Why Is Social Media More Addictive Than Television?

Anna Lembke says social media platforms are very potent drugs, much more potent than television, because people can micro-control what they consume. The largest companies in the world are creating the mother of all on-ramps to addiction to other things later in life.

People analogize social media to television and the old line that television was the idiot box. The difference is control. People think addiction is an attempt to escape control. Addiction is all about asserting control over a micro-experience to change the way a person feels. The most immediate way is to swipe right, swipe left, scroll up, scroll down, or tap. The signal goes to the visual cortex and then to the brain's reward pathway, releasing dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, the same reward pathway activated by drugs and alcohol.

Kids addicted to digital media go into full withdrawal when the device is taken away. The universal symptoms are anxiety, irritability, insomnia, depression, and craving. Physical symptoms include headache, dizziness, and stomach aches. Many kids have rageful temper tantrums and fling themselves against the wall or on the floor. Withdrawal is time limited. Inside a safe container, within a couple of days, kids begin to emerge. Families report they got their kid back: socialized, talking, and helping with chores.