Opinion

As of 2025, research done by the University of Maine has concluded that people spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media per day. This number has drastically increased from 56 minutes since 2019. Nowadays people, especially teens, are becoming more and more addicted to this tiny screen. So why is social media so addictive? There are a variety of reasons. 

A big factor in what makes apps like Instagram and TikTok so addictive is that scrolling releases dopamine in your brain, a chemical associated with pleasure and reward, according to Stanford Medicine. Dopamine is released when we encounter a shocking or interesting post, and every swipe keeps us wondering when the next hit will come, keeping us continually scrolling. Because of this, many people have found themselves in a habit of “doomscrolling,” an act of mindlessly swiping through your feed without consciously knowing you're doing it. Caroline Fonteno, a sophomore, said, “There will be times when I’m scrolling and I just cannot get off. I feel like my finger just wants to keep swiping.” Sophomore Anastazia Fazio said, “Sometimes I’m scrolling on Instagram and I’m like ‘just one more…just one more.’” Even receiving a notification can activate the dopamine in your brain and trigger stress hormones throughout your body. Fonteno remarked, “when I get a notification, my brain gets excited and I want to see what it is right away.” These quick hits of dopamine cause you to constantly crave more and more. However real life does not move nearly as fast as social media, and this is why life becomes less interesting, and those dopamine releases we get from scrolling become more addicting. 

According to a survey I conducted of 97 St. Andrew’s students, Instagram and TikTok are tied for the most used social media sites. These apps are forms of short-form media, with an average video duration of 35 seconds. Endlessly scrolling through short videos causes our brains to adapt to only receiving small amounts of information at once, drastically affecting attention spans. This makes it harder to focus on any task that takes more time, as the average attention span is now only 8 seconds, according to the American Psychological Association. Even watching movies becomes increasingly difficult, as it doesn't allow your brain to move to the next topic once you get bored. Fonteno said, “When I watch TV I can’t just watch something, I have to be doing something else. I usually scroll on Instagram reels.” Sophomore Sophie Oakes noted, “I think watching TikToks, which are all very short videos that I can quickly scroll between, makes it harder to watch movies because I have to focus on one thing for a long time.” But this doesn't just apply to movies. She also said, “if I see a TikTok that’s a minute long, I don’t even want to sit through that.” Chronic exposure to social media leads to decreased memory and less cognitive ability, and only receiving quick pieces of information takes away your ability to focus on long-term tasks, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

Social media use makes it more difficult for students to stay focused in school as well, as they aren't used to such high levels of concentration. According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, students who spend over two hours a day on screens receive lower test scores. According to my survey, 70% of students say that not having their phones during school is helpful for getting work done. Sophomore Manny Paz, who does not use any social media, said “I think phone usage would make school not a place for learning. It would definitely distract from that.” When asked if it is hard to stay off her phone during school, Fazio stated, “If you can’t stay off your phone for an 8 hour school day, you have a problem.” About half of the students answered that they could typically spend 30 minutes to an hour doing homework before taking a break, however those without social media mostly said they could spend about one to two or more hours. Many students reported phones as distracting while doing work. Fonteno said, “Sometimes I’ll take breaks from schoolwork and instinctively start scrolling, which ends up being a huge time suck because I’ll end up scrolling for 20 minutes when I meant to only spend two.” 

Now that you know how addictive social media can become and the detrimental effects it has on your brain, hopefully you are willing to break the pattern of endless scroll. According to OKW News, the average person will spend 12 years of their life staring at their phone. If this scares you (and it should), then you may want to put your phone down and go for a walk outside or talk to a friend. The good news is, if you read through this whole article in one sitting, you are already on the right track to repairing your attention span and setting yourself up for success.