Ian Axel Anderson
@aanixel.bsky.social
Postdoc @ Caltech
Technology researcher, Surfer, Poet
They/he
Technology researcher, Surfer, Poet
They/he
Thanks!! Totally agreed—seeing that loss of agency/dismissiveness happen a lot was part of the inspiration for this paper!
December 2, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Thanks!! Totally agreed—seeing that loss of agency/dismissiveness happen a lot was part of the inspiration for this paper!
Reviving this thread--here is the full paper link! New bluesky thread posted just earlier as well... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Overestimates of social media addiction are common but costly - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Overestimates of social media addiction are common but costly
www.nature.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Reviving this thread--here is the full paper link! New bluesky thread posted just earlier as well... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Final Takewway (lol):
🔑 For platforms: give users more tools to control and manage use, preferably based on the same strategies that are already being used to drive habitual, highly frequent use of platforms.
🔑 For platforms: give users more tools to control and manage use, preferably based on the same strategies that are already being used to drive habitual, highly frequent use of platforms.
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Final Takewway (lol):
🔑 For platforms: give users more tools to control and manage use, preferably based on the same strategies that are already being used to drive habitual, highly frequent use of platforms.
🔑 For platforms: give users more tools to control and manage use, preferably based on the same strategies that are already being used to drive habitual, highly frequent use of platforms.
Takeways (Cont'd)
🔑 For scientists, consider using a more diverse array of measures for frequent social media use, including measures of habit, addiction, frequency, and collecting actual log data.
🔑 For scientists, consider using a more diverse array of measures for frequent social media use, including measures of habit, addiction, frequency, and collecting actual log data.
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Takeways (Cont'd)
🔑 For scientists, consider using a more diverse array of measures for frequent social media use, including measures of habit, addiction, frequency, and collecting actual log data.
🔑 For scientists, consider using a more diverse array of measures for frequent social media use, including measures of habit, addiction, frequency, and collecting actual log data.
Takeaways (Cont'd):
🔑 35% of our sample in Study 1 had strong habits, including over 50% of daily Instagram users, suggesting that focusing on habit-based strategies to manage use will be more successful than focusing on addiction-based strategies for the majority of frequent users.
🔑 35% of our sample in Study 1 had strong habits, including over 50% of daily Instagram users, suggesting that focusing on habit-based strategies to manage use will be more successful than focusing on addiction-based strategies for the majority of frequent users.
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Takeaways (Cont'd):
🔑 35% of our sample in Study 1 had strong habits, including over 50% of daily Instagram users, suggesting that focusing on habit-based strategies to manage use will be more successful than focusing on addiction-based strategies for the majority of frequent users.
🔑 35% of our sample in Study 1 had strong habits, including over 50% of daily Instagram users, suggesting that focusing on habit-based strategies to manage use will be more successful than focusing on addiction-based strategies for the majority of frequent users.
Takeaways:
🔑 We need to talk about social media use more accurately and focus on addiction when it actually applies, rather than when it doesn’t.
🔑 For media and policymakers, don’t casually talk about ‘social media addiction’ as it risks pathologizing everyday behavior unnecessarily.
🔑 We need to talk about social media use more accurately and focus on addiction when it actually applies, rather than when it doesn’t.
🔑 For media and policymakers, don’t casually talk about ‘social media addiction’ as it risks pathologizing everyday behavior unnecessarily.
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Takeaways:
🔑 We need to talk about social media use more accurately and focus on addiction when it actually applies, rather than when it doesn’t.
🔑 For media and policymakers, don’t casually talk about ‘social media addiction’ as it risks pathologizing everyday behavior unnecessarily.
🔑 We need to talk about social media use more accurately and focus on addiction when it actually applies, rather than when it doesn’t.
🔑 For media and policymakers, don’t casually talk about ‘social media addiction’ as it risks pathologizing everyday behavior unnecessarily.
...the users in the manipulation condition experienced increased perceived addiction to Instagram, and also felt they would be less able to control their use in the future (+ multiple measures), and blamed themselves more for overuse of Instagram compared to a control group.
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
...the users in the manipulation condition experienced increased perceived addiction to Instagram, and also felt they would be less able to control their use in the future (+ multiple measures), and blamed themselves more for overuse of Instagram compared to a control group.
In study 2 (total sample of N = 824 daily Instagram users), we used a manipulation that exposed participants to the suggestion (backed by the U.S. surgeon general) that their Instagram use could be addictive, and had they reflect on a time when their Instagram use felt like an addiction...
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
In study 2 (total sample of N = 824 daily Instagram users), we used a manipulation that exposed participants to the suggestion (backed by the U.S. surgeon general) that their Instagram use could be addictive, and had they reflect on a time when their Instagram use felt like an addiction...
Why? One major factor is media coverage, which makes ‘addiction’ the commonly used phrase to describe heavy or highly frequent use. Our media analysis showed that ‘social media addiction’ was used almost 500 times more than the amount that a more neutral phrase, ‘social media habit’, was...
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Why? One major factor is media coverage, which makes ‘addiction’ the commonly used phrase to describe heavy or highly frequent use. Our media analysis showed that ‘social media addiction’ was used almost 500 times more than the amount that a more neutral phrase, ‘social media habit’, was...
Study 1: A sample (N =380) of adult US Instagram users showed that while 18% of users self-describe as addicted to Instagram, only 2% actually meet the ‘at risk’ criteria for clinical addiction.
Similarly, 9% of TikTok users (college student sample) were at risk but 59% self-described as addicts.
Similarly, 9% of TikTok users (college student sample) were at risk but 59% self-described as addicts.
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Study 1: A sample (N =380) of adult US Instagram users showed that while 18% of users self-describe as addicted to Instagram, only 2% actually meet the ‘at risk’ criteria for clinical addiction.
Similarly, 9% of TikTok users (college student sample) were at risk but 59% self-described as addicts.
Similarly, 9% of TikTok users (college student sample) were at risk but 59% self-described as addicts.
Big thanks to my co-author, who isn't on Bluesky, Professor Wendy Wood!
Full article link (Open access!) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Full article link (Open access!) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Overestimates of social media addiction are common but costly - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - Overestimates of social media addiction are common but costly
www.nature.com
November 29, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Big thanks to my co-author, who isn't on Bluesky, Professor Wendy Wood!
Full article link (Open access!) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Full article link (Open access!) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
...again, this entire pattern could have been easily avoided if they, ya know, just fixed major problems in an honest way when they first found out about them? The utter lack of long-term thinking by leadership is consistently incredible to me.
November 25, 2025 at 5:19 PM
...again, this entire pattern could have been easily avoided if they, ya know, just fixed major problems in an honest way when they first found out about them? The utter lack of long-term thinking by leadership is consistently incredible to me.