Do you consider yourself to be addicted to social media? You don’t have to say anything, because according to Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, the answer is almost certainly no.
Mosseri testified as part of an ongoing trial in Los Angeles that accuses Meta, TikTok, and YouTube of causing psychological harm to children by implementing addictive features in their platforms. This particular case focuses on a 20-year-old plaintiff who attributes excessive use of Instagram and YouTube from childhood to developing depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
Addressing a plaintiff"s claim of spending 16 hours in one day on Instagram, Mosseri described it as "problematic use" but not "clinical addiction." Mosseri argues that putting prolonged use of social media in the same basket as more serious medical conditions like substance abuse is inaccurate.
Mosseri clarified he’s not a medical expert and added that perception of time spent on the platform is relative. He argued that what might be an excessive amount of screen time for some might feel perfectly normal to others.
Instagram CEO then compared scrolling on Instagram to binge-watching a show on Netflix (which also develops its own ways of keeping users hooked for longer periods of time):
“I"m sure I"ve said that I"ve been addicted to a Netflix show when I binged it really late one night, but I don"t think it"s the same thing as clinical addiction."
Public reaction to the remarks has been mostly critical. Most people agree that a CEO of a company that uses attention as currency would never admit that its core product is harming users.
For me personally, the current state of Instagram’s algorithm is the biggest safety measure against excessive use. The network has recently been flooded with so much low-quality AI-generated content that I almost stopped using it entirely. I am sure there is an audience for this AI content pumped out by people looking for a low-effort payout, but I am not among them.
What do you think? Could excessive use of social media be considered an addiction, or is it not serious enough to be classified as such?