Only two per cent of Instagram users show signs of addiction

While many social media users might feel addicted, very few actually meet the criteria, according to new research. Behavioural psychologists have studied the impact of Instagram use on over 1000 Americans.

As Thanksgiving leftovers linger and family conversations ebb and flow, many of us will inevitably retreat to the familiar glow of our phones.

Cue the guilt – as well as the nagging worry that we’re “addicted” to social media.

But new research suggests that, before we self-diagnose, we might want to consider a simpler explanation: habit. That’s because very few social media users actually meet the criteria for addiction, two researchers have found.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, was conducted by social psychologists Ian Anderson and Wendy Wood – both renowned for their extensive work on the everyday habits that shape behavior.

The duo drew on two separate surveys totalling 1,204 adults. In the first study, the researchers examined a representative sample of 380 Instagram users evenly split by gender, with an average age of 44.

Participants reported how addicted to the social media platform they felt, and they were assessed for recognized symptoms of addiction, such as cravings, withdrawal-like discomfort, or an inability to cut back.

While nearly 20% said they somewhat agreed they were addicted, and 5% strongly agreed, only 2% showed symptoms consistent with potential addiction.

Addiction narrative

To understand why people might overestimate their dependence, the researchers ran a second survey of 874 US adults. This time, they tested how different ways of describing social media use shaped people’s perceptions.

When participants were prompted to think of their Instagram use as an “addiction,” they reported feeling less in control and assigned more blame on themselves and the platform – even when their behaviour didn't meet the clinical criteria.

This study backs up an article that Anderson and Wood wrote in The Washington Post, which argued that people often mistake strong habits for addiction, and those narratives can make it harder, not easier, to change behaviour.

The researchers argue that more selective use of the term “addiction” by policymakers and the news media in relation to social media use may reduce users’ feelings of helplessness regarding social media use.

Dopamine dependence

Anderson and Wood are not alone in calling for more nuance. University of Cambridge psychologist Amy Orben has long cautioned against loosely applying the language of addiction to everyday tech use, noting that evidence linking social media to dopamine-driven dependence simply isn’t there.

It’s something she’s exploring further in collaboration with researchers at several leading UK universities in a study currently examining the impact on children of smartphone and social media use.

However, other researchers, such as Dopamine Nation author Anna Lembke and Nicholas Kardaras, who examined brain imaging studies of young people diagnosed with “Internet Addiction Disorder,” claim to have found some risk factors and harms associated with very heavy and problematic online use, particularly among adolescents and those already vulnerable.

Right now, there’s no formal clinical consensus on social media addiction, but if you do find yourself thumbing through Instagram between mouthfuls of turkey, while it’s not the best of table manners, don’t rush to label yourself an addict – you might just be human. And habits, unlike addictions, are changeable once we understand them.

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