SMA

SMA

Compulsive/excessive social-media use causing significant impairment, including impaired control, increased priority and continuation despite negative consequences.

Social Learning Theory

Behaviour is learned through observation, modelling and reinforcement.

Observation in SMA

Adolescents observe peers, influencers and celebrities using social media and learn that frequent engagement may be normal or desirable.

Modelling in SMA

Adolescents may imitate the social

Social reinforcement in SMA

Likes, comments, shares and followers provide social rewards that encourage continued engagement.

Vicarious reinforcement in SMA

Seeing someone else receive social approval makes the observer more likely to reproduce the behaviour.

SLT chain in SMA

Observe → imitate/model → receive reinforcement → repeat behaviour → habitual/problematic use.

How can SLT reduce SMA?

Healthy models + offline rewards + peer examples can replace unhealthy modelling and reinforcement.

Individualism and SMA

Individualistic cultures emphasise autonomy, self-expression and personal achievement; social media may support identity formation, personal branding and social comparison.

Collectivism and SMA

Collectivist cultures emphasise group harmony, family expectations and community belonging; social media may support connection and stress relief.

Cros-scultural similarities in SMA

Across cultures, social media can provide connection, approval, entertainment and emotion management.

Uncertainty Avoidance and SMA

High UA emphasises predictability and control, while low UA emphasises flexibility and tolerance of ambiguity; cultural norms may shape how social media is used and interpreted.

Stressors linked to SMA

Social comparison, FOMO and cyberbullying can increase stress.

Stress/use cycle

Stress → social media for distraction or relief → reward/reinforcement → repeated use → potentially further stress.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter involved in reward, motivation, pleasure and reinforcement learning.

Why are unpredictable rewards important?

Unpredictable likes, comments and shares increase anticipation and repeated checking.

Dopamine and SMA

Unpredictable social-media rewards can strengthen repeated checking and compulsive engagement.

Cognitive dissonance

Psychological discomfort caused when beliefs and behaviour conflict.

Dissonance in SMA

A person may believe excessive social-media use is harmful but continue using it, creating psychological discomfort.

How can dissonance maintain SMA?

Recognise harm + continue use → discomfort → justify behaviour → reduced discomfort → continued use.

Schema theory

Schemas are mental frameworks that organise knowledge and expectations and influence attention, memory and behaviour.

Validation schema

A schema linking social-media feedback, social approval and personal self-worth.

Schema development in SMA

Repeated likes, comments and notifications can create associations between social media and social approval/self

Attentional bias in SMA

Increased sensitivity to social -media cues such as notifications.

Confirmation bias in SMA

Seeking or focusing on information that confirms existing beliefs about popularity, approval or online status.

Why can schemas maintain SMA?

They make validation cues highly salient and can turn checking into an automatic or habitual behaviour.

Digital literacy

Education about algorithms, curated online personas and cognitive biases designed to promote healthier interpretations of social media.

How does digital literacy prevent SMA?

Awareness → more realistic schemas/critical thinking → less social comparison and dependence on online validation.

Cognitive restructuring

Identify irrational belief → challenge it → replace it with a more balanced belief.

Why may CBT be incomplete?

It does not directly remove algorithms, notifications, likes, peer influence or other external reinforcement.

Montag et al. (2019)

Unpredictable likes, comments and shares were linked to dopamine

Beyens et al. (2020)

Excessive social-media engagement can contribute to stress through social comparison, FOMO and cyberbullying.

Volkow et al. (2019)

Chronic stress can dysregulate dopamine functioning and increase susceptibility to compulsive behaviour.

Turel et al. (2018)

Users can justify continued social

Gámiz-Sánchez et al. (2022)

Digital literacy develops critical-thinking skills and is used in the booklet to support reduced problematic social-media use.

Young (2007)

CBT reduced internet-addiction symptoms by addressing cognitive distortions and promoting healthier coping mechanisms.

Wilksch et al. (2020)

Higher social-media use was associated with greater social appearance anxiety, which correlated with disordered eating behaviours in adolescents.

WHO (2024)

Over 1 in 10 adolescents showed signs of problematic social

Nesi & Prinstein (2015)

Adolescents with stronger peer-conformity tendencies were more prone to problematic social-media use.