Mitigation Strategies to Combat Social Media Addiction Using a Personalized Habit-Driven Model

Abstract

This thesis explores social media addiction through the lens of a habit-driven model, specifically the habit loop. The habit loop can help change harmful habits into positive ones successfully; it is driven by a craving and consists of three components: cue, routine, and reward. Previous research showed that the routine and reward for social media addiction were social media usage and feelings of satisfaction from dopamine surges in the brain, respectively. However, the cues and cravings for social media addiction had not been studied before. Thus, three research questions were formed: i) what are common cues that trigger users to enter the cycle of social media addiction? ii) what drives the continuous cycle of social media addiction? and iii) can habit-driven mitigation strategies be proposed to help users manage their social media? To answer these questions, 11 participants, between the ages of 18-28, were recruited to complete a 4-day diary study documenting their social media habits with the addition of supplemental surveys. Additionally, three participants, who are not current social media users, were recruited to fill out a survey asking questions about their experience without social media. A mix of quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed via descriptive statistics and coded into analysis diagrams, respectively. Our results highlighted common cues that users share which included boredom, laying in bed, and notifications; cravings which included entertainment, numbness, and the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO). These were used to propose and design a low-fidelity prototype application that can be further tested in future studies.