What Science Can Teach Us About the Pull of Social Media

Source: cottonbro studio/Pexels

You have probably heard of the social-media addiction trial that recently took place in Los Angeles. A young woman took Meta and YouTube to court accusing them of making her addicted to social media—and she won.

This was an interesting court case, and one that raises many questions—questions that there are currently no clear answers to, but that people ought to think about, especially as they are likely to pop up in many upcoming debates.

Social media is extensively used

As many as one in every three people use social media and in the USA, people are reportedly spending around 6 hours a day on it. In 2025, Facebook was the most popular social media platform with over 3 billion users, closely followed by WhatsApp and Instagram which both had about 3 billion users. Approximately 60% of the global population use some kind of social media, if not multiple platforms. With such extensive use, it is not strange that social media addiction (SMA) has become a focal point for many researchers.

Is social media addictive?

It is worth noting that the DSM-5 (the diagnostic tool for psychologists) does not recognise SMA as a distinct mental disorder; it is often discussed as a condition that requires more research. Thus, the conversations around SMA are not necessarily straightforward.

Within the research literature, SMA has been described as a specific form of digital technology addiction. It refers to the excessive and compulsive use of social media platforms which can lead to detrimental life consequences. SMA shares components with behavioural disorders like gambling, including salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse.

In a study reviewing over 30,000 participants scores on media addiction and personality, it was found that neuroticism can be a risk factor for compulsive social media behaviour. Even though the relationship was not very strong it perhaps indicates that some people may be more likely to become addicted. There are other personality characteristics associated with increased likelihood of compulsion, such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. But it needs to be mentioned that there may be external factors that attribute to the link between excessive social media use and personality. It is even possible that SMA may vary depending on platform that individuals use.

Should social media be legislated?

To what extent social media ought to be controlled by law is a difficult question to address. Just as with debates around tobacco, alcohol, and gambling, there are bound to be varied opinions. As more researchers appear to agree that SMA may be a genuine addictive disorder, then presumably as with other substances, it should be managed to reduce potential risks. The cognitive complexity involved in deciding what to view online is also one that should be carefully debated when it comes to children. In most societies, children are guided as to what they can watch in the cinema or on television. It is difficult to see why social media ought to be any different.