Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog. Today, we will be delving into round 2 of research for my inquiry question; what are the physiological and psychological effects of technology addiction?
Social Media Sandals: Truth or Tale?
The science of social media is an art that many developers finesse for decades before building the perfect addicting formula. While constant lawsuits against companies like TikTok and Meta perpetuate awareness about social media addiction, defendants admit that “addiction is a mischaracterization of high engagement,” (6) but what are the components that get users hooked on a platform?
Infinite scroll (4) is one feature designed by developer Aza Raskin, who himself admitted he did not recognize how addictive infinite scroll could be. Allowing users to endlessly view content, it “doesn’t allow your brain to catch up with your impulses,” resulting in keeping user glued to their screens far longer than necessary. To increase site traffic, he quote, “put that much pressure on that one number, you’re going to start trying to invent new ways of getting people to stay hooked.” (2)
As a result, quitting social media cold turkey can be as hard as “quitting cigarettes,” as Sandy Parakilas, a former Facebook employee put it in an interview to BBC. He stated to BBC that the companies were aware about the addictive design of their newest model, but kept developing “to engage you and get you to basically suck as much time out of your life as possible and then selling that attention to advertisers.” (2)
Connection or Condition: How Social Media Hooks You In
Humans are wired to connect with each other. Since the dawn of time, contact has kept us safe in times of scarcity and danger. But what happens when something so wholesome becomes weaponized against us?
In Britain, teenagers now spend an average of 18 hours a week on their phones, much of it on social media. (2) Dopamine can be framed as the main culprit for these staggering statistics. Apps cause a large release of dopamine straight into our reward pathway, making us vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption of media, similar to heroin or alcohol. Dopamine also manifests in our search-and-explore functions, encouraging us to discover something new with the click of a finger. Easy access and speedy reward function as our hits of the hour. (1)
Last year, Sean Parker, Facebook’s founding president said that they aim to “consume as much user time as possible,” claiming to “exploit a vulnerability in human psychology.” The currency that social media employs to grasp attention are the likes that define a teen’s sense of self-worth. Leah Pearlman, the inventor of Facebook’s like button herself made an admission to using Facebook for validation, ultimately concluding “I’m actually also kind of addicted to the feedback.” (2) The Panorama programme also explores the use of colour, sounds and unexpected rewards to drive compulsive behaviour, in addition to creating new roads to addiction.
Thank you for reading this week’s blog post! Next week, we’ll discuss the ways that you can combat addiction in your own household! Until next time, bye!
Bibliography
1.
Goldman B. Addictive potential of social media, explained [Internet]. Stanford Medicine News Center. 2021. Available from: https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2021/10/addictive-potential-of-social-media-explained.html
2.
Andersson H. Social media apps are “deliberately” addictive to users. BBC News [Internet]. 2018 Jul 3; Available from: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44640959
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Fenwick A. Why is social media addictive? [Internet]. Hult Blog. 2017. Available from: https://www.hult.edu/blog/why-social-media-is-addictive/
4.
Collins G. Why the infinite scroll is so addictive [Internet]. Medium. 2020. Available from: https://uxdesign.cc/why-the-infinite-scroll-is-so-addictive-9928367019c5
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Montag C, Lachmann B, Herrlich M, Zweig K. Addictive Features of Social media/messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [Internet]. 2019;16(14). Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/14/2612
6.
Hoang Q. Is social media addictive? How it keeps you clicking and the harms it can cause. Herd M, editor. The Conversation [Internet]. 2026 Feb 16; Available from: https://theconversation.com/is-social-media-addictive-how-it-keeps-you-clicking-and-the-harms-it-can-cause-276022