5 Most Addictive Social Media Features
When you think of addiction, do you picture drug users living on the streets, gambling addicts stuck in front of a slot machine, or alcoholics congregating at the local bar? What if our country’s most vulnerable addicts look like the well-behaved, straight-A middle-school student down the street? That’s the new picture of addiction that lawyers are painting with a recent lawsuit against the company Meta Platforms, owner of popular social media sites like Facebook and Instagram.
What if our country’s most vulnerable addicts look like the well-behaved, straight-A middle-school student down the street? That’s the new picture of addiction lawyers are painting with a recent lawsuit against Meta Platforms.
In a filing on October 24, 2023, attorneys general in dozens of U.S. states charged that Meta “has contributed to a teen mental health epidemic by intentionally designing its Platforms to ensnare children’s attention.”
In the filing from the state of New Hampshire, for example, attorneys outlined specific addictive features that they believe have been intentionally designed to manipulate, engage, and monetize young people, leading to excessive and even compulsive usage.
According to the suit, Meta is aware that children are using its social media sites in a harmful manner, but the company refuses to change its systems to protect youth safety and mental health. Below are the 5 key features attorneys are calling out for their potentially damaging effects on young people. How many have you fallen prey to?
5 SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION DRIVERS
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Personalization Algorithms
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Alerts
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Infinite Scroll/Autoplay
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Ephemeral Content
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Reels
SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH IN YOUNG USERS
In March 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report highlighting the potential harms of social media. Social media is still a relatively new addiction and more research is needed. However, multiple studies have pointed to a possible connection between use and overuse of social media, and how it is contributing to a mental health crisis in youth. It’s driving challenges like teen depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Brain SPECT imaging studies on patients at Amen Clinics show that excessive social media use and gaming can also negatively impact brain function. Here are some sobering stats and facts pointed out in the introduction of the New Hampshire public filing:- U.S. use of social media among children, teens, and young adults began to dramatically increase in 2012, the year that Meta acquired Instagram. From 2012 to 2015, Instagram grew from 50 million users to 600 million-plus.
- Young people with heavy social media use have demonstrated poorer sleep patterns (staying up and waking up later on school days, interrupted nighttime sleep, and trouble falling back asleep) and poorer sleep quality. These effects can cause or worsen symptoms of depression and anxiety.
- Those who use social media habitually are less able to regulate their behavior, which can trigger even more social media use—and thus they have more trouble regulating. It’s an addictive, self-perpetuating cycle.
- According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of high school students experiencing “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” climbed steeply between 2013 and 2021. In 2021, 42% of all high school students and 57% of female students reported this feeling.
- Risk of suicide is also rising. The CDC reports that in 2011, 19% of high school girls seriously considered attempting suicide. That number grew to 30% by 2021. Adolescent girls ages 12 to 17 had the biggest increases in suicidal ideation and attempts in that decade span. In 2013 alone, the suicide rate for 13-year-old girls climbed by 50%.




