Like the rest of us, I'm part of the online generation

and I've seen a massive change in my lifetime.

One moment, social media wasn't even a thing.

And then all of a sudden, it's become everything.

We live in an age where tech companies employ psychologists

to make these apps even more addictive.

Rebecca Meechan knows a lot about this.

Her job is running the social media channels

for Glasgow Caledonian University

How do you use social media for your personal use?

I mostly use it for just posting photos,

update my friends and family on what I'm doing.

Say you do post a selfie of yourself or doesn't even have to be a selfie,

or a photo that someone else took.

Yeah. And you don't get a lot of interaction, likes or comments.

Does that bug you?

Like, honestly... Honestly... ..cos I think it bugs

all of us deep down. Yeah, I think deep down everyone...

if they don't get a lot of likes on your photo, you'll think, "Why?"

If someone's put a photo on, one of my best friends,

and they've asked me, "Why have you not liked my photo?" I'll say,

"Well, why do you need me to?" Like, "I'm your friend,

"I'm telling you right now you look good. That's a nice photo, but I...

"I just... I did not feel the urge to double-tap.

"Like, is that a problem?"

Now just like the rest of us, I have to admit I do get a certain kick

when I post something on social media

and it gets a "good" number of likes.

However, to be quite honest, I'm not so sure how healthy it is

to be transfixed by these numbers.

Kumba Dauda runs two very successful online businesses.

But she's got strict rules in place to make sure her online world

doesn't take over her real-life world.

Social media is like a double-edged sword.

You can really...

It can take over your life if you let it.

It's easy to be addicted to likes.

I see so many people that are, like, they'll post on Instagram

then they'll be checking, checking, checking...

But I try to avoid doing that at all costs.

The tip for kind of...

if you do feel like you're constantly checking your phone

after you post, is to really just put your phone away

and focus on another task.

From now on I'll be much more aware

of the time I spend checking out my social media sites.

Although, to be honest, some habits are hard to break.

I'm going to share my research with Rebecca and Rosalind.

But I'm going to put it out there and say that we're all a little bit

addicted to our social media... Yeah...

..whether it's for work purposes or for our own personal pleasure.

Like, you run three Instagram accounts. Yeah.

That's a lot of interacting with your social media.

It definitely has opened my eyes to how often I can check my phone

and how much I am on social media.

I think I can honestly say I'm probably more addicted

than I thought I was, just considering the amount of times

I pick up my phone for no reason.

When you think of addiction, you don't necessarily think addiction

to social media is so much of a dangerous thing like addiction

to alcohol or drugs - you don't think of it as the same thing.

Yeah, but unless you have someone

who's really young who has low self-esteem, or is going through,

maybe a really difficult time with their mental health,

I think that's when likes really come into the equation.

Then they matter a lot. Yeah.

Let's face it - likes and notifications are here for good.

It's controlling our dependence on them

that's the next big challenge.

Social media apps are cleverly designed

to draw us in and get us hooked, and we need to be aware of that.

We need to take control of technology

before it takes control of us.