Towards a pathology of social media

The full transformational effects of Social Media have yet to be understood. Alongside its heavily discussed benefits, a number of potentially harmful effects have become apparent lately. Phenomena such as still increasing information overload, cyber-bullying, or loss of identity have been described in recent research literature from various domains. By means of a literature review our paper aims at reviewing, cataloguing and classifying these psychological and social disorders that have been reported to be related to Social Media engagement. We distinguish between active participation in and mere exposure to Social Media. Using a psychopathological classification scheme, we structure the identified symptoms and syndromes, providing a common language and taxonomy with which the identified disorders can be described and classified accurately. Thus, we are laying out a foundation necessary for the research into and the understanding of the aetiology and eventually the means for the prevention of the negative effects of Social Media usage within individuals in information societies