Breaking the social media addiction cycle as adults

Like children, many adults struggle with the urge to endlessly scroll and feel like they can’t escape the pull of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms.

Some experts liken social media addiction to casinos, opioids and cigarettes.

The companies that design your favorite apps have an incentive to keep you hooked on them so they can serve ads that will generate billions of dollars in revenue.

Resisting the pull of endless scrolling, the dopamine hits that come from short-form videos, and the ego boost and validation that comes from likes and positive interactions can seem like an unfair struggle.

For some people, the “anger trap” of gloomy news and arguing with strangers on the internet also has an irresistible appeal.

Much of the concern about social media addiction focuses on children.

But adults also tend to use social media so much that it starts to affect their daily lives.

Dr. D., a psychiatrist and medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Anna Lembke defines addiction as “the persistent compulsive use of a substance or behavior even though it harms oneself or others.”

What makes social media platforms so addictive is the “24/7, truly unlimited, frictionless access” people have to them, Lembke said in deposition in a landmark social media damages case in Los Angeles.

Some researchers question whether addiction is an appropriate term to describe heavy use of social media, arguing that a person must be experiencing identifiable symptoms.

These include strong, sometimes uncontrollable urges and withdrawal that may be characterized as addiction.

Social media addiction is not officially recognized as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the standard reference psychiatrists and other mental health practitioners use to evaluate and treat patients.

This is partly because there is no widespread consensus on what social media addiction is and whether underlying mental health issues contribute to problematic use.

However, some experts say that just because there is no official agreement on the issue does not mean that excessive social media use cannot be harmful.

Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. “The biggest indicator for me is how the person feels about the amount and how watching it makes them feel,” Laurel Williams said.

“If they watch too much and discover they’re missing things they could enjoy or care about, that’s problematic use. And if you’re constantly feeling overwhelmed, burned out, sad, anxious, angry, that use isn’t good for you.”

In other words, does your social media use affect other areas of your life?

Do you put off chores, work, hobbies, or time with friends and family?

Have you tried to shorten your time but found that you couldn’t?

Feeling bad about your social media use?

Ofir Turel, professor of information systems management at the University of Melbourne, who has studied social media use for years, said there was “no agreement” on the term social media addiction and he did not “expect an agreement anytime soon”.

“It’s clear we have a problem,” Turel said.

“You don’t have to call it addiction, but there is a problem and we need to start thinking about it as a society.”

Before setting limits on scrolling, it’s helpful to understand how social media feeds and ads work to attract users, Williams said.

“Think of social media as a company trying to get you to stay with them and buy something; think of it as information that I don’t need to act on and it may not be true,” he added.

“Get alternative sources of information. Always understand that the more you see something, the more anyone can start to believe it to be true.”

Ian A Anderson, a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology, suggests making small, meaningful changes to prevent you from opening your preferred social media app.

Moving the app’s location on your phone or turning off notifications are “light-touch interventions,” Anderson said, but more comprehensive options like not bringing your phone into the bedroom or other places you tend to use it can also help.

Technology tools can also help reduce overuse of technology.

Both iPhones and Android devices have built-in controls to help regulate screen time.

Apple’s Screen Time controls are located in the iPhone’s settings menu.

Users can set global Downtime, which turns off all phone activity for a specific period of their choosing.

Controls also allow users to place a general restriction on certain categories of apps, such as social, gaming or entertainment, or limit the amount of time that can be spent focusing on a particular app.

The disadvantage is that the limits are not difficult to cross. This is a nudge rather than a red line you can’t cross.

If you try to open a limited app, you’re greeted with an on-screen menu that offers you one more minute, a reminder after 15 minutes, or lets you ignore the app entirely.

If a light touch doesn’t work, more drastic steps may be necessary.

Some users swear by turning their phones to greyscale to make them less appealing to dopamine-seeking brains.

On iPhones, adjust the color filter in your settings.

Turn on Bedtime Mode for Android or change the color correction setting.

Switching to a simpler phone, such as an older model flip phone, can also help curb social media obsessions.

Figuring that people might prefer a tangible barrier, some startups are offering hardware solutions that create physical friction between you and the application.

Unpluq, for example, is a yellow sticker you have to hold up to your phone to access blocked apps.

Brick and Block are two different products that work on the same logic; they are square plastic pieces that you need to tap or scan with your phone to unlock an app.

If that’s not enough of a barrier, you can hide your phone entirely.

A variety of phone lockboxes and cases are available; Some of these are designed so parents can lock their teens’ phones when they’re supposed to be asleep, but there’s no rule saying only teens can use them.

Yondr, which produces portable phone locking bags used at concerts or schools, also sells home phone boxes.

If all else fails, it might be a good idea to look for deeper reasons for feeling addicted to social media.

Maybe it’s a symptom of underlying issues like anxiety, stress, loneliness, depression, or low self-esteem.

If you think this is the case, it may be worth exploring counselling, which is becoming increasingly common.

“For people who are having a hard time staying away – see if you can find a group of friends who will collaborate with you on this. Make it a group effort. Don’t just post about it! We may find that the more spaces become phone-free, the less desire there is to be ‘on,'” Williams said.

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