A new study out of Michigan State University has found similarities between excessive social media use and drug addiction.
The research surveyed people’s social media use and then had them take a test that measured risky decision making.
Dar Meshi is the study’s lead author.
“The survey asked questions about conflict in your life, preoccupation with the platform, withdrawal symptoms when you stop using if it’s affected your job or studies if your a student.”
Meshi said what his research found is that people who reported having negative experiences connected with excessive social media use also scored high on the test for impaired decision making.
“I’ve definitely established this parallel here that when it comes to making risky decisions and learning from negative outcomes, which is classic behavior from drug addicts, we see the same behavior with excessive social media users.”
Meshi isn’t ready to call it social media addiction just yet - but he said it’s clear that there are strong parallels. He said more research still needs to be done, however.
You can find the full study here: