It’s fairly well known that social media can be highly addictive, and that various personality types are more vulnerable to developing addictive tendencies.  With social networks in many ways designed to hook us, is this a problematic situation for those with vulnerability to developing addictive behaviors?  That was the question posed by new research from Michigan State University.

“Both Facebook and Snapchat have separate features that make users want to keep coming back and using these platforms,” the researchers explain. “We were interested in measuring not only problematic use, but also the specific social rewards people might be looking for when using them.”

The researchers tracked several hundred users across both platforms, together with any problematic usage and/or attempts to quit either platform.  The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that measured their preferences for social rewards, including the types of social interactions they most enjoyed.

“We found that participants spent more time on Snapchat than on Facebook, and they also demonstrated more problematic use of Snapchat,” the researchers say. “Surprisingly though, participants reported more attempts to quit Facebook.”

Addictive platforms

When the researchers analyzed the psychology of users who had problematic relationships with either platform, some commonality emerged.  It appeared that addictive behaviors coincided with a desire to be cruel, callous, and use others for personal gain.  Online, this can manifest itself in traditional trolling behavior, such as angering or embarrassing others.

This relationship seemed to move in unison, so the more prone you were to engage in trolling, the more likely you were to become addicted to social media, especially when also linked with the receipt of admiration from others.  The researchers hope that by understanding some of the social reward preferences attached to problematic use, it can help clinical psychologists better deal with social media addiction.

“If there’s a patient who says they’re having problems overusing these platforms, the clinician will have a better understanding as to what drives them socially and should be better able to help them,” they conclude.