Dear Keke and Kat: GF Is Addicted to Social Media

Social media has its pros and cons. And a major con is being constantly on it. There's always notifications popping up. A tag. A like. A comment. A new follower. They make it easy to find reasons to keep hitting that app and spending more time. One of our listeners is having a problem with his girlfriend's social media usage:

Dear Keke and Kat,

 

My girlfriend is addicted to social media. It's mostly Instagram and Pinterest that she's on, but facebook and snapchat are up there too. She spends every minute possible on them. We'll be at dinner or watching a show and she's not even paying attention to me.

 

She doesn't even see a problem with it. When I bring it up she acts like I'm overreacting and gets irritated. That's how you know it's actually a problem. She gets defensive and upset when I bring it up or if I ask her to get off her phone. I'm just trying to have a conversation and she won't put it down!

 

How do I let her know that this is an issue? Anytime I've tried to bring it up, we get into a fight. I don't know what to do.

I know that I personally spend more time than I want to on social media, so I try to give myself less reasons to go on by not enabling push notifications. If I see a notification on twitter or IG, I'm more likely to open the app and then spend time there. Our time is precious, you have to use it wisely!

But it sounds like this is becoming a thing in their relationship and she isn't receptive to hearing it from him. Maybe try having someone else bring it up to her? Her friend or family member to avoid the fight with you?