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.
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–200 of 385
Caba‐Machado, V., Machimbarrena, J. M., Díaz‐López, A., Sevilla-Fernández, D., Sancho, C. P., & González‐Cabrera, J. M. (2023) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2023.2215626 · Cited by 23
“It is also conceivable that both the development of mobile tel-ephony and many applications and games are designed to make people use them more frequently (Chen, 2021; Montag et al., 2019; Zagal et al., 2013), thus, this is a potential problem that needs to be better understood.”
Compulsive Instagram use: Roles of stickiness, gratifications, and mindfulness
Lin, Y. (2022) · Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace · doi:10.5817/cp2022-1-3 · Cited by 17
Prince, T., McLoughlin, L. T., Lagopoulos, J., Elwyn, R., & Hermens, D. F. (2022) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.10.058 · Cited by 17
Internet and smartphone use disorder in Asia
Montag, C., & Becker, B. (2020) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106380 · Cited by 17
Self-citationDopamine-scrolling: a modern public health challenge requiring urgent attention
Sharpe, B. T., & Spooner, R. (2025) · Perspectives in Public Health · doi:10.1177/17579139251331914 · Cited by 15
Habitually Scrolling: An Examination Into How Sport Consumers Use Social Media
Kennedy, H., & Funk, D. C. (2023) · International Journal of Sport Communication · doi:10.1123/ijsc.2023-0001 · Cited by 21
“…intentionally designed to be addictive (Schwär, 2021; Weller, 2018) and that it is dif fi cult to pinpoint how different mechanisms individually impact prolonged usage time (Montag et al., 2019), it is unsur-prising that it was dif fi cult for participants to identify what has led to habit formation.”
BackgroundChashmi, S. J. E., Aruguete, M. S., Sadri, M., Montag, C., & Shahrajabian, F. (2023) · Telematics and Informatics Reports · doi:10.1016/j.teler.2023.100066 · Cited by 17
Self-citationThe influence of doomscrolling on mental health: a scoping review
Sharpe, A., Tyndall, I. T., Poulus, D., Obine, E. A. C., & Sharpe, B. T. (2026) · Mental Health and Digital Technologies · doi:10.1108/mhdt-10-2025-0068 · Cited by 25
Babiker, A., Almourad, M. B., Panourgia, C., Alshakhsi, S. A. A., Montag, C., & Ali, R. (2023) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s435437 · Cited by 17
Self-citationPeterka‐Bonetta, J., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2021) · Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies · doi:10.1002/hbe2.243 · Cited by 17
Self-citationHassoun, A., Beacock, I., Carmody, T., Kelley, P. G., Goldberg, B., Kumar, D., Murray, L., Park, R. H., Sarmadi, B., & Consolvo, S. (2025) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci14040230 · Cited by 13
“…specific context of their social media environments: how content they see is promoted or recommended, the motivations and potential biases of content creators (Breakstone et al. 2021), and the effects of deceptive design elements on social media platforms (Costello et al. 2023; Montag et al. 2019).”
Factors Impacting Users’ Negative Interaction Behaviors When They Enjoy Short Videos on TikTok
Li, Y., Jin, Q., & Guo, L. (2023) · Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society · doi:10.1155/2023/3238404 · Cited by 16
Novelty as a drive of human exploration in complex stochastic environments
Modirshanechi, A., Lin, W.-H., He, X., Herzog, M. H., & Wulfram Gerstner, B. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2502193122 · Cited by 19
Corporate Digital Responsibility at the Dawn of the Digital Service RevolutionPreprint
Wirtz, J., Hartley, N., Kunz, W. H., Tarbit, J., & Ford, J. (2021) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.3806235 · Cited by 19
Caffaratti, L. B., Longobardi, C., Badenes‐Ribera, L., & Marengo, D. (2025) · Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence · doi:10.3389/frai.2025.1614993 · Cited by 22
Screens and brains: multimodal neuroimaging insights into mechanisms of problematic smartphone use
Wolf, N. D., Henemann, G. M., Schmitgen, M. M., Koenig, J., Bach, P., & Wolf, R. C. (2025) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111531 · Cited by 19
Wang, M., Lee, J.-Y., Liu, S., & Hu, L. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20065001 · Cited by 12
“Prior research has analyzed psychological factors in the process of experience economy from a psychological perspective, in particular, the decision-making process of user behavior in specific situations and the psychological factors that influence these decisions [16,17].”
BackgroundSocial Media Use Motives: An Influential Factor in User Behavior and User Health Profiles
Ewing, C. R., Nienstedt, C., Wright, R. R., & Chambers, S. (2023) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn28.4.275 · Cited by 17
“…social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube all arguably seek to keep users on social media (Bhargava & Velasquez, 2020; Montag et al., 2019), which could explain the entertainment motivation’s association with problematic smartphone and/or other media use (Purohit et…”
BackgroundThe Impact of Video Meeting Systems on Psychological User States: a State-of-the-Art Review
Seitz, J., Benke, I., Heinzl, A., & Maedche, A. (2023) · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103178 · Cited by 15
de Casteele, M. V., Soenens, B., Ponnet, K. S., Perneel, S., Flamant, N., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2023) · Interacting with Computers · doi:10.1093/iwc/iwad055 · Cited by 22
David, L., Ismaiel, A., Foucambert, P., Leucuța, D., Popa, Ș., Stănculete, M. F., & Dumitrascu, D. (2024) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm13154475 · Cited by 14
“Possible reasons/mechanisms behind increasing social media addiction include social pressure, social comparison, and social reward [16].”
BackgroundWang, C., Zhang, J., & Lee, M. (2021) · Information Technology and People · doi:10.1108/itp-09-2020-0624 · Cited by 12
Beyond problematic social media use and the brain: A public health and policy perspective
Shannon, H., Montgomery, M., Funk, A., Kamyabi, A., Hunt, M., Pope, C., Hellemans, K. G. C., & Guimond, S. (2025) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.15409 · Cited by 15
“55 This intentional designislikelytobeastrongcontributortoPSMU.”
Tumblr is Queer and Twitter is Toxic: Speculating About the Vibe of Social Media Spaces
Kender, K. (2022) · Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3546155.3547279 · Cited by 11
“…al. [34] find that “variation across key features make some platforms more fertile places for conspiracy beliefs than others”, while Montag et al. [20] speculate that there may be connections between the design of social media and their addictive effect, a speculation corroborated by social media…”
BackgroundLiu, N., Sun, X., Hong, S., & Zhang, B. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1080090 · Cited by 11
“, 2021), for example, psychological studies based on TikTok that explain why people use it (Montag et al., 2019; Ahlse et al., 2020; Marengo and Montag, 2020).”
BackgroundThe impact of hedonic social media use during microbreaks on employee resources recovery
Grobelny, J., Glinka, M., & Chirkowska-Smolak, T. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-72825-x · Cited by 12
“Maintaining such rational usage may, however, prove challenging due to the fact that SNSs are deliberately engineered to incorporate a range of design elements (e.g., social comparison, mere exposure effect, endowment effect) that foster additive interactions 31 .”
BackgroundVogel, P., Kurtz, C., Grotherr, C., & Böhmann, T. (2021) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2021.370 · Cited by 11
“While traditional OSNs such as Facebook aim to achieve maximum online engagement of users due to their business model [29], the goal construct of ONSNs is more ambiguous, positioning them more towards being facilitators of offline activity than online engagement.”
BackgroundBabayiğit, A., Karaaziz, M., Babayiğit, H. A., & Sağsan, M. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-04113-8 · Cited by 13
“Recent studies have also shown that there may be significant overlap between smartphone and social media use (Montag et al., 2019).”
BackgroundIslamic Perspective on Social Media Technology, Addiction, and Human Values
Zubair, T., & Raquib, A. (2020) · Journal of Islamic Thought and Civilization · doi:10.32350/jitc.102.14 · Cited by 11
The Influence of Instagram Reels on Content Consumption Trends among Gen Z
Doloi, G. (2024) · Journal of Social Responsibility Tourism and Hospitality · doi:10.55529/jsrth.46.21.31 · Cited by 10
Wolgast, M., Adler, H., & Wolgast, S. N. (2025) · Journal of Social Media Research · doi:10.29329/jsomer.45 · Cited by 12
“The consistent associations between mood-related and habitual use and problematic outcomes support calls to integrate motivational theory with insights into persuasive platform design (Alter, 2017; Montag et al., 2019).”
Problematic usage of the internet: Converging and diverging terminologies and constructs
Zare-Bidoky, M., Baldacchino, A., Demetrovics, Z., Fineberg, N. A., Kamali, M., Khazaal, Y., Potenza, M. N., Stein, D. J., & Ekhtiari, H. (2025) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2025.00085 · Cited by 10
What Constitutes ‘Gaming’ in the Gaming Disorder?: Observations and Recommendations
Balhara, Y. P. S., Singh, S., & Gupta, P. K. (2023) · Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1177/02537176221150601 · Cited by 10
Point of no Undo: Irreversible Interactions as a Design Strategy
Rossmy, B., Terzimehić, N., Döring, T., Buschek, D., & Wiethoff, A. (2023) · CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/3544548.3581433 · Cited by 10
“…and engagement is of interest when modern technologies take over the thoughtful use and consumption of technologies, media content or social experiences and instead turn these into addicting application models [94, 125], which with the help of dark patterns [52] coerce, steer, or deceive actants.”
BackgroundNaturalistic Observations of Caregiver – Child Dyad Mobile Device Use
Ewin, C. A., Reupert, A. E., & McLean, L. A. (2021) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-021-01993-5 · Cited by 10
The Paradoxical Relationship Between Health Promotion and the Social Media Industry
Zenone, M. A., Kenworthy, N., & Barbic, S. P. (2021) · Health Promotion Practice · doi:10.1177/15248399211064640 · Cited by 11
“However, while social media offers useful tools for health promoters to reach young people, social media platforms’ business practices—such as targeted advertising, unauthorized data collection, and the addictive traits of platform design (Montag et al., 2019)—raise mounting concerns.”
InfluentialMontag, C., Wegmann, E., Schmidt, L. D., Klein, L., Rozgonjuk, D., & Rumpf, H.-J. (2024) · BMC Research Notes · doi:10.1186/s13104-024-06833-5 · Cited by 10
“…may be more attractive or associated with a different addictive potential than others, future studies will need to examine the role played by certain design features, familiarity, algorithms and their speed of adaptation, as well as the content itself of the different platforms [22, 34, 35].”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe imbalance between goal-directed and habitual systems in problematic short-form video users
Jiang, T., Ou, S., Cao, Y., Li, J., & Ma, N. (2025) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-024-01377-y · Cited by 9
“First, the video is short and immersive, making it difficult for users to exit (Chen et al., 2019; Montag et al., 2019).”
McDaniel, B. T., Radesky, J. S., Pater, J. A., Galovan, A. M., Harrison, A., Cornet, V. P., Reining, L. E., Schaller, A., & Drouin, M. A. (2024) · Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies · doi:10.1155/2024/3601969 · Cited by 11
Montag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2025) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100613 · Cited by 11
Self-citationProblematic social media use is associated with believing in and engaging with fake news
Meshi, D., & Molina, M. D. (2025) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0321361 · Cited by 9
“These social rewards act as reinforcers, bringing people back to these sites repeatedly and for substantial durations of time [4] – users worldwide report spending an average of over two hours a day on social media [5].”
The Shape of Social Media: Towards Addressing (Aesthetic) Design Power
Kender, K., & Frauenberger, C. (2022) · Designing Interactive Systems Conference · doi:10.1145/3532106.3533470 · Cited by 9
“[62] point to the economical motivations of design decisions on social media and speculate about the connection to their addictive efects, and Bond et al.”
BackgroundVindigni, G. (2023) · British journal of healthcare and medical research · doi:10.14738/bjhmr.104.15114 · Cited by 19
Ali, N. S., Ma, R., Agha, Z., Park, J., & Wiśniewski, P. (2025) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3757665 · Cited by 12
“Moreover, as social media platforms maximize engagement by exploiting psychological triggers [56] and influence agency via ads or algorithms [50], teens from our study envisioned new social spaces with limited interactions that promote better mental wellness and meaningful connections.”
Technologiebasierte Interventionen zur Alkoholprävention bei Kindern und Jugendlichen
Diestelkamp, S., Schulz, A.-L., & Thomasius, R. (2021) · Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz · doi:10.1007/s00103-021-03338-5 · Cited by 8
“Das Risiko einer Entwicklung oderVerstärkung einer Online- oder Computerspielsucht durch die Nutzung digitaler Alkoholpräventionsangebote wird hingegen als gering eingeschätzt, da Elemente, die eine Suchtentwicklung begünstigen können, in technologiebasierten Alkoholpräventionsprogrammen typischerweise nicht vorkommen…”
BackgroundThe role of skepticism among adolescents’ online information literacy skills
Ritzhaupt, A. D., Kohnen, A. M., Wusylko, C., Wang, X., Dawson, K., & Sommer, M. (2023) · Information and Learning Sciences · doi:10.1108/ils-02-2023-0010 · Cited by 8
Privacy Is the Price: Player Views and Technical Evaluation of Data Practices in Online Games
Bourdoucen, A., Nurgalieva, L., & Lindqvist, J. (2023) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3611064 · Cited by 15
“Moreover, players are often encouraged to share more about themselves or even other players [78], for instance, when being rewarded with in-game assets for sharing [90, 110].”
BackgroundA mindful approach to physician self-care
Kirby, J. M., Milligan, P. D., Conradie, H. H., & McIntosh, B. (2024) · South African Family Practice · doi:10.4102/safp.v66i1.5836 · Cited by 9
“Social media companies have intentionally designed their products to be addictive, 18 meaning that empty moments are filled scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), YouTube, and TikTok.”
BackgroundA Digital Nudge-Based Intervention to Interrupt Instagram Usage
Keller, J., Herrmann-Schwarz, T., Roitzheim, C., Mertens, L., Brockmeier, L. C., & Purohit, A. K. (2024) · European Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1027/2512-8442/a000150 · Cited by 8
VoxPop: An Experimental Social Media Platform for Calibrated (Mis)information Discourse
Sharevski, F., Jachim, P., Pieroni, E., & Jachim, N. (2021) · New Security Paradigms Workshop · doi:10.1145/3498891.3498893 · Cited by 11
“…for such a design approach as to critically revise and contextualize according to the VoxPop’s paradigm the most prevalent psychological/economic mechanisms built in social media apps: (1) endowment effect, (2) social comparison and social reward, and (3) the “need for cognitive closure” [54].”
BackgroundRozgonjuk, D., Montag, C., & Elhai, J. D. (2022) · Studies in neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-04772-5_4 · Cited by 9
Self-citationVideo quality of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease on TikTok: A cross-sectional study
Cheng, D., Ren, K., Gao, X. Y., Li, K., Wu, P., Yang, R., Cui, T., Song, K., & Yu, J. (2024) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000039330 · Cited by 7
“Social media companies aim to capture users’ attention by creating highly immersive and engaging services, [39] prioritizing entertaining images and videos.”
BackgroundPeng, J., Quan, Z., Yan, C., Dong, J., Chen, Z., & Liu, P. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-24472-z · Cited by 7
“Under academic or interpersonal stress, boys also default to avoidant–entertainment strategies, whereas girls mobilize social-support networks, further widening the gender gap in problematic short-form video use 52,55 .”
‘Brain Rot’ Among University Students in the Digital Age: A Phenomenological Study
Özbay, Ö. (2026) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-025-01658-w · Cited by 21
“At the same time, the cycle of brief rewards and constant novelty can induce emotional numbness and anxiety: users become indifferent to everyday emotional stimuli and may feel restless or anxious when not stimulated by digital media [48, 49].”
Digital Being: social media and the predictive mind
White, B., Clark, A., & Miller, M. (2024) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niae008 · Cited by 11
“Second, we know that some social media platforms are deliberately designed to be addictive (Montag et al. 2019).”
BackgroundAmendola, S., Hengartner, M. P., & Wakefield, J. C. (2025) · Addiction Research & Theory · doi:10.1080/16066359.2025.2513339 · Cited by 6
“…read-receipt functions, endless scrolling, personalization of content, push notifications, time restrictions of content) may influence users’ behaviors independently of pathology/nonpathology, prolonging time spent using them (Montag et al. 2019; Flayelle et al. 2023; Montag and Elhai 2023).”
Montag, C., Rahman, S., Thrul, J., Al-Beyahi, F., & Ali, R. (2025) · Telematics and Informatics Reports · doi:10.1016/j.teler.2025.100225 · Cited by 8
Self-citationBylicki, M., Zawojska, E., & Łukasik, K. (2025) · Technology in Society · doi:10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.103014 · Cited by 6
AI in Customer Service: A Service Revolution in the Making
Kunz, W. H., & Wirtz, J. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-33898-4_2 · Cited by 8
Unwitting Participants at Our Expense: A/B Testing and Digital Exploitation
Zou, T., & Ertug, G. (2023) · Business & Society · doi:10.1177/00076503231212842 · Cited by 6
“Similarly, tech companies use A/B testing to formulate designs that lead users to increase their screen time to unsustain-able levels (Montag et al., 2019).”
Social Media and Working Memory - A Review
Dikshit, R., & Kiran, U. V. (2023) · Journal of Ecophysiology and Occupational Health · doi:10.18311/jeoh/2023/34681 · Cited by 10
Hossain, E., Wadley, G., Bianchi‐Berthouze, N., & Cox, A. L. (2022) · CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI EA) · doi:10.1145/3491101.3519643 · Cited by 6
“, more refective [39] or impulsive [4, 46, 52] processes; capability factors e.”
BackgroundSocial Media Addiction: Challenges and Strategies to Promote Media Literacy
Perez-Lozano, D., & Espinosa, F. S. (2024) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.1006166 · Cited by 13
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) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_65 · Cited by 8
Self-citationFabbri, M., & Boratto, L. (2025) · ACM Conference on Recommender Systems (RecSys) · doi:10.1145/3705328.3748074 · Cited by 5
Supti, T. I., Yankouskaya, A., Barhamgi, M., Nhlabatsi, A., Khan, K. M., Domingo, J. M., Erbad, A., & Ali, R. (2025) · Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s41347-025-00515-0 · Cited by 5
“Research suggests that social media design and usage can amplify FoMO, with platforms using design elements to extend user engagement by leveraging this psychological process (Alutaybi et al., 2020; Montag et al., 2019).”
Exploring the Impact of Digital Devices on Social Development in Young Children
Sriandila, R., & Suryana, D. (2023) · AL-ISHLAH Jurnal Pendidikan · doi:10.35445/alishlah.v15i2.3735 · Cited by 5
Topal, M., Avcı, Ş. K., & İstanbullu, A. (2024) · Milli Eğitim Dergisi · doi:10.37669/milliegitim.1260083 · Cited by 6
Galanis, C. R., & King, D. L. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100581 · Cited by 5
Defining, Classifying and Identifying Addictive Patterns in Digital Products
Beltrán, M. (2025) · IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society · doi:10.1109/tts.2025.3564840 · Cited by 6
Kapitel 5 Vulnerabilitätsraum: Soziale Medien
Sindermann, C., Ebner, F. A., Montag, C., Scholz, R. W., Ostendorf, S., Freytag, P., & Thull, B. (2021) · Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG eBooks · doi:10.5771/9783748924111-05 · Cited by 4
Self-citationLyons, D., Kiyak, C., Çetinkaya, D., Hodge, S., & McAlaney, J. (2022) · IEEE International Conference on e-Business Engineering (ICEBE) · doi:10.1109/icebe55470.2022.00043 · Cited by 9
“Digital games or gambling applications are another avenue where these feedback loops are present and lead to an addictive activity which pushes the user into this timelessness state [7].”
BackgroundThe Impact of Screen Time and Social Media Use on Physical Activity
Kolle, E., Steene-Johannessen, J., & Anderssen, S. A. (2025) · Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy · doi:10.18261/njdl.20.1.7 · Cited by 5
Babiker, A., Alshakhsi, S. A. A., Sindermann, C., Montag, C., & Ali, R. (2024) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32467 · Cited by 4
Self-citationProblematic Use of Video Games in Schooled Adolescents: The Role of Passion
Garrido, J. M. F., Conde, M. D. D., Folgar, M. I., & Rey, F. B. (2024) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs14110992 · Cited by 4
“Montag et al. [25] indicated that features of these games, such as variable reward cycles, competitive social environments and the endless nature of gameplay, are factors that promote addiction.”
BackgroundThompson, D. A., Grau, L., Schmiege, S. J., Cabrera, N., Clark, L., Ringwood, H., Valdes, E. M., & Tschann, J. M. (2025) · Frontiers in Pediatrics · doi:10.3389/fped.2025.1496225 · Cited by 5
Cornell, S., & Peden, A. E. (2025) · JMIR Public Health and Surveillance · doi:10.2196/73089 · Cited by 4
“These mechanisms reinforce high-engagement content, which often includes dramatic or risky imagery, indirectly incentivizing risk-taking behaviors [5,6], which we define in this study as self-reported engagement in actions in outdoor settings that could endanger personal safety, undertaken…”
Błachnio, A., Przepiórka, A., Gorbaniuk, O., McNeill, M., Bendayan, R., Durak, M., Şenol-Durak, E., Ben‐Ezra, M., Benvenuti, M., Angeluci, A. C. B., et al. (2022) · Frontiers research topics · doi:10.3389/978-2-88974-249-3 · Cited by 4
21st Century Learners’ Social Media Utilization: An Interplay of Communication Theories
Fortuna, R. S. (2023) · International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews · doi:10.55248/gengpi.4.723.49861 · Cited by 9
Saletti, S. M. R., & den Broucke, S. V. (2024) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-024-00576-w · Cited by 4
“These design elements play a pivotal role in user engagement, which can lead to problematic use [17, 18].”
Bao, H., & Li, S. (2025) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941251329864 · Cited by 4
Intelligent Automation, Service Robots, and AI – the Service Revolution is in Full Swing
Kunz, W. H., Wirtz, J., & Paluch, S. (2023) · Palgrave studies in marketing, organizations and society · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-36589-8_6 · Cited by 5
Sindermann, C., Scholz, R. W., Löchner, N., Heinzelmann, R., & Montag, C. (2023) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2023.2278292 · Cited by 8
“For (mainstream) social media companies, aligning content with users’ interests can also be beneficial, as it can induce users to spend extended periods of active engagement on their platforms (Montag et al., 2019), thereby increasing the amount of data collected.”
Self-citationSocial Media and Adolescent Mental Health: A Comprehensive Narrative Review
(2026) · doi:10.7759/cureus.103089 · Cited by 5
“Kross et al. and Montag et al. described how algorithmic personalization, notifications, and reward-based feedback loops increase engagement intensity and emotional arousal, thereby increasing exposure to both supportive and harmful content [10,15].”
InfluentialImpact of Social Media on Family Relations in the Arab Gulf Region
Al‐Mabuk, R. H., & Alrebh, A. F. (2025) · Gulf Studies · doi:10.1007/978-981-96-3412-5_15 · Cited by 4
A Narrative Inquiry Into Problematic Internet Use Among Young Adults: A Narrative Review
Kaye, A. D., Islam, R. K., Tong, V. T., Sorrel, M. L., Allen, K. E., Nguyen, I. D., Miller, B. C., Sharpe, M. J., Ahmadzadeh, S., Griffin, P. C., et al. (2025) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.85705 · Cited by 5
“Social media clips can provide a rewarding feeling without the effort and commitment that accomplishing a harder task would require [22].”
Chen, C., Xiao, Z., & Leung, D. (2025) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2025.102323 · Cited by 4
Işıkgöz, M. E., Sezan, T., Yüksel, A., & Öztunç, M. (2025) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440251376854 · Cited by 6
“First, social media platforms are designed to provide immediate rewards (likes, notifications, new content), which can disrupt the brain’s reward system and make it difficult for individuals to defer rewards (LaRose & Eastin, 2004; Montag et al., 2019).”
Abdallah, Y. K. (2025) · Architecture · doi:10.3390/architecture5040085 · Cited by 6
“Montag et al., 2019, suggest that excessive screen time can alter dopamine-related pathways in the brain [30].”
Fineberg, N. A., Brandtner, A., Löchner, N., Kannen, C., Smith, M., Foster, S., Meinke, A., Mosler, K., Fine, S., Carmi, L., et al. (2025) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2025.152653 · Cited by 3
“…user involvement by sensor devices to overcome disjunctions between self-reports, informant reports and objective data and prevent experienced time distortions [82] due to the immersivity and platform design of many online platforms [83,84], which might be a critical indicator of PUI [85,86].”
Self-citationWang, M. (2026) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-026-10183-y · Cited by 8
“…feedback metrics, notifications, and variable reward schedules may create cyclical engagement loops in which each interaction generates new cues for continued use or rapid return (Boniel-Nissim et al., 2024; Flayelle et al., 2023; Montag et al., 2019; World Health Organization, 2024; Zuboff, 2019).”
InfluentialHolly, L., Raeside, R., Morton, A., Shi, J., Padmapriya, N., & Müller‐Riemenschneider, F. (2026) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(26)01611-9 · Cited by 3
Rao, S. R., Saraf, P. H., Adarkar, S. A., Inamdar, G., Mhatre, P. P., Gupta, V. C., Ambike, A. A., Dedhia, K., & Raul, S. K. (2022) · Annals of Indian Psychiatry · doi:10.4103/aip.aip_1_22 · Cited by 3
Ong, E., & Lee, P. (2022) · Journal of Student Research · doi:10.47611/jsrhs.v11i3.3743 · Cited by 3
Ali, B. A., Abdulsalam, H. M., Almadani, S. H., & Manuel, P. D. (2023) · Journal of Engineering Research · doi:10.1016/j.jer.2023.09.008 · Cited by 3
From greenwashing to screenwashing?
Koning, I. M., van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., & Vossen, H. G. M. (2024) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2023.00084 · Cited by 4
“Together, the design and al-gorithm behind social media platforms prolong usage time of their platform (Montag, Lachmann, Herrlich, & Zweig, 2019), hence increasing the risk of problematic social media use (Qin, Omar, & Musetti, 2022; Tian, Bi, & Chen, 2023).”
BackgroundZannat, N., & Mahmud, M. (2023) · Journal of Information Systems and Digital Technologies · doi:10.31436/jisdt.v5i2.428 · Cited by 3
“AI-driven applications, such as virtual assistants and recommendation systems, are also contributing to technology overuse and addiction (Montag, Lachmann, Herrlich, & Zweig, 2019).”
Defeat the feed: evaluating interface designs to support users in managing their social media use
Herder, E., & Moerland, P. (2024) · ACM Conference on Hypertext and Social Media (HT) · doi:10.1145/3648188.3675148 · Cited by 3
Cicchirillo, V. J., Salopek, A. H., & Ham, J. (2025) · Atlantic Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/15456870.2025.2473451 · Cited by 3
“Prior research has indicated that excessive use of digital platforms can lead to compulsive behaviors and adverse psychological outcomes (Montag et al., 2019).”
Rach, M. (2021) · International Journal of Social Science and Humanity · doi:10.18178/ijssh.2021.v11.1055 · Cited by 3
“Other research streams centered around the addictive nature of social media sites on users [15], [16], [17], often citing persuasive design principles as addictive stimulants [18].”
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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