Spending 2 hours on social media instead of 5 minutes: decoding a common phenomenon

Waking up in the morning, checking TikTok or X notifications, watching a YouTube video (then two, then ten), browsing new posts on Instagram... and looking up from your smartphone an hour later. If this happens to you regularly, don’t worry: you’re not alone, and here’s why.

Social Media and the Quest for Instant Gratification

Comments, likes, and entertaining content activate dopamine in the brain, the pleasure hormone. Checking our favorite social networks is perceived by the brain as a pleasurable activity that relaxes us. Whether you’re a content creator or just a viewer, “likes” and comments reinforce this pleasant feeling and feed into the reward circuit. However, once dopamine disappears, it brings a sense of craving when deprived of its activating object. Social media designers have understood this well and have implemented various techniques to encourage users to stay on their platforms as long as possible.

You’re unknowingly practicing one of these techniques: scrolling, the action of endlessly scrolling through content on your screen with just your thumb. This activates that famous dopamine. This concept was devised by Aza Raskin, an American engineer specializing in human-machine interaction, to capture users’ attention. Indeed, it’s a formidable technique to keep users engaged with their screens for as long as possible…

Lastly, let’s not forget that when we scroll on Instagram, X, or TikTok, the content presented to us is targeted. The more we navigate social networks and interact with content, the more the algorithm analyzes our preferences and interests. Thanks to the collected information, social networks can offer content that you enjoy. This mechanism can sometimes lead to behavioral addiction, with effects similar to addiction to certain substances (alcohol, tobacco, drugs, etc.).

Harmful Consequences for Physical and Mental Health

Increased smartphone use contributes to migraines, headaches, and sleep disorders. This is due to several reasons: the light emitted by the screen disrupts our natural rhythms, and excessive stimulation of our brain hinders the necessary disconnection for restorative sleep. Thinking you’ll spend 5 minutes on Instagram at 10 p.m., many of us look up to find it’s already midnight. And since the urge to sleep has passed, it's hard not to dive back into our screens while waiting for fatigue to set in again.

It has also been proven that excessive use of social networks threatens users' mental health. They sometimes develop a form of anxiety related to negative (or even hateful) comments, an overload of information, and recommendations (especially related to appearance, particularly among young women). Social networks lead us to contemplate the perfect lives of the people we follow, masking the mundane or negative aspects of their existence, which can lead to comparison phenomena that may eventually result in depression.

Finally, the physical consequences, especially among the younger population, are concerning. The massive use of screens and social networks encourages sedentary behavior. An older study by Anses (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety) measured the impact of social networks on adolescent physical activity. Its conclusions: the risk of overweight or even obesity is significant for two-thirds of adolescents who spend more than 2 hours a day on screens and less than 1 hour moving.

17%

of 11-17 year olds spend more than 4.5 hours a day on screens for less than 20 minutes of daily physical activity

Source: Anses

Some Strategies to Limit Time Spent on Social Media

Disable Notifications and Auto-Play Videos

We don’t often think about it, but by disabling notifications, our brain is freed from the urge to dive into social networks with every alert. Simply turning your screen face down during an important task helps avoid the temptation to check it. Similarly, blocking auto-play of videos (that you haven’t chosen to watch) helps regain better control over the time spent online… and the content viewed.

Set a Time Limit on Your Smartphone

Today, most smartphones offer the ability, without using a third-party app, to limit the time spent on certain applications.

You can check from your device the time spent on social networks and set a time limit on iPhone or Android. These limitations will help you improve your concentration.

Replace One Habit with Another

Constantly glued to our networks, we sometimes forget to refocus on real-world interactions. So, when the temptation to dive into Instagram or YouTube videos is high, plan 10-15 minutes in advance for another activity: reading a magazine, a meditation session, a phone call with a loved one… or a coffee with a friend.