The Psychology of Social Media: Why It’s So Addictive and Influential

Social media is an ever-changing landscape that has evolved from posting updates on our profiles to seeking information in curated feeds. Today, we don’t just look at what other people are posting and commenting on; we spend hours scrolling through an endless feed of posts targeted to our interests. Since we spend so much time using it, it’s critical to understand the psychology of social media. 

Social media influences how people think, feel, and behave by using psychological triggers such as rewards, comparisons and social validation. 

But why is it so compelling? In this post, we’ll explore how social media is no longer just an app but a psychological environment that appeals to some of our most ingrained human instincts. We’ll do this by sharing recent statistics and psychological theories that explain aspects of our online behaviour, as well as advice for enhancing our digital wellbeing. 

What is the psychology of social media?

The psychology of social media refers to how digital platforms influence human behaviour, emotions and decision-making. It explains why people seek validation through likes and comments, compare themselves to others, and continue engaging with content for extended periods.

Understanding the psychology of social media

To get further insight into social media psychology, it’s helpful to look at recent statistics. Datareportal’s most recent annual survey shares the following:

• There are 5.66 billion user “identities” on social media
• 93.8 percent of the world’s internet users use social media every month
• The typical user visits 6.75 platforms every month
• The average user spends 18 hours and 36 minutes on social media every week

These statistics highlight how embedded social media has become in daily life, making it essential to understand the psychological mechanisms driving its use.

When we look at statistics like these, it’s clear that we spend a lot of time online. According to the report above, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok have the most active users on mobile devices, which indicates the kinds of content we consume on our phones. Regardless of the exact number of users on each platform, it’s clear that these five platforms shape our daily viewing experience by allowing us to follow specific profiles and like their videos or posts.

What is the psychology behind sharing on social media?

We all know how good it feels to get likes and comments on our posts. This surge of dopamine (the feel-good hormone) encourages us to seek more likes by posting more and liking other people’s content. This behaviour creates a reward loop that encourages repeated behaviour, making social media highly engaging and sometimes difficult to step away from. 

This process is similar to how slot machines work: every time you refresh or click a button, a new screen appears, full of information or images that might offer a reward. 

Through liking and engaging with content, a social media platform’s algorithm automatically learns what we like and don’t like and shows us related content accordingly. Unfortunately, this leads to our feeds becoming mirrors for our cognitive biases. When examining the psychology of social media, other potential downsides include feeling FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), sleep disruption and the effects of “doomscrolling” on our attention spans. While it isn’t all bad, understanding the relationship between psychology and social media can help safeguard our mental health.

Key psychological theories that explain the relationship between psychology and social media

Several psychological theories help explain why social media influences behaviour so strongly:

1. What is the online disinhibition effect? (John Suler)

According to Professor John Suler, the invisibility and anonymity of engaging online provide a certain degree of freedom. In other words, the online world offers us a place to share information that we wouldn’t necessarily share in real life. 

Without having to “own” our behaviour, we can often be braver or meaner, behind a screen. This lack of inhibition may have consequences for our mental health, as we may potentially start to feel a disconnect between our true values and our online identities.

2. What is the looking-glass self? (Charles Horton Cooley)

In 1902, Charles Horton Cooley introduced the Looking-Glass Self theory. This theory states that we shape our own image and self-concept according to the people around us, who serve as mirrors (or looking-glasses). In other words, how we see ourselves is based on how we think others see us. 

When we think about how this plays out in the digital world, we can see how social media becomes a platform for marketing the best version of ourselves to the world, influenced by likes, comments and shares. Since the online world is so complex, it’s important to be mindful of developing an online identity that aligns with our values.

3. What is reciprocal altruism? (Robert Trivers)

In 1971, Robert Trivers proposed the idea of “reciprocal altruism”, or “tit-for-tat”, which aligns with the Law of Reciprocity in social psychology. Essentially, as human beings, we have a strong instinct to reward good deeds.

When we consider how we feel when we get “blue ticked” on WhatsApp or see the “Seen” receipt on a message but don’t get a response, we truly realise how ingrained our desire for reciprocity is. In the digital world, we are more likely to like or comment on someone’s post if they do the same for us, which can keep us locked in a never-ending cycle of liking and responding.

4. What is self-discrepancy theory? (Edward Tory Higgins)

Edward Tory Higgins’ Self-discrepancy Theory claims that we have three “selves”:

• Actual Selves: The person we perceive ourselves to be
• Ought Selves: The person we believe we should be
• Ideal Selves: The person we want to be, shaped by our hopes, wishes and aspirations

In the digital world, the gap between our actual selves and our ought and ideal selves is especially visible when we compare ourselves to others. Unfortunately, if we don’t manage to achieve our ought or ideal selves in this environment, we can feel empty and unfulfilled, which can pose challenges to our overall wellbeing and mental health. 

For younger adults and teenagers, digital safety is a primary concern. In addition, they are still developing their identities and may therefore be more susceptible to negative feedback on social media. In an age of what experts call “AI slop”, it’s essential to engage online with our own values in mind, rather than trying to perform and live up to artificially generated AI feeds.

How social media affects psychological wellbeing

Social media can have both positive and negative effects on mental health, depending on how we use it.

From the theories shared above, it’s clear that the common thread is that we need to be mindful of our values when using social media. While some people may focus on the negative, if we engage online with awareness, we can help build constructive platforms that provide creative self-expression and access for niche communities and marginalised groups. 

Therefore, instead of focusing on all the reasons that “social media is bad”, the truth is that it is now an inevitable part of our lives. Instead of trying to block it out, it’s more helpful to empower ourselves to use it more mindfully to maintain digital wellness and our overall personal health. 

To do this, we don’t necessarily need to quit our online accounts. Rather, we need to readjust our perceptions of our online selves. By doing this, we take the time to find and maintain a balance between our digital and real lives.

Practical tips for managing social media usage

Managing social media use involves setting boundaries and being more intentional about how you engage online.

In practice, managing our social media use involves setting boundaries around technology use, enhancing the positive effects and minimising the negative effects. Below we list some suggestions for each:

Enhancing positive effects

• Curating your feed to avoid anything that triggers negative emotions
• Consuming digital media more mindfully when searching for information
• Focusing on building connection and community
• Using social media as a platform for self-expression

Minimising the negative effects

• Consuming social media mindfully to avoid social comparison and doomscrolling
• Avoid spending time on your phone before bed to prevent potential sleep disruption 
• Limit your daily usage to prevent any negative mental health effects (e.g. anxiety and depression symptoms)

Explore SACAP’s Applied Psychology programmes

Understanding the psychology of social media is just one dimension of a broader field that is growing in relevance every year. Leading experts develop SACAP’s Applied Psychology programmes and offer current, evidence-based insights into human behaviour in digital environments.

If you’d like to understand the psychology behind social media in more depth, take a look at our range of courses that provide current insights into the nature of human-tech interaction, which will continue to evolve in the years ahead.