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5 key signs you might be addicted to social media
🇱🇹 Lithuania /Culture & Society

5 key signs you might be addicted to social media

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Social media algorithms use reward principles, like likes and comments, to keep users engaged, according to a clinical psychologist.
  • The constant stream of information and auto-playing videos create a "time illusion," leading users to spend more time on platforms.
  • Social media can fulfill emotional needs for belonging and validation, while the brain's dopamine loop reinforces the desire for intermittent rewards.

Clinical psychologist Dr. J. Burkauskas explains that social media platforms employ specific mechanisms to ensure users continuously return, even without full disclosure of their algorithms.

One of the main principles that psychologically compels people to return or engage with content is the reward principle.

— Dr. J. BurkauskasExplaining the psychological mechanisms behind social media engagement.

"One of the main principles that psychologically compels people to return or engage with content is the reward principle," Burkauskas stated. He elaborated that on social media, this manifests through likes, comments, view counts, and other signals that acknowledge user activity. This intermittent reinforcement is a key factor in maintaining engagement.

Another significant aspect is the "time illusion." Social media platforms present an almost endless stream of information, with content continuously scrolling and videos playing automatically. "This unending flow of information makes you lose your sense of time, and then you spend more time there," the psychologist explained.

This unending flow of information makes you lose your sense of time, and then you spend more time there.

— Dr. J. BurkauskasDescribing the 'time illusion' created by social media platforms.

Social media also helps users satisfy emotional needs such as belonging, recognition, and self-expression. When individuals feel part of a group, receive validation for their thoughts, or gain attention on a platform, their desire to participate and return naturally increases. This taps into fundamental human psychological needs.

Social media also helps users satisfy emotional needs such as belonging, recognition, and self-expression.

— Dr. J. BurkauskasDiscussing how social media fulfills psychological needs.

Furthermore, the psychologist highlighted the biological processes involved, particularly the dopamine loop associated with the brain's reward, motivation, and pleasure systems. Dopamine is released not only during pleasurable experiences but also in anticipation of them. Social media leverages this by creating anticipation for new likes, comments, or view count increases. Disconnecting from the platform can lead to discomfort and a reinforced desire to return, creating a cycle of seeking these intermittent rewards. Short video formats further amplify this mechanism by constantly stimulating attention systems with rapidly changing information, leaving less time for deeper processing.

Dopamine is released not only when a person experiences pleasure, but also when they anticipate it.

— Dr. J. BurkauskasExplaining the role of the dopamine loop in social media addiction.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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