Russell Brand has urged his fans to "be aware" of their social media use.
The 43-year-old comic worries that users go online to seek validation and "love that feels like connection" through networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and insisted that the "impulse that is being fulfilled" by using such sites could be better achieved through human relationships.
Speaking on a video posted on his Twitter account, Russell said: "My belief is that all forms of addiction are if not the same, comparable in that they ultimately try to access the same dopamine hit that feels like love that feels like connection.
"If you’re looking at too much social media, start being a bit aware of it. Don’t you have that thing on your phone that tells you, ‘You look at this thing three hours a day’ Don’t you feel a bit sick when you read that?
"I feel like the impulse that is being fulfilled by looking at social media could be fulfilled through genuine human connections."
The ‘Get Him to the Greek’ star – who has been open about his own addiction struggles – went on to offer viewers a method of cultivating their relationships and personal ability to selflessly care for another individual simply through phoning someone "you care about" each day.
He said: "This is a really good technique, basically try to everyday call someone up you care about and ask if they’re OK and watch how quickly the conversation migrates back to you.
"It’s good to build into your life people that you can’t get anything from and that you can only care for because it cultivates that aspect of yourself and that aspect of yourself is difficult to taint with commodified relationships, such as we experience in the virtual online world.
"Cultivate your kindness, cultivate your compassion, it’s the only way that you will ever be free."
Russell Brand urges fans to beware of social media addiction
