Many Instagram users believe they are addicted to the app when clinical evidence suggests otherwise, according to research conducted in 2024 by scientists from the California Institute of Technology and the University of Southern California. The study found that only 2% of active users met clinical criteria for addiction risk, while 18% reported feeling addicted to the platform. Among those who strongly agreed they were addicted, more than half did not meet clinical diagnostic criteria.
Researchers examined 1,204 Instagram users across two studies. The first study involved 380 U.S. adults percentage-matched to national demographics for gender, age, political views, and race. Participants completed the Bergen Instagram Addiction Scale, which measures six clinical symptoms: spending significant time thinking about or planning Instagram use, urges to use it more, using it to escape personal problems, failed attempts to reduce use, withdrawal symptoms, and negative impacts on work or studies.
The scale classifies users who score 24 or above out of 30 possible points as being at risk for addiction. Only nine participants reached this threshold. In contrast, 18% of users agreed they felt addicted when asked directly, and 5% strongly agreed with ratings of six or seven on a seven-point scale.
The most common symptom was thinking frequently about Instagram, reported by 20% of participants. The least common symptoms were withdrawal, experienced by 4%, and negative impacts on work or studies, reported by 6%. Among participants using Instagram for about an hour or more daily, which represented 46% of the sample, only 5% of this group showed addiction risk based on clinical measures.
Half of all participants, 49%, identified as habitual users. Researchers distinguished habits from addiction by examining specific symptoms. Withdrawal, life conflict, and past failures to reduce use correlated more strongly with self-reported addiction than with habits. The study found that habits involve automatic responses to environmental cues rather than the cravings and lifestyle disruptions characteristic of substance addiction.
Researchers analyzed U.S. media coverage from November 2021 to November 2024 using a tracking tool. The phrase "social media addiction" appeared in 4,383 articles that generated 71,981 engagements across Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Pinterest. The phrase "social media habit" appeared in only 50 articles with 464 total engagements. Coverage increased in May 2023 following a U.S. Surgeon General warning about social media addiction.
The second study tested 824 daily Instagram users in an experimental design. Participants who completed a two-minute reflection task about being addicted reported lower perceived control over their use compared to a comparison group. The addiction-reflection group also reported more past attempts to control their behavior and increased self-blame for overuse.
Researchers concluded that labeling typical social media use as addiction may reduce user confidence in managing their behavior. They recommended addressing excessive use through habit-change strategies such as disabling notifications, removing visual triggers, and practicing alternative activities rather than clinical addiction treatment approaches.
Notes: This post was drafted with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed, edited, and published by humans.
Read next: Mobile Devices Face Expanding Attack Surface, ANSSI Finds in 2025 Threat Review
Researchers examined 1,204 Instagram users across two studies. The first study involved 380 U.S. adults percentage-matched to national demographics for gender, age, political views, and race. Participants completed the Bergen Instagram Addiction Scale, which measures six clinical symptoms: spending significant time thinking about or planning Instagram use, urges to use it more, using it to escape personal problems, failed attempts to reduce use, withdrawal symptoms, and negative impacts on work or studies.
The scale classifies users who score 24 or above out of 30 possible points as being at risk for addiction. Only nine participants reached this threshold. In contrast, 18% of users agreed they felt addicted when asked directly, and 5% strongly agreed with ratings of six or seven on a seven-point scale.
The most common symptom was thinking frequently about Instagram, reported by 20% of participants. The least common symptoms were withdrawal, experienced by 4%, and negative impacts on work or studies, reported by 6%. Among participants using Instagram for about an hour or more daily, which represented 46% of the sample, only 5% of this group showed addiction risk based on clinical measures.
Half of all participants, 49%, identified as habitual users. Researchers distinguished habits from addiction by examining specific symptoms. Withdrawal, life conflict, and past failures to reduce use correlated more strongly with self-reported addiction than with habits. The study found that habits involve automatic responses to environmental cues rather than the cravings and lifestyle disruptions characteristic of substance addiction.
Researchers analyzed U.S. media coverage from November 2021 to November 2024 using a tracking tool. The phrase "social media addiction" appeared in 4,383 articles that generated 71,981 engagements across Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Pinterest. The phrase "social media habit" appeared in only 50 articles with 464 total engagements. Coverage increased in May 2023 following a U.S. Surgeon General warning about social media addiction.
The second study tested 824 daily Instagram users in an experimental design. Participants who completed a two-minute reflection task about being addicted reported lower perceived control over their use compared to a comparison group. The addiction-reflection group also reported more past attempts to control their behavior and increased self-blame for overuse.
Researchers concluded that labeling typical social media use as addiction may reduce user confidence in managing their behavior. They recommended addressing excessive use through habit-change strategies such as disabling notifications, removing visual triggers, and practicing alternative activities rather than clinical addiction treatment approaches.
Notes: This post was drafted with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed, edited, and published by humans.
Read next: Mobile Devices Face Expanding Attack Surface, ANSSI Finds in 2025 Threat Review
