Social media addiction has been compared to casinos, opioids, and cigarettes, with adults increasingly susceptible to compulsive use that affects their day-to-day lives. Dr. Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and medical director of addiction medicine at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, defines addiction as “the continued compulsive use of a substance or behavior despite harm to self or others.” What makes social media platforms particularly addictive is the “24/7, really limitless, frictionless access” people have to them.
Recognition and Definition of Problematic Use
Social media addiction is not recognized as an official disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders due to lack of widespread consensus on what constitutes addiction and whether underlying mental health issues contribute to problematic use. However, experts identify signs of problematic use. Dr. Laurel Williams, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, notes that “the biggest signpost is how does the person feel about the ‘amount,’ and how viewing it makes them feel.” Problematic indicators include using social media so much that one misses other activities they enjoy or need to attend to, consistently feeling overwhelmed, drained, sad, anxious, or angry after use, or being unable to cut back despite attempting to do so.
Strategies for Reducing Use
Simple interventions include moving the app’s location on the phone or turning off notifications. Built-in device controls like Apple’s Screen Time and Android’s Bedtime Mode allow users to set overall downtime and limit specific apps, though these can be circumvented. More drastic approaches include switching to grayscale display, which makes screens less visually appealing. Hardware solutions such as Unpluq, Brick, Blok, and Yondr provide physical friction between users and apps through tags, plastic pieces, or locking pouches requiring physical action to unlock apps.
Underlying Issues and Support
Excessive social media use may stem from underlying anxiety, stress, loneliness, depression, or low self-esteem, and therapy is increasingly available to address these root causes. According to Williams, collaborative, phone-free group efforts can reduce the desire to stay constantly connected. Making spaces phone-free may lessen the overall urge to be “on” social media platforms.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.readingeagle.com/2026/02/27/social-media-addiction-adults/