Developers of social media platforms are in business to make money. The likelihood of making money increases when users spend more time on these platforms, so developers design how content is fed based on users' "interests." These models are called algorithms, and whether you know it or not, you're targeted the moment you log on. The more content available to consume that is geared to match previous interactions can easily lead a user down a rabbit hole.
Not only do social media platforms evaluate what you like, share, and comment on, but they also use this data to sell to other parties, such as advertisers. That's why when you click on an article about planning a birthday party, suddenly, your feed is flooded with birthday party supply ads and related articles. You may have intended to read a quick article for some ideas to use later. Still, now you've spent three hours endlessly scrolling and liking without even realizing it.
Algorithms manipulate what shows up in your feed with the purpose of keeping you on the platform. But interactive controls such as the like button and the ability to add emojis, GIFs, and comments are part of the addictive design. Most people are either elated or disappointed by the interactions they get from others when they post on social media.
However, serious problems can arise when we depend on affirmation and confirmation from online communities. It's not unusual to keep checking a post to see how many people approve of your latest selfie, which indicates addiction.
When you're feeling low and longing for approval, a small number of likes or even disparaging comments can hit particularly hard. In fact, leaked information from Facebook's internal studies revealed that teen girls are most at risk of being harmed by negative social media interactions. However, they minimized this information. We'll cover more concerning this further on.
Another aspect of addiction by design you may not have recognized is the infinite scrolling function. There is no "page 2" or "next" button on many social media platforms. Instead, you can scroll mindlessly through posts and videos that autoplay, which has been dubbed "doomscrolling."
Because content is created and posted at a ferocious pace, social media platforms have had difficulty moderating content that can be harmful. However, until stronger laws are in place to protect users' privacy and data, it's unlikely they'll be able to get ahead of content creators that use this easy access to manipulate and abuse. Sure, there are consequences for data breaches, but even so, what consequences should social media developers have for willfully designing user interfaces that are addictive, manipulative, and damaging?
While everyone wants control of what they post online, social media users must realize that until they have control over their data and can choose what content they are fed, they're not safe from succumbing to the effects of harmful content and suffering from social media addiction.
Some might argue that responsibility falls on the user since we're given limited ways to restrict our data availability, and people are responsible for their own actions. However, if social media is addictive by design, and social media developers suppress information about the adverse effects their product can have, how is it any different from cigarette manufacturers who insist the customer is responsible for their own addiction and all the afflictions that go along with it? Addiction, by definition, is a compulsive need and use of habit-forming "stuff" that is difficult to overcome on your own.
The real issue is that social media is addictive by design and exploits user data for monetary benefit. Similarly, the tobacco industry made cigarettes more addictive by engineering their products to contain more nicotine and using science to find ways to deliver nicotine to brain receptors faster.
Morgan and Morgan are veterans of fighting mega companies like RJ Reynolds and Phillip Morris. Sadly, these companies used marketing and advertising to promote cigarette smoking as glamorous and sophisticated while omitting the serious health problems linked to cigarette use revealed in their own internal studies, much like the Facebook leak mentioned earlier.
Lawyers at Morgan and Morgan have helped victims of big tobacco recover $90.8 million in 2010, $6.4 million in 2016, and $13.5 million in 2018. If you or a loved one have been harmed by social media, we urge you to contact Morgan and Morgan to discuss your legal options.