The Real Reason Why You're Addicted to Social Media
Across the globe there are 3.4 billion people who are active on social media.
There are over 2 billion active Facebook users, 714 million active Instagram users and, on average, 6,000 tweets are posted every second on Twitter. And the numbers keep on rising.
Just how addicted to social media are we?
With our dependence on social media likened to being as bad as smoking, our researchers at Casino.co.uk commissioned OnePoll to survey 2,000 UK residents on their social media usage.
We also spoke to Health and Wellness Expert Caleb Backe and Robopsychologist (Computer Psychologist) CEO of Psychsoftpc Dr Tim Lynch about social media design and how the most popular platforms use the same addictive methods as slot machines to keep us hooked.
Designs built on the human need for rewards
The average person checks their phone 150 times a day.
One of the biggest reasons for this is that we're geared to be addicted to something that our phones give us on a daily basis: intermittent variable rewards.
As former Google designer Tristan Harris explains in his blog, these are also the "number one psychological ingredients in slot machines"
These 'rewards' could be anything from a 'like' on a photo or a new match on a dating app, to receiving a message or an email.
Each induces a short burst of happiness, which we are naturally wired to enjoy.
When there's no way of predicting when these social rewards will come, they become a lot more addictive. This is just like how a slot machine works. When you play slots, the rewards are variable. If, for every £2 you put in, you were guaranteed £1 back, you might play and enjoy slots – but you wouldn't become addicted.
When you're on your phone and pull down to refresh the feed, or you see a red number of notifications, the anticipation and short wait mirror pulling the lever on a slot machine.
Do the facts match up with the public's social media usage? 16.46% of Brits said their favourite feature of social media was 'notifications', closely followed by the 15.46% who enjoy 'unlimited scrolling' the most. Both getting notifications and scrolling through newsfeeds offer variable rewards, as there is no predicting what is coming.
As Health and Wellness Expert Caleb Backe points out: “The never-ending nature of gambling games and the infinite scroll feature on social media apps are the most addictive components that these platforms employ. It sucks people in without giving them an easy [way] out, meaning that you can literally waste hours of your time without gain – if anything, you’ll be left feeling worse when you’ve ‘finished’.”
Britian’s favourite social media features:
The average person scrolls just over 5 miles on their mobile screen each year
When you're on your phone and pull down to refresh the feed, or you see a red number of notifications, the anticipation and short wait mirror pulling the lever on a slot machine. In the same way you don't know if you'll win, there's no way of knowing what content you are about to get. It's this unpredictability on social media that keeps users hooked.
Content is handed to the user on a plate with no effort required on their part, much in the same way slots have auto-play features built in for players.
UK adults voted 'unlimited scrolling' as the second most popular feature of social media but what exactly is most likely to keep them scrolling? 55.73% told us it's because of 'interesting content', followed by the 13% who said it's because they don't know what's going to pop up next. The average person scrolls just over 5 miles on their mobile screen each year, which is the equivalent to running around an Olympic-sized athletic track 20 times. Platforms like Facebook facilitate our content consumption with features like the auto-playing of the next videos, just like the way Netflix starts playing the next episode of a series. Content is handed to the user on a plate with no effort required on their part, much in the same way slots have auto-play features built in for players.
The power of a 'like' & the need for social validation
Nearly 40% of our respondents said that 'being complimented' most accurately describes how getting a 'like' feels.
Social validation is a form of reward, which is a huge part of psychology that social media platforms use to their advantage in terms of increasing user engagement.
24.82% also confirmed that the notifications section was what was most likely to make them check their social media.
Backe explains that notifications, especially push ones that come through to your phone without having to actually log in to your account or open an app, have the same effect on the brain as slot machine wins. He explains: “When you use slot machines, you eventually get something back in return, even if it’s less than what you put in. This gives you the hope and excitement that you’re ‘winning’. Social media works in the same way, in the sense that each time a notification pops-up informing us of a ‘like’ or ‘retweet’, we’re given positive reinforcement in the form of a social reward.”
Each time a notification pops-up informing us of a 'like' or 'retweet', we’re given positive reinforcement in the form of a social reward
Slot machines give players a huge dopamine hit when they win. The sound of the coins dropping out of the machine has a similar impact on the brain chemical serotonin as the sound of a notification alert. It triggers that same chemical reaction, which is why we are geared to respond to them in the same way.
Essentially, social media is swapping coin rewards in casino games for emotional rewards on their own platforms. When playing slots, you win back small amounts of money intermittently and the unpredictable positive reinforcement hides the fact you are really losing. In the same way you might actually dislike social media in general, when you are rewarded with likes and comments, it is harder to quit using the apps for fear of missing out. The easier you make it for a user to access these social rewards, for example through push notifications, the more likely they are to engage with the platform.
social media is swapping coin rewards in casino games for emotional rewards on their own platforms
While social media platforms didn't necessarily set out with the intention of making users addicted, they have done so inadvertently. “The ‘like’ button on Facebook was designed to increase engagement on the platform, but, instead, it resulted in taking over the social reward system in users’ brains," Backe tells us. "This meant that a new phenomenon called 'the attention economy' cultivated where people crave validation as much as they crave a monetary reward from a slot machine.”
You don’t have to look much further than the #L4L hashtag, where users 'like' a random post in exchange for another. It may be superficial, but it’s a means of achieving social validation.
Social media copied casinos' reciprocation technique
It's common to see casinos playing on the psychology of social reciprocity. Or, in simple terms: you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
Dr Lynch explains that "people are more apt to give or spend when they are given something beforehand, even if it is a small thing. Casinos use free drinks, free entertainment, free food, and even free rooms to entice people to gamble more.”
This is another part of psychology that social media platforms have borrowed from casinos in their designs and features.
Dr Lynch adds: “The idea that you can see 'read' messages on Facebook encourages you to respond because senders know that you’ve seen their message. Included in this are the ellipses that you see when someone is typing. You’re less likely to exit the app if you’re expecting a message, or at least they can ensure that you’ll be back soon. Similarly, the idea of a maintain a ‘streak’ on Snapchat means that you’re tied to the app in terms of reciprocation.”
And, although you can switch these features off, they are installed as an integral part of the design with the sole intention of increasing user engagement.
The UK's favourite social network is also the most addictive
The most popular social media platform with those surveyed was Facebook, with 52.59% choosing the platform as their favourite.
And what about when we asked the experts about which channel was the worst offender for copying slot machine methods?
You guessed it: Facebook.
The reason why? “Facebook’s infinite scroll feature and design of the ‘like’ button mean that it’s the social media platform that uses the most addictive methods taken directly from slot machines,” argues Backe.
Add to this the read receipts feature and the use of ellipses when typing a message, and you can see just how many addictive methods are employed by Facebook.
Brits are open about being addicted to social media
Our survey results showed that many people living in the UK do suffer from a form of addiction to social media.
43.96% of respondents said they couldn’t go longer than a whole day without checking their accounts, even though 30% admitted to having an overall negative view of social media.
According to our survey, Northern Ireland is the most addicted region, where users spend 2.67 hours on social media a day. Those in the East Midlands are the least addicted, spending an average of 1.63 hours a day on their favourite platforms.
According to our survey, Northern Ireland is the most addicted region, where users spend 2.67 hours on social media a day. Those in the East Midlands are the least addicted, spending an average of 1.63 hours a day on their favourite platforms.
When we look at the stats, it's clear that younger generations are the most addicted. 13.27% of 18–24 year olds spend over 6 hours a day on social media, compared with 1.43% of those aged 55 or over. 46.88% of those aged between 25–35 spend at least 2-3 hours on social media each day, as do 42.18% of 18–24 year olds. When people spend a huge proportion of their day glued to their phones, avoiding face-to-face interaction, then the effects on personal relationships is potentially detrimental.
We asked the experts whether we should be worried. “Social media addiction can affect your ability to communicate with people in settings that aren’t bound to online platforms. You’ll find that you’re able to truly be yourself with someone while texting or communicating online but when you meet in person you struggle to find things to speak about or fill ‘awkward silences’ with a quick scroll on Instagram,” states Backe.
He continues: "The infinite scroll feature found on most apps means that you can end up spending hours on them without even realizing it. This unhealthy and addictive behaviour could be reduced if tech giants and
individual users put limits on their app usage. Whether that was an app having a 'break-time' feature which threw you off for a few minutes, or individuals making their own time boundaries, it’s important to limit usage of screen time to live your healthiest life."
"By setting boundaries, social media addictions can be prevented. Turning off notifications, limiting your screen time and posting content later rather than straight away are all steps in the right direction to preventing a social media addiction. Social media is essentially instant gratification served on a platter, so the way to prevent it is to delay the gratification."