The DOI matches its Crossref record; 103 of the 104 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 65 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories
Open accessAbstract
Currently about 2.71 billion humans use a smartphone worldwide. Although smartphone technology has brought many advances, a growing number of scientists discuss potential detrimental effects due to excessive smartphone use. Of importance, the likely culprit to understand over-usage is not the smartphone itself, but the excessive use of applications installed on smartphones. As the current business model of many app-developers foresees an exchange of personal data for allowance to use an app, it is not surprising that many design elements can be found in social media apps and Freemium games prolonging app usage. It is the aim of the present work to analyze several prominent smartphone apps to carve out such elements. As a result of the analysis, a total of six different mechanisms are highlighted to illustrate the prevailing business model in smartphone app development. First, these app-elements are described and second linked to classic psychological/economic theories such as the mere-exposure effect, endowment effect, and Zeigarnik effect, but also to psychological mechanisms triggering social comparison. It is concluded that many of the here presented app-elements on smartphones are able to prolong usage time, but it is very hard to understand such an effect on the level of a single element. A systematic analysis would require insights into app data usually only being available for the app-designers, but not for independent scientists. Nevertheless, the present work supports the notion that it is time to critically reflect on the prevailing business model of ‘user data in exchange for app-use allowance’. Instead of using a service in exchange for data, it ultimately might be better to ban or regulate certain design elements in apps to come up with less addictive products. Instead, users could pay a reasonable fee for an app service.
Overview
AI snapshot
Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
This theoretical paper analyzes prominent social media/messenger apps and Freemium games to identify six design mechanisms likely intended to prolong usage, linking them to psychological and economic theories. It argues that these elements may contribute to addictive app use, but independent scientists lack the platform data needed to quantify their individual or interactive effects.
Key findings
- The paper highlights six mechanisms: endless scrolling/streaming and flow; endowment/mere exposure effects; social pressure; showing users what they like; social comparison and social reward; and the Zeigarnik/Ovsiankina effect.
- It cites about 2.71 billion smartphone users worldwide, WhatsApp at about 1.5 billion users, and a German sample in which about 30% of daily smartphone use was accounted for by WhatsApp and Facebook.
- Candy Crush Saga is reported as downloaded 2.7 billion times in five years, and U.S. gamers in early 2016 played an average of 3.6 mobile games per month and 1.3 daily.
- The paper notes overlap between Smartphone Use Disorder and WhatsApp Use Disorder (rho = 0.68) and discusses neural reward findings, including stronger ventral striatum activity for Instagram pictures with many “Likes.”
Methods
- This is not a systematic review; it is a theoretical/conceptual analysis of prominent apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Candy Crush.
- The authors present six app features in alphabetic order and link them to classic psychological/economic theories, including flow, endowment effect, mere exposure effect, nudging, social comparison, and Zeigarnik/Ovsiankina effects.
- No primary empirical data collection or statistical modeling is reported; the work synthesizes prior literature and examples.
Limitations
- The paper states it is theoretical and that its assumption that mechanisms were purely designed to prolong usage is speculative; it also notes that developers’ intentions cannot be known for sure.
- It states that independent scientists usually lack access to platform data from Facebook or Candy Crush Saga, making it hard to study how strongly each feature affects usage time or how features interact.
- Evident from the text: the analysis is not systematic, does not empirically test the proposed mechanisms, and relies on selected examples and prior literature rather than controlled app-level data.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
Integrity signals
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Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
36 Not checked yet · 23 Own interpretation · 5 No basis given
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Flow is needed and warranted in different kinds of work processes, however, it can actually be ‘fatal’ in the case of applications on the smartphone or other ‘ubiquitous’ devices, when attention should be focused somewhere else”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.1. Endless Scrolling/Streaming and the Concept of Flow
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“Users on WhatsApp are nudged (to encourage someone to do something in a way that is gentle rather than forceful or direct [59]) to communicate fast and often on WhatsApp due to the ‘double tick function’.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [59] Thaler, R., and Sunstein, C. (2008). Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness, Yale University Press. Penguin Books.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
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- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Also, of importance is the mere exposure effect [56]. The mere exposure effect describes that the more often you are exposed to a certain (neutral) thing or application (here a game), the more you like it. This has even been shown for the initials of your name (for an introduction in the initial preference task, e.g., see Sariyska et al. [57]) and seems to be applicable also for many of the gaming”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.2. Endowment Effect/Mere Exposure Effect
What the sources say
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“many design elements can be found in social media apps and Freemium games prolonging app usage”
- Also stated in: § 4. Discussion · boosted
“The depicted elements/features embedded in psychological and economic theory underline the notion that these elements indeed have been designed to prolong app usage.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > Abstract
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Rests on an assumption: The prevailing business model of many app developers exchanges personal data for allowance to use an app.
- Also stated in: § 4. Discussion · boosted
In the paper
“Moreover, a recent work by Sha et al. [28] showed that the concepts of SUD and WhatsApp Use Disorder overlap in large parts (correlation of rho = 0.68).”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 1. Introduction > 1.1. Perils of Smartphone Use
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Sha et al. [28] Sha, 2019, Linking Internet Communication and Smartphone Use Disorder by Taking a Closer Look at the Facebook and WhatsApp Applications, Addict. Behav. Rep.
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“In a work by Montag et al. [35] it has been demonstrated that about 30% of daily smartphone use is accounted for by WhatsApp and Facebook usage in a German sample mainly ranging between ca. 15 and 35 years.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 1. Introduction > 1.1. Perils of Smartphone Use
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Montag et al. [35] Montag, C., Błaszkiewicz, K., Sariyska, R., Lachmann, B., Andone, I., Trendafilov, B., Eibes, M., and Markowetz, A. (2015). Smartphone Usage in the 21st Century: Who Is Active on WhatsApp?. BMC Res. Notes, 8. source
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“With an increasing amount of data, revenues tend to rise, due to more effective microtargeting (i.e., sending a person customized ads).”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 2. Methods
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Although, the different strains of research presented so far in Section 1 led to valuable insights into the nature of IUDs, only few studies until now aim to understand why specific online applications and their in-built elements are potentially addictive [44,45].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 1. Introduction > 1.2. Main Research Questions in the Available Literature Investigated so Far
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [44] King, 2011, The Role of Structural Characteristics in Problematic Video Game Play: An Empirical Study, Int. J. Ment. Health Addict. source
- Not checked yetcites [45] Alutaybi, 2018, Designing Social Networks to Combat Fear of Missing Out, Proc. Br. HCI
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Correctly, it has been pointed out, that the smartphone does not represent the culprit to understand excessive use of this device [28,29]. Instead one must focus on the manifold installed applications on the smartphones to understand why people are getting ‘hooked’ to their devices [30].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 1. Introduction > 1.1. Perils of Smartphone Use
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [28] Sha, 2019, Linking Internet Communication and Smartphone Use Disorder by Taking a Closer Look at the Facebook and WhatsApp Applications, Addict. Behav. Rep.
- Not checked yetcites [29] Leung, H., Pakpour, A.H., Strong, C., Lin, Y.C., Tsai, M.C., Griffiths, M.D., Lin, C.-Y., and Chen, I.H. (2019). Measurement invariance across young adults from Hong Kong and Taiwan among three internet-related addiction scales: Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9) (Study Part A). Addict. Behav. source
- Not checked yetcites [30] Alter, A. (2017). Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, Penguin Press.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“One technique used to prolong usage time in this context is the endless scrolling/streaming feature.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.1. Endless Scrolling/Streaming and the Concept of Flow
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 22
- Probably not a substantial claim. 15
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“This process is also known to undermine well-being [60] and might in parts be responsible for rising social concerns when people start to use smartphones [61].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [60] Blabst, N., and Diefenbach, S. (2017, January 3–6). WhatsApp and Wellbeing: A Study on WhatsApp Usage, Communication Quality and Stress. Proceedings of the 31st British Computer Society Human Computer Interaction Conference, Sunderland, UK. source
- Not checked yetcites [61] Hadar, A., Hadas, I., Lazarovits, A., Alyagon, U., Eliraz, D., and Zangen, A. (2017). Answering the Missed Call: Initial Exploration of Cognitive and Electrophysiological Changes Associated with Smartphone Use and Abuse. PLoS ONE, 12. source
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“According to statista.com, “In early 2016 … U.S. gamers played an average of 3.6 mobile games per month, and 1.3 games on a daily basis” [36].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 1. Introduction > 1.1. Perils of Smartphone Use
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [36] Statista (2019, April 03). Available online: https://www.statista.com/topics/1906/mobile-gaming/.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The endowment and the mere exposure effect play important roles in the areas of social media and games.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.2. Endowment Effect/Mere Exposure Effect
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds. It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“By endlessly scrolling down, the user is getting more and more immersed (perhaps also on a motor level as perceiving the scrolling as a playful activity) while not coming to a natural stop, where he/she might easily reconsider to quit or change the platform.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.1. Endless Scrolling/Streaming and the Concept of Flow
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As both sides know about these rules, social pressure emerges. Both parties likely expect a fast answer, above all, if the message apparently has been read.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As with other games, progress without investing money is very slow, which means that after some fast progress at the beginning of the game (to attract people to the game), rewards in terms of the urgently needed relevant game currency are scarce.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.2. Endowment Effect/Mere Exposure Effect
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“In general, the ‘power of defaults’ is a well-known principle applicable to decision making in many different areas and especially in software applications [63,64].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [63] Dinner, 2011, Partitioning Default Effects: Why People Choose Not to Choose, J. Exp. Psychol. Appl. source
- Not checked yetcites [64] Kesan, 2006, Setting Software Defaults: Perspectives from Law, Computer Science and Behavioral Economics, Notre Dame Law Rev.
boosted- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In the context of smartphone games, this plays out as follows: every time players visit the app platform and invest more time in the construction of the virtual world, it will get harder for them to detach from the game or even delete the app. This is in particular the case, if the progress has been slow and it took the users a very long time to construct the online world.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.2. Endowment Effect/Mere Exposure Effect
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“App and platform technologies are designed to be immersive, hence producing flow while using a certain app.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.1. Endless Scrolling/Streaming and the Concept of Flow
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“A new work underlines the overlap between SUD and excessive social media use, but also links between SUD and (Internet) Gaming Disorder [29].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 1. Introduction > 1.1. Perils of Smartphone Use
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [29] Leung, H., Pakpour, A.H., Strong, C., Lin, Y.C., Tsai, M.C., Griffiths, M.D., Lin, C.-Y., and Chen, I.H. (2019). Measurement invariance across young adults from Hong Kong and Taiwan among three internet-related addiction scales: Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS), and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9) (Study Part A). Addict. Behav. source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Freemium games are very relevant for the present work investigating elements of apps built to prolong usage time, because such games most often run with the business model of ‘gaming service in exchange for your data’.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 1. Introduction > 1.1. Perils of Smartphone Use
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
- Rests on an assumption: The prevailing business model of many app developers exchanges personal data for allowance to use an app.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“A systematic analysis would require insights into app data usually only being available for the app-designers, but not for independent scientists.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > Abstract
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The default mode of WhatsApp comes with the ‘double tick function’ being activated. Most users do not know that they are able to deactivate this app-feature.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“The latter effect is likely driven by social comparison processes, in particular when a person is confronted with thin models or other (thin) attractive persons [90]. These effects might be in particular strong on platforms such as Instagram and for those users with low self-esteem [91] and being female [92,93].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 4. Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [90] Brown, 2016, Attractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect on women’s mood and body image, Body Image source
- Not checked yetcites [91] Ahadzadeh, 2017, Self-schema and self-discrepancy mediate the influence of Instagram usage on body image satisfaction among youth, Comput. Hum. Behav. source
- Not checked yetcites [92] Cohen, 2017, The relationship between Facebook and Instagram appearance-focused activities and body image concerns in young women, Body Image source
- Not checked yetcites [93] Meier, 2014, Facebook photo activity associated with body image disturbance in adolescent girls, Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. source
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Without doubt, the social comparison process is not unproblematic, because it might lead to lower self-esteem [79] and the size of one’s own real social network to be successfully handled seems to be limited by the so called Dunbar’s number (a theoretical limit to the number of people with whom any individual is able to sustain a stable or meaningful social relationship, usually considered to be”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.5. Social Comparison and Social Reward
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [79] Vogel, 2014, Social Comparison, Social Media, and Self-Esteem, Psychol. Pop. Media Cult. source
- Not checked yetcites [80] Dunbar, R. (2010). How Many Friends Does One Person Need? Dunbar’s Number and Other, Faber & Faber. source
- Not checked yetcites [81] Gonçalves, B., Perra, N., and Vespignani, A. (2011). Modeling Users’ Activity on Twitter Networks: Validation of Dunbar’s Number. PLoS ONE, 6. source
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Over the years, Facebook developed machine learning algorithms studying the behavior of their users in detail on the platform. In order to get to know their users better, they do not only record what people ‘like’ (i.e., give a ‘thumbs up’) but also how long they hover over a certain post. This could be interpreted as showing a special interest in a certain area. ‘Textmining’ enables Facebook & Co”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.4. Show Users of an App What They Like
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [67] Eichstaedt, 2018, Facebook Language Predicts Depression in Medical Records, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA source
- Not checked yetcites [68] Kramer, 2014, Experimental Evidence of Massive-Scale Emotional Contagion through Social Networks, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA source
- Not checked yetcites [69] Schwartz, H.A., Eichstaedt, J., Kern, M.L., Park, G., Sap, M., Stillwell, D., Kosinski, M., and Ungar, L. (, January June). Towards Assessing Changes in Degree of Depression through Facebook. Proceedings of the Workshop on Computational Linguistics and Clinical Psychology: From Linguistic Signal to Clinical Reality, Baltimore, MD, USA.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Facebook has a great interest in studying the behavior of each person at perfection and in much detail, so that at best only such information is presented in the ‘Newsfeed’ which is most interesting for the user. Otherwise, people could get bored and close the browser window.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.4. Show Users of an App What They Like
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“In sum, these classic works from the field of psychology suggest that individuals involved in the execution of high investment tasks, react with (emotional) strain if interrupted. The final completion of the task will remove this strain.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.6. Zeĭgarnik/Ovsiankina Effect
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [82] Zeĭgarnik, B.V. (1927). Über das Behalten von Erledigten und Unerledigten Handlungen, J. Springer.
- Not checked yetcites [83] Rickers-Ovsiankina, M.A. (1928). Die Wiederaufnahme Unterbrochener Handlungen, Springer.
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The analysis of the different elements presented in this paragraph technically can all be used to plant the most interesting news in one’s own personalized ‘Newsfeed’.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.4. Show Users of an App What They Like
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Social pressure plays not only a role on social media platforms to enhance user engagement, but also in computer games.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“According to the I-PACE model [26] (and its recent update [86]), a history of psychopathology might indeed be a vulnerability factor to develop IUD (and its mobile form of SUD).”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 4. Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [26] Brand, 2016, Integrating Psychological and Neurobiological Considerations Regarding the Development and Maintenance of Specific Internet-Use Disorders: An Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) Model, Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. source
- Not checked yetcites [86] Brand, 2019, The Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model for addictive behaviors: Update, generalization to addictive behaviors beyond Internet-use disorders, and specification of the process character of addictive behaviors, Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. source
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“Of importance, apps on smartphones are not in general bad and not always cause negative emotionality or dissatisfaction with one’s own body image. In contrast, some applications might even foster physical activity and help persons to improve their diet [96].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 4. Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [96] Schoeppe, 2017, Apps to improve diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents: A review of quality, features and behaviour change techniques, Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. source
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“In the classic work by Zeĭgarnik, participants of her study got interrupted while solving a puzzle and, in the aftermath, best remembered those tasks where they were interrupted compared to those tasks which they successfully could end. From the same work group, Rickers-Ovsiankina [83] then observed that persons not only seem to be better at remembering the tasks where they got interrupted, but”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.6. Zeĭgarnik/Ovsiankina Effect
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [82] Zeĭgarnik, B.V. (1927). Über das Behalten von Erledigten und Unerledigten Handlungen, J. Springer.
- Not checked yetcites [83] Rickers-Ovsiankina, M.A. (1928). Die Wiederaufnahme Unterbrochener Handlungen, Springer.
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Of note, when the game has not been played for a while, the gamer is endowed with five lives. Some levels are very hard to solve and in case of Candy Crush Saga it is even mentioned that a “super hard level” is coming up. As some of these levels are “super hard” to solve (rumor has it that it is even impossible at first try), players easily loose several of those free lives ending up with no”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.6. Zeĭgarnik/Ovsiankina Effect
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Social comparison also plays a role in Freemium games, when one thinks of the highscore-boards where you can compare your scores in a game with those from others.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.5. Social Comparison and Social Reward
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“For instance, there is an anecdotal report by Microsoft that only 5% of Word users change the defaults settings [65].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [65] (2019, April 17). Available online: https://archive.uie.com/brainsparks/2011/09/14/do-users-change-their-settings/.
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As such a guild in particular performs well when being complete, the pressure on the individual of such an online group rises to be at a certain time in the online world to support one’s own guild. This goes along with a stronger focus in life on online activities instead on perhaps more pressing issues in the offline world.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 3. Results > 3.3. Social Pressure
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Additional relevant areas discussed in the literature—probably being a result of too much online consumption—are links between IUD and BMI [88] and between IUD and body image avoidance [89].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 4. Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [88] Canan, 2014, The relationship between internet addiction and body mass index in Turkish adolescents, Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. source
- Not checked yetcites [89] Rodgers, 2013, Internet addiction symptoms, disordered eating, and body image avoidance, Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Netw. source
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
““consumers become instantaneously attached to and are reluctant to give up digital services once they have obtained them” ([102], p. 311).”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 4. Discussion
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [102] Fritze, 2019, Digital transformation and possession attachment: Examining the endowment effect for consumers’ relationships with hedonic and utilitarian digital service technologies, Electron. Commer. Res. source
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“some developers, such as Justin Rosenstein, confess about the addictive nature of some of the presented elements [73].”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 5. Limitations and Changes of the Current Business Model in Apps?
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [73] (2019, April 03). Man Who Invented ‘Like’ Button Deletes Facebook App over Addiction Fears. Available online: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/facebook-like-inventor-deletes-app-iphone-justin-rosenstein-addiction-fears-a7986566.html.
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Such time distortions are a well-known companion of flow processes as described in 3.1.”
§ Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories > 4. Discussion
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
The paper relies on this without support.
The prevailing business model of many app developers exchanges personal data for allowance to use an app.
“As the current business model of many app-developers foresees an exchange of personal data for allowance to use an app”
“The ‘classic’ app-business model of Silicon Valley asks the user not to pay with money to be able to use a certain application but with his/her personal data.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The apps analyzed, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Candy Crush, are representative of social media/messenger platforms and Freemium games.
“These insights have been derived by analysis of prominent and often used apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp, or Candy Crush.”
“What follows is an overview of features built into social media/messenger and Freemium game applications likely prolonging app usage.”
The authors state this as an assumption.
The mechanisms have been purely designed to prolong usage time of an app.
“Clearly, our assumption that these mechanisms have been purely designed to prolong usage time of an app is speculative”
The paper relies on this without support.
Studies are largely lacking that aim at understanding how strongly each of the aforementioned features of the platforms/games impacts upon usage time.
“To our knowledge, studies are largely lacking aiming at an understanding of how strong each of the aforementioned features of the platforms/games impact upon usage time.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Companies such as Facebook and Google earn their money with data.
“because companies such as Facebook and Google earn their money with data.”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Relatedly, social media has been described as difficult to disengage from, reflecting the potency of the algorithms and the functionalities that engage users [74].”
Citations
Cites
Toward a positive theory of consumer choice
Thaler, R. H. (1980) · Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization · doi:10.1016/0167-2681(80)90051-7 · Cited by 5,796 · cited 1×
“Where do the endowment effect and the mere exposure effect come in? The endowment effect describes that buying or owning a product leads to a higher (emotionally felt) value of the product, often way beyond its actual value [54,55].”
BackgroundAnomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias
Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L., & Thaler, R. H. (1991) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.5.1.193 · Cited by 5,019 · cited 1×
“Where do the endowment effect and the mere exposure effect come in? The endowment effect describes that buying or owning a product leads to a higher (emotionally felt) value of the product, often way beyond its actual value [54,55].”
BackgroundSocial media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media
Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011) · Business Horizons · doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005 · Cited by 4,970 · cited 1×
“[111] is mentioned, because it represents one of the first models to systematically analyze the diverse building blocks of social media.”
BackgroundMotivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out
Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.014 · Cited by 3,932
Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks
Kramer, A. D. I., Guillory, J. E., & Hancock, J. T. (2014) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1320040111 · Cited by 3,687
Brand, M., Young, K. S., Laier, C., Wölfling, K., & Potenza, M. N. (2016) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.033 · Cited by 2,416 · cited 2×
“[26], the term IUD is also used in the following.”
MethodBrand, M., Wegmann, E., Stark, R., Müller, A., Wölfling, K., Robbins, T. W., & Potenza, M. N. (2019) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.06.032 · Cited by 2,126 · cited 1×
“According to the I-PACE model [26] (and its recent update [86]), a history of psychopathology might indeed be a vulnerability factor to develop IUD (and its mobile form of SUD).”
MethodDevelopment and Validation of a Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS)
Kwon, M., Lee, J.-Y., Won, W.-Y., Park, J.-W., Min, J.-A., Hahn, C., Gu, X., Choi, J.-H., & Kim, D.-J. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056936 · Cited by 1,670
Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem.
Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014) · Psychology of Popular Media Culture · doi:10.1037/ppm0000047 · Cited by 1,418 · cited 1×
“Without doubt, the social comparison process is not unproblematic, because it might lead to lower self-esteem [79] and the size of one’s own real social network to be successfully handled seems to be limited by the so called Dunbar’s number (a theoretical limit to the number of people with whom any individual is able…”
BackgroundMere Exposure: A Gateway to the Subliminal
Zajonc, R. B. (2001) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00154 · Cited by 1,299 · cited 1×
“Also, of importance is the mere exposure effect [56].”
Background
Research works printed but not linked: 4
- Thaler, R., and Sunstein, C. (2008). Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness, Yale University Press. Penguin Books.
- Zeĭgarnik, B.V. (1927). Über das Behalten von Erledigten und Unerledigten Handlungen, J. Springer.
- Rickers-Ovsiankina, M.A. (1928). Die Wiederaufnahme Unterbrochener Handlungen, Springer.
- Andone, I., Błaszkiewicz, K., Trendafilov, B., Eibes, M., Montag, C., and Markowetz, A. (2016, January 7–12). Menthal—Running a Science Project as a Start-Up. Proceedings of the Computing in Mental Health, Workshop at CHI 2016, San Jose, CA, USA. · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
On the psychology of TikTok use: a first glimpse from empirical findings
Montag, C., Yang, H., & Elhai, J. D. (2021) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.641673 · Cited by 559
“Nevertheless, reinforcement of TikTok usage is also very likely reached by design-elements such as “Likes” (27), personalized and endless content available (23).”
BackgroundSelf-citationMontag, C., Wegmann, E., Sariyska, R., Demetrovics, Z., & Brand, M. (2019) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.8.2019.59 · Cited by 477
“…as ICD or Social Networks Use Disorder (Montag, Zhao, et al., 2018; Wegmann & Brand, 2016); see also a new review on the neuroscience of ICD by Wegmann, Müller, Ostendorf, and Brand (2018), describing detrimental effects of excessive online communication on persons’ lives (see also Montag, 2019).”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationElhai, J. D., Yang, H., & Montag, C. (2020) · Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2020-0870 · Cited by 527
“Nesse contexto, também mencionamos a crescente discussão sobre a necessidade de regular o número de elementos incorporados a aplicativos de mídia social que provocam a síndrome de FOMO [17, 18], na tentativa de prolongar o tempo de uso, para colher mais dados pessoais, na era do capitalismo de vigilância [19, 20].”
BackgroundSelf-citationRozgonjuk, D., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106487 · Cited by 315
Self-citationQin, Y., Omar, B., & Musetti, A. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.932805 · Cited by 237
“When users, especially adolescents users, were having fun online, it was hard for them to break off from the ongoing entertainment activities, except for compelling interruption from the real world (Rau et al., 2006; Montag et al., 2019), for example, parental control, academic work pressure, etc.”
BackgroundNastjuk, I., Trang, S. T.-N., Grummeck-Braamt, J.-V., Adam, M. T. P., & Tarafdar, M. (2023) · European Journal of Information Systems · doi:10.1080/0960085x.2022.2154712 · Cited by 267
“Moreover, technology providers tend to incorporate addictive features in their technologies to maximise their user base and prolong usage (Montag et al., 2019).”
BackgroundRozgonjuk, D., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110546 · Cited by 264
Self-citationA taxonomy of technology design features that promote potentially addictive online behaviours
Flayelle, M., Brevers, D., King, D. L., Maurage, P., Perales, J. C., & Billieux, J. (2023) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-023-00153-4 · Cited by 195
Problematic social media use in childhood and adolescence
Montag, C., Demetrovics, Z., Elhai, J. D., Grant, D., Koning, I. M., Rumpf, H., Spada, M. M., Throuvala, M. A., & van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M. (2024) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.107980 · Cited by 207
Self-citationMarengo, D., Montag, C., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Settanni, M. (2021) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2020.101523 · Cited by 174
Self-citationChao, M., Lei, J., Ru, H., Jiang, Y., & Yang, H. (2023) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115247 · Cited by 219
Thorell, L. B., Burén, J., Ström Wiman, J., Sandberg, D., & Nutley, S. B. (2024) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-022-02130-3 · Cited by 132
“These characteristics include infinite scrolling, autoplay, rewarding users for merely using their services, and photo filters that encourage unhealthy beauty ideals [e.g., 91, 92].”
BackgroundOpt-out, abstain, unplug. A systematic review of the voluntary digital disconnection literature
Nassen, L.-M., Vandebosch, H., Poels, K., & Karsay, K. (2023) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2023.101980 · Cited by 122
Social Media Use and adolescents' mental health and well-being: An umbrella review
Sala, A., Porcaro, L., & Gómez, E. (2024) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100404 · Cited by 120
Schivinski, B., Brzozowska-Woś, M., Stansbury, E., Satel, J., Montag, C., & Pontes, H. M. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.617140 · Cited by 103
“, 2017), often triggered by the design of the social media platforms and the prevailing data business model (Montag et al., 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe association between the Big Five personality traits and smartphone use disorder: A meta-analysis
Marengo, D., Sindermann, C., Häckel, D., Settanni, M., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2020.00069 · Cited by 123
Self-citationThe Overlap Between Problematic Smartphone Use and Problematic Social Media Use: a Systematic Review
Marino, C., Canale, N., Melodia, F., Spada, M. M., & Vieno, A. (2021) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-021-00398-0 · Cited by 128
Understanding Detrimental Aspects of Social Media Use: Will the Real Culprits Please Stand Up?
Montag, C., & Hegelich, S. (2020) · Frontiers in Sociology · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2020.599270 · Cited by 105
Self-citationSindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112793 · Cited by 90
Self-citationGordon, C. S., Jarman, H. K., Rodgers, R. F., McLean, S. A., Slater, A., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., & Paxton, S. J. (2021) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu13113825 · Cited by 89
“Relatedly, social media has been described as difficult to disengage from, reflecting the potency of the algorithms and the functionalities that engage users [74].”
BackgroundHussain, Z., Wegmann, E., Yang, H., & Montag, C. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00211 · Cited by 93
“The use of WeChat R © has gained substantial popularity in China due to its multi-purpose character including payment functions and combining features of WhatsApp R © and Facebook R © (Gao and Zhang, 2013; Lien and Cao, 2014; Sampasa-Kanyinga and Hamilton, 2015; Montag et al., 2019a).”
BackgroundSelf-citationRozgonjuk, D., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2020.0156 · Cited by 89
“21,22 This, in turn, may lead to a specific use disorder of the device/platform, characterized by excessive engagement with the technology platform that may cause impairments in daily life.”
Self-citationLatikka, R., Koivula, A., Oksa, R., Savela, N., & Oksanen, A. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114674 · Cited by 101
Mildner, T., Savino, G.-L., Doyle, P. R., Cowan, B. R., & Malaka, R. (2023) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3544548.3580695 · Cited by 85
“In another example, we found that many artefacts utilise addictive mechanisms [36] that often provide seemingly infinite content, further coded with pull-to-refresh , infinite scrolling , and auto playing media.”
BackgroundChee, R. M., Capper, T. S., & Muurlink, O. T. (2023) · Midwifery · doi:10.1016/j.midw.2023.103623 · Cited by 81
Yao, N., Chen, J., Huang, S., Montag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2023) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2023.107751 · Cited by 90
Self-citationElhai, J. D., Yang, H., Dempsey, A. E., & Montag, C. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112845 · Cited by 82
Self-citationAn extended hedonic motivation adoption model of TikTok in higher education
Deng, X., & Yu, Z. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-023-11749-x · Cited by 99
Paschke, K., Austermann, M. I., & Thomasius, R. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.661483 · Cited by 77
“On the one hand, they are attracted by the structure and the design of digital apps that built upon psychological mechanisms to achieve strong attachment and increase the time spent with them (31).”
BackgroundRozgonjuk, D., Schivinski, B., Pontes, H. M., & Montag, C. (2021) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-021-00590-3 · Cited by 72
“For an overview on neuroscientific findings in this area, please see the review studies by Becker and Montag (2019), Wegmann et al.”
MethodSelf-citationRaneri, P. C., Montag, C., Rozgonjuk, D., Satel, J., & Pontes, H. M. (2022) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2022.100415 · Cited by 71
“The nature of gaming also has been changed with the advent of smartphones, allowing mobile access to video games from anywhere, while also giving rise to new games such as ‘Freemium ’ games (i.e., Free and Premium; see also Montag, Lachmann, Herrlich, & Zweig, 2019).”
Self-citationMarengo, D., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00936 · Cited by 68
“They do this to be able to present users a personalized news feed, likely to prolong online time on their platform (Montag et al., 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationMontag, C., & Becker, B. (2023) · Psychoradiology · doi:10.1093/psyrad/kkad001 · Cited by 67
“Initial evidence suggests that drivers of excessive smartphone use likely are social media applications(Montag,2021; Rozgonjuk et al. ,2020; Sha et al. , 2019) promoted through highly immersive app designs (Montag, Lachmann, et al. , 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe Social Media Industry as a Commercial Determinant of Health
Zenone, M. A., Kenworthy, N., & Maani, N. (2022) · International Journal of Health Policy and Management · doi:10.34172/ijhpm.2022.6840 · Cited by 62
The relationship between smartphone use and students` academic performance
Sapci, O., Elhai, J. D., Amialchuk, A., & Montag, C. (2021) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102035 · Cited by 72
“Perhaps this is un-derstandable in light of the addictive features built-in Freemium games on the smartphones have in prolonging gaming time (Montag et al., 2019).”
Self-citationWang, Y., Yang, H., Montag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2020) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-020-01052-0 · Cited by 63
“…who are not dependent on bottles, but rather are dependent on alcohol (Panova and Carbonell 2018), in particular social media and (Freemium-) game apps might be among the key-apps resulting in smartphone overuse (Leung et al. 2020; Sha et al. 2019; Montag et al. 2019a, b; Elhai et al. 2020d).”
BackgroundSelf-citationMontag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2023) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-023-00494-3 · Cited by 66
Self-citationYang, H., Wang, Z., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2022) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2022.00038 · Cited by 50
“…their study participants being confronted with more compared to fewer Likes as a reaction to their photos responded with higher activity of the reward circuitry of the brain, perhaps better labeled as the SEEKING system (see also Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience Theory, Davis & Montag, 2019).”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationSoraci, P., Demetrovics, Z., Bevan, N., Pisanti, R., Servidio, R. C., Bernardo, C. D., Chini, E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2025) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-024-01432-8 · Cited by 68
“Previous research suggests how affective and cognitive dynamics can drive dysfunctional coping strategies, such as problematic use of smartphones or social media (Elhai et al., 2020a; Li et al., 2020; Montag et al., 2019; Servidio et al., 2021; Servidio, 2023).”
Montag, C., & Rumpf, H.-J. (2021) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-021-00376-6 · Cited by 44
Self-citationWadsley, M. G., Covey, J. A., & Ihssen, N. (2021) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941211025271 · Cited by 56
“have been recognised as encouraging prolonged use, providing a pathway to excessive and problematic SNS use (Montag et al., 2019; No€e et al., 2019) and there have been recent calls for these features to be banned (Hern, 2019).”
BackgroundPersonality associations with Facebook use and tendencies towards Facebook Use Disorder
Sindermann, C., Duke, É., & Montag, C. (2020) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2020.100264 · Cited by 50
“This questionnaire has previously been used and validated using a Confirmatory Factor Analysis by Sha, Sariyska, Riedl, Lachmann, and Montag (2019).”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationWetzel, B., Pryss, R. C., Baumeister, H., Edler, J.-S., Gonçalves, A. S. O., & Cohrdes, C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18126212 · Cited by 49
Alshakhsi, S. A. A., Babiker, A., Montag, C., & Ali, R. (2023) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104026 · Cited by 53
Self-citationViralizar la verdad. Factores predictivos del engagement en el contenido verificado en TikTok
García-Marín, D., & Martinrey, G. S. (2022) · El Profesional de la Informacion · doi:10.3145/epi.2022.mar.10 · Cited by 43
Montag, C., Sindermann, C., Rozgonjuk, D., Yang, S., Elhai, J. D., & Yang, H. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.682837 · Cited by 40
Self-citationRe-start social media, but how?
Dhawan, S., Hegelich, S., Sindermann, C., & Montag, C. (2022) · Telematics and Informatics Reports · doi:10.1016/j.teler.2022.100017 · Cited by 46
Self-citationCognitive Correlates in Gaming Disorder and Social Networks Use Disorder: a Comparison
Wegmann, E., & Brand, M. (2020) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-020-00314-y · Cited by 46
True colors: Grayscale setting reduces screen time in college students
Holte, A. J., & Ferraro, F. R. (2023) · The Social Science Journal · doi:10.1080/03623319.2020.1737461 · Cited by 38
“, 2017), excessive smartphone application use (Dempsey et al., 2019; Montag et al., 2019), gambling disorder (Ioannidis et al.”
BackgroundOnline communities come with real-world consequences for individuals and societies
Oksanen, A., Celuch, M., Oksa, R., & Savolainen, I. (2024) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-024-00112-6 · Cited by 62
“Features such as noti fi cations, personalised content, and interactive elements are strategically implemented to capture users ’ attention and encourage prolonged usage 137 .”
BackgroundMontag, C., Schivinski, B., & Pontes, H. M. (2021) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2021.100391 · Cited by 39
“It is widely known that different types of video games present with unique addictive potential based on specific design features related to their structural characteristics (Griffiths & Nuyens, 2017; King, Delfabbro, & Griffiths, 2010a, 2011; Montag, Lachmann, Herrlich & Zweig, 2019a).”
Self-citationNormand, C. L., Fisher, M. H., Simonato, I., Fecteau, S.-M., & Poulin, M.-H. (2022) · Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s40489-021-00270-x · Cited by 38
Montag, C., & Markett, S. A. (2023) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-023-05371-x · Cited by 38
“Platforms that focus on user well-being rather than exploiting addictive design elements can contribute to a more sustainable and responsible digital landscape [40, 41].”
BackgroundSelf-citationEmerging Health and Education Issues Related to Internet Technologies and Addictive Problems
López-Fernández, O. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18010321 · Cited by 42
On Corporate Responsibility When Studying Social Media Use and Well-Being
Montag, C., Hegelich, S., Sindermann, C., Rozgonjuk, D., Marengo, D., & Elhai, J. D. (2021) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2021.01.002 · Cited by 38
Self-citationZhang, Y., Lv, S., Li, C., Xiong, Y., Zhou, C., Li, X., & Ye, M. (2020) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-020-0309-9 · Cited by 38
“social media/messenger and freemium game applications were significant drivers of excessive smartphone usage; these applications could be much more addictive than traditional/classic computer/console games [92].”
BackgroundPredictors of problematic smartphone use among university students
Laurence, P. G., Busin, Y., Lima, H. S. C., & de Macedo, E. C. (2020) · Psicologia Reflexão e Crítica · doi:10.1186/s41155-020-00147-8 · Cited by 48
“Problematic smartphone use has been linked to anxiety, depression, low conscientiousness, and high neuroticism (Elhai et al., 2019; Peterka-Bonetta, Sindermann, Elhai, & Montag, 2019).”
BackgroundMallawaarachchi, S. R., Tieppo, A., Hooley, M., & Horwood, S. (2022) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107492 · Cited by 42
Amudhan, S., Prakasha, H., Mahapatra, P., Burma, A. D., Mishra, V., Sharma, M. K., & Rao, G. N. (2020) · Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdaa257 · Cited by 46
Elhai, J. D., Yang, H., & Montag, C. (2021) · PsyCh Journal · doi:10.1002/pchj.455 · Cited by 40
Self-citationBurén, J., Nutley, S. B., Sandberg, D., Wiman, J. S., & Thorell, L. B. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.740867 · Cited by 42
Psychometric Assessment and Gender Invariance of the Polish Version of the Gaming Disorder Test
Cudo, A., Montag, C., & Pontes, H. M. (2022) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-022-00929-4 · Cited by 39
“Such tools are much needed as recent studies suggest that prevalence rates of GD may differ when considering disordered gaming as defined within the WHO and APA frameworks in the same group of gamers (Montag et al., 2019b, 2021b; Pontes et al., 2022).”
InfluentialSelf-citationThe effects of fragmented and sticky smartphone use on distraction and task delay
Siebers, T., Beyens, I., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2023) · Mobile Media & Communication · doi:10.1177/20501579231193941 · Cited by 46
“App features, such as endless timelines, personalized newsfeeds, and “ auto plays, ” may contribute to a sticky smartphone usage pattern (Montag et al., 2019), which could, in turn, distract the users ’ attention.”
BackgroundInfluentialNgwenyama, O. K., Rowe, F., Klein, S., & Henriksen, H. Z. (2023) · Information Systems Research · doi:10.1287/isre.2020.0588 · Cited by 34
Social Media and Youth Mental Health: Scoping Review of Platform and Policy Recommendations
Chhabra, J., Pilkington, V., Benakovic, R., Wilson, M. J., Sala, L. L., & Seidler, Z. E. (2025) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/72061 · Cited by 49
“Recommender systems and highly engaging design features such as “endless scrolling” (a listing page design approach that loads content continuously as the user scrolls down [50]) are used by social media companies to keep users engaged with their platforms for extended periods [51].”
Bella, E. L., Allen, C., & Lirussi, F. (2021) · Integrative Medicine Research · doi:10.1016/j.imr.2021.100731 · Cited by 38
“46 , 47 , 48 Users’ content expresses their emotional state and interpretations on the pandemic 49 , 50 ; at the same time, users seek gratification from the likes and shares they may obtain.”
Relationship between personality traits and facebook addiction: A meta-analysis
Rajesh, T., & Rangaiah, B. (2022) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10315 · Cited by 38
Akbari, M., Seydavi, M., Jamshidi, S., Marino, C., & Spada, M. M. (2022) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107603 · Cited by 36
Stangl, F. J., Riedl, R., Kiemeswenger, R., & Montag, C. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1141663 · Cited by 39
“This data business model, also named surveillance capitalism (Zuboff, 2015), led to the creation of highly immersive platforms which have been designed over many years via AB-testing (Montag et al., 2019).”
MethodSelf-citationEwin, C. A., Reupert, A., McLean, L. A., & Ewin, C. J. (2020) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2020.106669 · Cited by 34
Fergen, J. T., Jacquet, J. B., & Shukla, R. (2021) · Energy Research & Social Science · doi:10.1016/j.erss.2021.102224 · Cited by 30
A Study of Metaverse Exhibition Sustainability on the Perspective of the Experience Economy
Wang, M., Liu, S., Hu, L., & Lee, J.-Y. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su15129153 · Cited by 32
“In particular, previous studies have analyzed the psychological factors that influence users’ decision-making behavior in a specific context, with the experience economy as the theoretical center [16,17].”
BackgroundThe Role of TikTok in Students’ Health and Wellbeing
Ramsden, E., & Talbot, C. V. (2024) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-023-01224-6 · Cited by 58
“Indeed, this feature is designed to capture users’ attention, by displaying copious streams of personalized content tailored to each person’s interests (Marengo et al., 2022; Montag et al., 2019; Wartberg et al., 2021).”
The Impact of Social Media on Body Image Perception in Young People
Czubaj, N., Szymańska, M., Nowak, B., & Grajek, M. K. (2025) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu17091455 · Cited by 49
“The longer photos, videos, or posts on a particular topic are viewed, the more the algorithm deems those topics attractive to the user, encouraging them to spend more time in the specific app [48].”
Verma, A. K., Singh, G., & Patwardhan, K. (2022) · JMIRx Med · doi:10.2196/31521 · Cited by 31
“An increasing use of smartphones, as well as increasing indulgence in virtual games and social media are said to be causing multiple sleep-related and cognition-related disorders [12-23].”
BackgroundChang, C. I., Sit, H. F., Chao, T., Chen, C., Shen, J., Cao, B., Montag, C., Elhai, J. D., & Hall, B. J. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03133-8 · Cited by 38
Self-citationAbeele, M. V., & Nguyen, M. H. (2023) · European Journal of Communication · doi:10.1177/02673231231201487 · Cited by 31
“…(Van Dijck, 2014; Zuboff, 2015): To maximize user engagement, ‘ addictive features ’ are designed into online platforms and media devices that motivate users to engage, for instance, by provoking and reinforcing behaviours such as mindless scrolling and habitual checking (Montag et al., 2019).”
BackgroundAustermann, M. I., Thomasius, R., & Paschke, K. (2021) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm10040617 · Cited by 26
“In addition to their advantage of connecting people, SM services also entail an addictive potential due to psychological mechanisms built in by developers to achieve strong user loyalty and high usage times [2].”
BackgroundWegmann, E., Müller, S. M., Kessling, A., Joshi, M., Ihle, E., Wolf, O. T., & Müller, A. (2023) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2023.152392 · Cited by 38
“This includes addictive features of online platforms [68] as well as theoretical concepts such as fear of missing out [69], need to belong [36,70], social comparison [71] and identity confusion [72].”
BackgroundSindermann, C., Kuss, D. J., Throuvala, M. A., Griffiths, M. D., & Montag, C. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01415 · Cited by 28
Self-citationIchihashi, S., & Kim, B. (2022) · Management Science · doi:10.1287/mnsc.2022.4392 · Cited by 25
Self-disclosure on social networks: More than a rational decision-making process
Ostendorf, S., Meier, Y., & Brand, M. (2022) · Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace · doi:10.5817/cp2022-4-2 · Cited by 29
Sindermann, C., Montag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2022) · Technology Mind and Behavior · doi:10.1037/tmb0000096 · Cited by 32
Self-citationMüller, M., Sindermann, C., Rozgonjuk, D., & Montag, C. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661541 · Cited by 24
“The role of social media’s design in triggering FoMO is at least theoretically well-established (Alutaybi et al., 2019; Montag et al., 2019), and research has shown that FoMO is robustly linked to SmUD (Chotpitayasunondh and Douglas, 2016; Elhai et al., 2016, 2018, 2020b,c,d; Fuster et al., 2017;…”
BackgroundSelf-citationMontag, C., Yang, H., Wu, A. M. S., Ali, R., & Elhai, J. D. (2025) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.15337 · Cited by 22
Self-citationSindermann, C., Yang, H., Yang, S., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2022) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103462 · Cited by 24
Self-citationPurohit, A. K., Bergram, K., Barclay, L., Bezençon, V., & Holzer, A. (2023) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3544548.3581187 · Cited by 28
“An important design feature for prolonging usage time on social media platforms comes through the newsfeed [62].”
BackgroundSmartphone use and well-being of adolescent girls: a population-based study
Kosola, S. K., Mörö, S., & Holopainen, E. (2024) · Archives of Disease in Childhood · doi:10.1136/archdischild-2023-326521 · Cited by 23
“27 Although we had no data on the time of-day adolescents used social media, sleep length is another factor connecting social media use and well-being.”
BackgroundDo we need a digital school uniform? Arguments for and against a smartphone ban in schools
Montag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2023) · Societal Impacts · doi:10.1016/j.socimp.2023.100002 · Cited by 21
Self-citationSchulische Bildung zu Zeiten der Corona-Krise
Anger, C., & Plünnecke, A. (2020) · Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik · doi:10.1515/pwp-2020-0055 · Cited by 21
“Montag et al. (2019) beschreiben verschiedene psychologische Mechanismen, die sich zur Motivation der Schülerinnen und Schüler nutzen lassen.”
BackgroundThe e-learning persuasion through gamification: an elaboration likelihood model perspective
Jayawardena, N. S. (2020) · Young Consumers Insight and Ideas for Responsible Marketers · doi:10.1108/yc-08-2020-1201 · Cited by 26
Marengo, D., Sariyska, R., Schmitt, H., Meßner, E.-M., Baumeister, H., Brand, M., Kannen, C., & Montag, C. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/27093 · Cited by 20
“…users to broadcast messages, pictures, or videos to an extensive network of smartphone users and receive feedback (ie, comments and likes) on the shared content—a feature that is distinctive from those offered by IM apps and may play a crucial role in triggering problematic behaviors [4,5].”
Self-citationSocial media and ADHD: implications for clinical assessment and treatment
Hartnett, Y., & Cummings, E. M. (2023) · Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/ipm.2023.40 · Cited by 25
“Capturing the attention of users and keeping the user online longer through its design features is a primary target of social media companies; an example of this is the ‘ continuous scroll ’ on most platforms (Montag et al ., 2019).”
BackgroundPsychometric validation of Young’s Internet Addiction Test among Chinese undergraduate students
Wei, Z., Hassan, N. C., Hassan, S. A., Ismail, N., Gu, X., & Dong, J. (2025) · PLOS One · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0320641 · Cited by 19
“The detailed profile of internet usage behaviors provides valuable context for interpreting internet addiction scores and aligns with recent literature emphasizing the importance of considering specific online activities in addiction research [75,76].”
Wu, Y.-L., Lin, S., & Lin, Y. (2021) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2020.00074 · Cited by 20
“(Montag et al. 2019) *Corresponding author.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialMarengo, D., Montag, C., Mignogna, A., & Settanni, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.830120 · Cited by 20
Self-citationSocial media companies or their users—which party needs to change to reduce online time?
Montag, C., Thrul, J., & van Rooij, A. J. (2022) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/add.15946 · Cited by 19
Self-citationFear of Missing Out and Problematic Social Media Use: A Research Among University Students in Turkey
KIRIK, A. M., Çetinkaya, A., & Gündüz, U. (2021) · AJIT-e Academic Journal of Information Technology · doi:10.5824/ajite.2021.04.001.x · Cited by 24
“While researchers have moved away from addiction terminology regarding digital technology use (see Panova & Carbonell, 2018) the potentially negative effects of social media overuse have nonetheless received substantial attention over the past years (Montag et al., 2019).”
BackgroundZhang, L., Luo, T., Hao, W., Cao, Y., Yuan, M., & Liao, Y. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.848157 · Cited by 18
“The current study found that smartphones may be more addictive than other devices for pathological gamers, and this finding is supported by Christian Montag’s study (38, 39).”
ResultGugushvili, N., Täht, K., Ruiter, R. A. C., & Verduyn, P. (2022) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-022-00990-7 · Cited by 22
“Additionally, Montag and colleagues [54, 55] argue that due to the Data Business Model (DBM), social networking sites, including Facebook, are designed to make people spend long periods of time on these platforms.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Montag, C., Lachmann, B., Herrlich, M., & Zweig, K.
- Affiliations
- Universität Ulm (DE)
- University of Kaiserslautern (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Montag, Christian
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-07-23
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 14
- Pages
- 2612
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6679162
- OpenAlex
- W2964135621
- Semantic Scholar
- 90a771a9e57999233e6bce76a39b3790d856b095
- Cited by
- 387
- References
- 104
- Citations by year
- 2026: 89 · 2025: 86 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 63 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 7.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (MO2363/3-2)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Communication › Digital Media and Philosophy
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Keywords
- smartphone addiction, social media applications, mere exposure effect, endowment effect, Zeigarnik effect, social comparison, psychological mechanisms, economic theory
- MeSH terms
- Games, Recreational, Smartphone, Humans, Behavior, Addictive, Social Media, Mobile Applications
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