
WhatsApp and Instagramwhich are also part of Meta, showed levels of addiction among users of 42.5 and 24.9 percentwith the age range of 18 to 26 years as the most inclined to networks with percentages greater than 30 percent.
In the cases of the application of videos Youtube and the social networkthe levels are in 27.4 and 6.9 percent respectively, in the case of X the age segment that showed the greatest dependence was 27 years old.
Effects of excess use
The regulator noted that the users of these platforms stated that they had side effects of using social media a lot, such as loss of self-identity and self-esteemthat is, feeling that one’s own life is less valuable than the lives of others.
He highlighted that people who are constantly exposed to networks, they generate unrealistic opinions and expectationsdifficult to comply with, which in turn produces feelings of low self-esteem, isolation, frustration and in some cases depression.
“Being in constant contact with the lifestyle that other people present, which is generally full of luxuries, trips, visits to cities around the world, encourages the person to compare themselves all the time,” said the IFT.
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