On the Social Media Disorder Scale I scored a solid 2/9. I could easily have found myself in the red (5+ of 9 criteria met) in my late teens and early 20’s, in the Myspace Era and the Time of Early FaceBook.

What caught my attention about the questions in the scale was how they relate to addictive behaviors. Looking back at times when I would have been diagnosed as a “Disordered Social Media User” were times in my life when I’d be more prone to aforementioned addictive behaviors.

Different patterns across the world can be seen due to different cultures surrounding technology use and relationships, and the social norms that keep people into other activities than planting their noses in their phones.

If I were to assess why my score is so low, I’d cite three things: 1) I am too busy to waste more than a few moments on people and things not right in front of me, 2) as I am prone to time-blindness, I tend to shy away from mindless activities where it’s easier to lose track of time, and 3) I don’t think knowing more about someone else’s life helps me learn more about my own.