Is It Possible To Become Addicted to Social Media?

Whenever you have a spare moment, do you feel like you have to hop on TikTok? Do you find yourself interrupting other tasks, like working or studying, to check Instagram?

If you just can’t seem to help yourself, you might be dealing with social media addiction. It’s not currently a diagnosable condition, but it can still have real consequences in your everyday life, says clinical psychologist Adam Borland, PsyD.

What is social media addiction?

Social media addiction is an uncontrollable urge to use social media, even as it leads to negative consequences in your life. It can affect your mental health, relationships, work performance and beyond.

It’s a type of behavioral addiction — an activity that stimulates your brain’s reward system. That compels you to keep taking a certain action (in this case, using social media apps) even though it’s causing problems in your life.

Right now, only one type of behavioral addiction — gambling disorder — is recognized in the DSM-5, the book U.S. mental health providers use to diagnose mental health conditions. But whether or not they’re diagnosable, social media addiction and other types of behavioral addictions (like shopping or playing video games, for example) can still negatively affect you.

“Social media addiction really falls under the same category as any other addiction,” Dr. Borland clarifies. “It activates the pleasure center of the brain — whether through likes, reconnecting with someone or just seeing something pleasurable to you — and that brings you back for more.”

There’s no official list of symptoms of social media addiction, which researchers often refer to as “problematic social media use” (PSMU). But your own behavior can clue you in to whether your habits are an issue:

• Spending a lot of time on social media
• Feeling antsy, impatient, anxious or irritable when you don’t have access to social media
• Spending less time on other activities so you can spend more time online
• Turning to social media so you can ignore real-life concerns or emotions
• Experiencing problems at school or work and in friendships or other relationships because of your social media use
• Hearing that other people in your life are concerned about your social media use

Why and how is social media addictive?

Certain activities, like using social media, cause your brain to release dopamine, a chemical messenger that signals feelings of pleasure. Some dopamine is a good thing. But too much of it starts to drive unhealthy habits.

“As with any addiction, your brain experiences feelings of pleasure and reward, so you start to perform the dopamine-releasing activity more and more,” Dr. Borland explains. “The problem is that over time, you become desensitized to its effects. And when that happens, you need even more dopamine to produce the same effect.”

That’s right: You start using social media more and more … just to try to feel as good as you did when you first started.

And if you have a hard time stepping away from social media, it’s no wonder. It’s designed that way! The companies that develop these websites and apps employ mental health professionals whose work is focused on ensuring your engagement.

The health effects of social media addiction

When you can’t seem to step away from social media, your mind and body can take a hit. Dr. Borland explains some of the possible effects of this type of addictive behavior.

• Negatively affects mental health: Study after study links problematic social media use to an increase in depression, anxiety and stress.
• Impacts self-image: Comparison can be the thief of joy. “Seeing a highlight reel of someone else’s life can make you wonder, ‘What am I doing wrong?’” Dr. Borland acknowledges. “We only post what we want others to see, which creates the illusion that everyone else has their lives together.”
• Contributes to sleep loss: Up late scrolling and scrolling … and scrolling some more? High-volume social media use has repeatedly been shown to be associated with a decrease in sleep quality and duration, especially in teens.
• Dampens empathy: Online commenters can be brutal and cruel. “People get brazen online and say things they’d never say face-to-face,” Dr. Borland notes. “We become numb. We lose that sense of empathy and compassion.”
• Contributes to loneliness: Research shows that spending 30 minutes on social media per day can help reduce feelings of loneliness. Anything longer than that can have the opposite effect.
• Strains IRL relationships: The more time you spend online, the more your in real-life (IRL) relationships may start to suffer. “You may find that you’re not socializing as much because you’re so caught up in whatever you’re doing online,” Dr. Borland says. “It can impact your work performance, cause fights at home and result in unhealthy relationships.”

Social media has quickly become such a major piece of our culture that it’s easy to forget it hasn’t been around for all that long. It’s still so new in fact that research on social media and human behavior is still in the early stages. But more and more research continues to explore its effects on our brains and behaviors.

How to stop a social media addiction

The first step to ending your social media addiction is realizing that your use has become a problem.

“If the first thing you do when you open your eyes is reach for your phone, that’s something to pay attention to,” Dr. Borland flags. “Another key sign is losing time. You realize you’ve been scrolling for an hour without noticing.”

From there, changing addictive behavior has to happen in small steps.

“You don’t need to go from constant scrolling to zero screen time overnight,” he cautions. “It’s about steady, manageable change.”

To start, try a social media detox. This doesn’t mean going cold turkey. But it does mean working to:

• Identify your habits and triggers
• Institute time limits (and set alarms) for your daily social media use
• Build a toolbox of other activities you can turn to instead
• Strengthen your mindfulness skills

Remember: Breaking your addiction doesn’t mean giving up social media forever (unless you want to!). The goal is to create healthy habits that will allow you to use these platforms in ways you find meaningful and enjoyable, rather than feeling trapped by their control over you.

When to seek help

You may be able to break your problematic social media habits on your own. But it’s OK if you can’t — and in that case, a therapist can help.

Sometimes, Dr. Borland says that people question whether their social media use qualifies as a therapy-worthy concern. But social media addiction is a totally valid topic to tackle with a mental health provider.

Working with a therapist won’t just focus on how to reduce your screen time. It’ll also focus on why your habits are the way they are.

“At its core, it’s about understanding what drives your behavior and learning healthier ways to cope,” he explains. “The real question is, why are you online so much? It’s about what might be missing in your life that causes you to turn to these outlets for a sense of comfort and connection."

It takes hard work and a lot of introspection, he adds, but change is absolutely possible. That means a healthier relationship with social media is within your reach — and within your power.