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
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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
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“[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
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“[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.
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“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].”
BackgroundRelationships among smartphone addiction, stress, academic performance, and satisfaction with life
Samaha, M., & Hawi, N. S. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.12.045 · Cited by 1,246
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“Although, the role of mood for buying decisions/advertising is complex [70,71], such a variable might be of (high) interest to many of the companies behind manifold smartphone/Internet applications.”
BackgroundMere Exposure: A Gateway to the Subliminal
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Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioral addiction research
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“Explicitly, it is mentioned that researchers should not over-pathologize everyday life activities [27] and aim at a unification of terms used in the literature in line with the officially suggested nomenclature.”
ResultSmartphone use and smartphone addiction among young people in Switzerland
Haug, S., Castro, R. P., Kwon, M., Filler, A., Kowatsch, T., & Schaub, M. P. (2015) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.4.2015.037 · Cited by 903 · cited 1×
“Such a focus is warranted because several studies already demonstrated that these applications are important drivers of (excessive) smartphone usage (literature on social media/messenger applications and smartphone usage [28,97,98]; literature on gaming and smartphone usage [29,99,100].”
BackgroundPsychological targeting as an effective approach to digital mass persuasion
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Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity
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BackgroundTwenge, J. M., Martin, G. N., & Campbell, W. K. (2018) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000403 · Cited by 750 · cited 1×
“In any case, new research suggests that the many interruptions due to high frequency use and the many daily incoming messages fragmenting everyday life could reduce productivity at work [6–8] and lower a person’s well-being [9,10].”
BackgroundWilmer, H. H., Sherman, L. E., & Chein, J. M. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00605 · Cited by 736
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“From our perspective, it is of tremendous importance to further study such in-built elements, because SUD has been associated with loneliness [85].”
BackgroundAttractive celebrity and peer images on Instagram: Effect on women's mood and body image
Brown, Z. A., & Tiggemann, M. (2016) · Body Image · doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2016.08.007 · Cited by 667 · cited 1×
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BackgroundFacebook language predicts depression in medical records
Eichstaedt, J. C., Smith, R. J., Merchant, R. M., Ungar, L. H., Crutchley, P., Preoţiuc-Pietro, D., Asch, D. A., & Schwartz, H. A. (2018) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1802331115 · Cited by 643
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BackgroundDevelopment and validation of the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI)
Lin, Y.-H., Chang, L.-R., Lee, Y.-H., Tseng, H.-W., Kuo, T. B. J., & Chen, S.-H. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098312 · Cited by 611
Facebook Photo Activity Associated with Body Image Disturbance in Adolescent Girls
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“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].”
BackgroundAttention deficit hyperactivity symptoms and Internet addiction
YOO, H. J., CHO, S. C., HA, J., YUNE, S. K., KIM, S. J., HWANG, J., CHUNG, A., SUNG, Y. H., & LYOO, I. K. (2004) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1819.2004.01290.x · Cited by 492
Smartphone addiction, daily interruptions and self-reported productivity
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Self-citationWegmann, E., Oberst, U., Stodt, B., & Brand, M. (2017) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2017.04.001 · Cited by 458
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“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].”
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A Systematic Framework for Designing and Evaluating Persuasive Systems
B, H. O.-K. A., & Harjumaa, M. (2008) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-68504-3_15 · Cited by 411 · cited 1×
“Clearly, our assumption that these mechanisms have been purely designed to prolong usage time of an app is speculative, but please see also a larger serious scientific area dealing with persuasive design/technologies in the computer sciences [103,104].”
BackgroundSmartphone usage in the 21st century: who is active on WhatsApp?
Montag, C., Błaszkiewicz, K., Sariyska, R., Lachmann, B., Andone, I., Trendafilov, B., Eibes, M., & Markowetz, A. (2015) · BMC Research Notes · doi:10.1186/s13104-015-1280-z · Cited by 408
Self-citationSmartphone use undermines enjoyment of face-to-face social interactions
Dwyer, R. J., Kushlev, K., & Dunn, E. W. (2018) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2017.10.007 · Cited by 407 · cited 1×
“Beyond the mentioned issues, (excessive use of) smartphones is known to impact on social communication in terms of reducing smiles when interacting with strangers [13], enjoyment of face-to-face interaction [14] or drawing parent’s attention away from their children [15].”
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“Although literature on each of the elements in the study of SUD is scarce, it has been demonstrated that persons have problems in assessing their smartphone consumption, and this is probably due to time distortions [49,101].”
BackgroundUnderstanding User Beliefs About Algorithmic Curation in the Facebook News Feed
Rader, E., & Gray, R. (2015) · Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/2702123.2702174 · Cited by 386 · cited 1×
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MethodDecreased Volume of the Brain Reward System in Alcoholism
Makris, N., Oscar-Berman, M., Jaffin, S. K., Hodge, S. M., Kennedy, D. N., Caviness, V. S., Marinkovic, K., Breiter, H. C., Gasic, G. P., & Harris, G. J. (2008) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.01.018 · Cited by 372 · cited 1×
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“[42] for overlaps between generalized and specific forms of IUD).”
BackgroundSelf-citationDo Persuasive Technologies Persuade? - A Review of Empirical Studies
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Pakkanen, T. (2014) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-07127-5_11 · Cited by 340 · cited 1×
“Clearly, our assumption that these mechanisms have been purely designed to prolong usage time of an app is speculative, but please see also a larger serious scientific area dealing with persuasive design/technologies in the computer sciences [103,104].”
BackgroundPartitioning default effects: Why people choose not to choose.
Dinner, I. M., Johnson, E. J., Goldstein, D. G., & Liu, K. (2011) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied · doi:10.1037/a0024354 · Cited by 339 · cited 1×
“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].”
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“Both ICD-11 and DSM-5 offer practitioners and researchers alike valuable guidance in psycho-diagnostics.”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationCohen, R., Newton-John, T., & Slater, A. (2018) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.027 · Cited by 294
Leung, H., Pakpour, A. H., Strong, C., Lin, Y.-C., Tsai, M.-C., Griffiths, M. D., Lin, C.-Y., & Chen, I.-H. (2020) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.04.027 · Cited by 290 · cited 6×
“A new work underlines the overlap between SUD and excessive social media use, but also links between SUD and (Internet) Gaming Disorder [29].”
BackgroundInfluentialSchöeppe, S., Alley, S., Rebar, A. L., Hayman, M., Bray, N. A., Lippevelde, W. V., Gnam, J.-P., Bachert, P., Direito, A., & Vandelanotte, C. (2017) · International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity · doi:10.1186/s12966-017-0538-3 · Cited by 280 · cited 1×
“In contrast, some applications might even foster physical activity and help persons to improve their diet [96].”
BackgroundThe Multipurpose Application WeChat: A Review on Recent Research
Montag, C., Becker, B., & Gan, C. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02247 · Cited by 274 · cited 1×
“Without doubt, this is the Western view on this topic, whereas in Asia (particularly in China) the application WeChat dominates the market as a hybrid between social media and messenger application plus pay service [34].”
BackgroundSelf-citationHow Many Friends Does One Person Need? Dunbar’s Number and Other Evolutionary Quirks
Dunbar, R. (2011) · Harvard University Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctvk12rgx · Cited by 256
Towards Assessing Changes in Degree of Depression through Facebook
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Savcı, M. (2017) · Dusunen Adam The Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences · doi:10.5350/dajpn2017300304 · Cited by 249 · cited 1×
“Nevertheless, it is also imaginable that withdrawal from society and escapism to the online world ultimately might cause loneliness and reduce social connectedness, too [87].”
Background"Silence Your Phones": Smartphone Notifications Increase Inattention and Hyperactivity Symptoms
Kushlev, K., Proulx, J., & Dunn, E. W. (2016) · Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems · doi:10.1145/2858036.2858359 · Cited by 245
Sha, P., Sariyska, R., Riedl, R., Lachmann, B., & Montag, C. (2018) · Addictive Behaviors Reports · doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2018.100148 · Cited by 245 · cited 4×
“Such a focus is warranted because several studies already demonstrated that these applications are important drivers of (excessive) smartphone usage (literature on social media/messenger applications and smartphone usage [28,97,98]; literature on gaming and smartphone usage [29,99,100].”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationChecking email less frequently reduces stress
Kushlev, K., & Dunn, E. W. (2015) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.005 · Cited by 238 · cited 1×
“In any case, new research suggests that the many interruptions due to high frequency use and the many daily incoming messages fragmenting everyday life could reduce productivity at work [6–8] and lower a person’s well-being [9,10].”
BackgroundLopez-Fernandez, O., Kuss, D. J., Romo, L., Morvan, Y., Kern, L., Graziani, P., Rousseau, A., Rumpf, H.-J., Bischof, A., Gässler, A.-K., et al. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.020 · Cited by 237 · cited 1×
“Such a focus is warranted because several studies already demonstrated that these applications are important drivers of (excessive) smartphone usage (literature on social media/messenger applications and smartphone usage [28,97,98]; literature on gaming and smartphone usage [29,99,100].”
BackgroundThe Role of Empathy and Life Satisfaction in Internet and Smartphone Use Disorder
Lachmann, B., Sindermann, C., Sariyska, R., Luo, R., Melchers, M., Becker, B., Cooper, A. J., & Montag, C. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00398 · Cited by 220
Self-citation(2017) · Cited by 209
Peer Influence via Instagram: Effects on Brain and Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adulthood
Sherman, L. E., Greenfield, P. M., Hernandez, L. M., & Dapretto, M. (2018) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12838 · Cited by 196 · cited 1×
“Pictures being presented with many Likes elicit stronger activity in the ventral striatum, an area involved of the processing of a rewards [74,75].”
BackgroundCross-generational analysis of predictive factors of addictive behavior in smartphone usage
Zhitomirsky-Geffet, M., & Blau, M. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.07.061 · Cited by 186
The Role of Structural Characteristics in Problematic Video Game Play: An Empirical Study
King, D. L., Delfabbro, P. H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2011) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-010-9289-y · Cited by 184 · cited 1×
“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].”
BackgroundAhadzadeh, A. S., Sharif, S. P., & Ong, F. S. (2016) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.011 · Cited by 184 · cited 1×
“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].”
BackgroundTime Distortion for Expert and Novice Online Game Players
Rau, P.-L. P., Peng, S.-Y., & Yang, C.-C. (2006) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9.396 · Cited by 171
Montag, C., & Diefenbach, S. (2018) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su10020415 · Cited by 171 · cited 2×
“In this context also the role of selfies [3,94] and the smartphone camera needs to be mentioned [95].”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe burden of online friends: The effects of giving up Facebook on stress and well-being
Vanman, E. J., Baker, R., & Tobin, S. J. (2018) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2018.1453467 · Cited by 168
Accident risk associated with smartphone addiction: A study on university students in Korea
Kim, H.-J., Min, J., Kim, H., & Min, K. (2017) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.070 · Cited by 165 · cited 1×
“The distracting aspects of many applications on the smartphone are also a well-known danger for every day traffic [51] and in many countries led to the prohibition of smartphone use while driving a car or riding a bike.”
BackgroundKushlev, K., & Dunn, E. W. (2019) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407518769387 · Cited by 162 · cited 1×
“Beyond the mentioned issues, (excessive use of) smartphones is known to impact on social communication in terms of reducing smiles when interacting with strangers [13], enjoyment of face-to-face interaction [14] or drawing parent’s attention away from their children [15].”
BackgroundSelected Principles of Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience
Davis, K. L., & Montag, C. (2019) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.01025 · Cited by 159 · cited 2×
“, to stay in touch with friends) might represent the healthy form of smartphone use, reflecting also homo sapiens’ urge for social bonding as also outlined in Pankseppian Affective Neuroscience Theory [33].”
BackgroundSelf-citationScholz, R. W., Bartelsman, E. J., Diefenbach, S., Franke, L., Grünwald, A., Helbing, D., Hill, R. C., Hilty, L. M., Höjer, M., Klauser, S., et al. (2018) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su10062001 · Cited by 157 · cited 1×
“Despite the many advantages of the smartphone, it is heavily discussed among scientists around the globe if problematic usage of the smartphone could have detrimental effects on our mental health [3,4].”
BackgroundSelf-citationInternet Addiction Symptoms, Disordered Eating, and Body Image Avoidance
Rodgers, R. F., Melioli, T., Laconi, S., Bui, É., & Chabrol, H. (2013) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.1570 · Cited by 145 · cited 1×
“of too much online consumption—are links between IUD and BMI [88] and between IUD and body image avoidance [89].”
BackgroundFacebook usage on smartphones and gray matter volume of the nucleus accumbens
Montag, C., Markowetz, A., Blaszkiewicz, K., Andone, I., Lachmann, B., Sariyska, R., Trendafilov, B., Eibes, M., Kolb, J., Reuter, M., et al. (2017) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2017.04.035 · Cited by 135 · cited 1×
“It has even been demonstrated that lower gray matter volumes of the nucleus accumbens are associated with longer and higher frequent usage of the Facebook app on smartphones underlining its addictive power [76].”
BackgroundSelf-citationStieger, S., & Lewetz, D. (2018) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2018.0070 · Cited by 135
Montag, C., Błaszkiewicz, K., Lachmann, B., Sariyska, R., Andone, I., Trendafilov, B., & Markowetz, A. (2015) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs5040434 · Cited by 122 · cited 1×
“Although literature on each of the elements in the study of SUD is scarce, it has been demonstrated that persons have problems in assessing their smartphone consumption, and this is probably due to time distortions [49,101].”
BackgroundSelf-citationPeterka‐Bonetta, J., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Montag, C. (2019) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2019.00127 · Cited by 115 · cited 15×
“A new work underlines the overlap between SUD and excessive social media use, but also links between SUD and (Internet) Gaming Disorder [29].”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citation“I know you’ve seen it!” Individual and social factors for users’ chatting behavior on Facebook
Mai, L. M., Freudenthaler, R., Schneider, F. M., & Vorderer, P. (2015) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.01.074 · Cited by 111
Mobile gaming and problematic smartphone use: A comparative study between Belgium and Finland
Lopez-Fernandez, O., Männikkö, N., Kääriäinen, M., Griffiths, M. D., & Kuss, D. J. (2018) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.080 · Cited by 109 · cited 1×
“Such a focus is warranted because several studies already demonstrated that these applications are important drivers of (excessive) smartphone usage (literature on social media/messenger applications and smartphone usage [28,97,98]; literature on gaming and smartphone usage [29,99,100].”
BackgroundSelf-esteem, personality and Internet Addiction: A cross-cultural comparison study
Sariyska, R., Reuter, M., Bey, K., Sha, P., Li, M., Chen, Y., Liu, W., Zhu, Y., Li, C., Suárez-Rivillas, A., et al. (2014) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.001 · Cited by 108 · cited 1×
“[57]) and seems to be applicable also for many of the gaming or social media apps.”
BackgroundSelf-citationElhai, J. D., Yang, H., & Montag, C. (2019) · Current Addiction Reports · doi:10.1007/s40429-019-00260-4 · Cited by 106 · cited 3×
“Earlier, links between SUD and depression/anxiety disorders have been already mentioned [5].”
BackgroundResultSelf-citationHadar, A., Hadas, I., Lazarovits, A., Alyagon, U., Eliraz, D., & Zangen, A. (2017) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0180094 · Cited by 100 · cited 1×
“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].”
BackgroundChou, W., Huang, M., Chang, Y., Chen, Y.-M., Hu, H., & Yen, C. (2016) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.6.2017.005 · Cited by 95 · cited 1×
“This might result in a loss of empathy, although so far only correlations between excessive Internet use and lower empathy/social skills could be established [16,17], with only weak associations between excessive smartphone usage and empathy [18].”
BackgroundThe Relationship Between Internet Addiction and Body Mass Index in Turkish Adolescents
Canan, F., Yıldırım, O., Ustunel, T. Y., Sinani, G., Kaleli, A. H., Güneş, C., & Ataoğlu, A. (2013) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0733 · Cited by 90 · cited 2×
“of too much online consumption—are links between IUD and BMI [88] and between IUD and body image avoidance [89].”
BackgroundMelchers, M., Li, M., Chen, Y., Zhang, W., & Montag, C. (2015) · Asian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2015.06.019 · Cited by 89
Self-citationSmartphones reduce smiles between strangers
Kushlev, K., Hunter, J. F., Proulx, J., Pressman, S. D., & Dunn, E. (2019) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.023 · Cited by 89 · cited 1×
“Beyond the mentioned issues, (excessive use of) smartphones is known to impact on social communication in terms of reducing smiles when interacting with strangers [13], enjoyment of face-to-face interaction [14] or drawing parent’s attention away from their children [15].”
BackgroundReduced Volume of the Nucleus Accumbens in Heroin Addiction
Seifert, C. L., Magon, S., Sprenger, T., Lang, U. E., Huber, C. G., Denier, N., Vogel, M., Schmidt, A., Radue, E.-W., Borgwardt, S., et al. (2015) · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.1007/s00406-014-0564-y · Cited by 80 · cited 1×
“Additionally, several other studies observed that lower gray matter volumes were associated with higher addictive tendencies [77,78].”
PAR Sheets, probabilities, and slot machine play: Implications for problem and non-problem gambling
Harrigan, K. A., & Dixon, M. J. (2009) · Journal of Gambling Issues · doi:10.4309/jgi.2009.23.5 · Cited by 77 · cited 2×
“, a funny or interesting video), hence intermittent conditioning principles are observed here (see also research on intermittent conditioning principles in the context of slot machine mechanisms by Harrigan & Dixon [52]).”
BackgroundDuke, É., & Montag, C. (2017) · Studies in neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46276-9_21 · Cited by 76
Self-citationPeterka-Bonetta, J., Sindermann, C., Sha, P., Zhou, M., & Montag, C. (2019) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.08.011 · Cited by 76 · cited 1×
“Of note, earlier works demonstrated co-morbidities with ADHD and depression [38–40], but also burnout [41] when investigating IUD.”
BackgroundSelf-citationM, S. R. R. (2015) · Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy · doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000209 · Cited by 71
Who’s addicted to the smartphone and/or the Internet?
Lachmann, B., Duke, É., Sariyska, R., & Montag, C. (2017) · Psychology of Popular Media Culture · doi:10.1037/ppm0000172 · Cited by 69 · cited 15×
“A new work underlines the overlap between SUD and excessive social media use, but also links between SUD and (Internet) Gaming Disorder [29].”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationKwon, M., Lee, J.-Y., Won, W.-Y., Park, J.-W., Min, J.-A., Hahn, C., Gu, X., Choi, J.-H., & Kim, D.-J. (2017) · PsycTESTS Dataset · doi:10.1037/t57115-000 · Cited by 62
Mehr auf Facebook, kleinerer Nucleus Accumbens – oder umgekehrt?
(2017) · Fortschritte der Neurologie · Psychiatrie · doi:10.1055/s-0043-111134 · Cited by 57
B, H. O.-K. A., SegerstÃ¥hl, K., Øhrstrøm, P., Hasle, P., & Harjumaa, M. (2008) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-68504-3 · Cited by 56
The 2D:4D Marker and Different Forms of Internet Use Disorder
Müller, M., Brand, M., Mies, J., Lachmann, B., Sariyska, R., & Montag, C. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00213 · Cited by 51
Self-citationFritze, M. P., Eisingerich, A. B., & Benkenstein, M. (2019) · Electronic Commerce Research · doi:10.1007/s10660-018-9309-8 · Cited by 50 · cited 2×
“The authors of this work observed via an online experiment that “consumers become instantaneously attached to and are reluctant to give up digital services once they have obtained them” ([102], p.”
BackgroundResultContext effects in marketing practice: the case of mood
Bakamitsos, G. A., & Siomkos, G. J. (2004) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.144 · Cited by 40 · cited 1×
“Although, the role of mood for buying decisions/advertising is complex [70,71], such a variable might be of (high) interest to many of the companies behind manifold smartphone/Internet applications.”
BackgroundWhatsApp and Wellbeing: A study on WhatsApp usage, communication quality and stress
Blabst, N., & Diefenbach, S. (2017) · Electronic workshops in computing · doi:10.14236/ewic/hci2017.85 · Cited by 39 · cited 1×
“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].”
BackgroundAndone, I., Błaszkiewicz, K., Eibes, M., Trendafilov, B., Montag, C., & Markowetz, A. (2016) · ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp) · doi:10.1145/2968219.2971591 · Cited by 28 · cited 1×
“How good this actually works has not been investigated and please note that some of the authors (together with computer scientists) presented a similar service for Android users already several years ago, hence years before the app industry launched such a laudable initiative (CM and BL as part of a larger development…”
BackgroundSelf-citationSetting Software Defaults: Perspectives from Law, Computer Science and Behavioral Economics
Kesan, J. P., & Shah, R. (2006) · Journal of legislation · Cited by 26
Designing Social Networks to Combat Fear of Missing Out
Alutaybi, A., McAlaney, J., Stefanidis, A., Phalp, K. T., & Ali, R. (2018) · Electronic workshops in computing · doi:10.14236/ewic/hci2018.80 · Cited by 26 · cited 5×
“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].”
BackgroundInfluentialMontag, C., & Reuter, M. (2017) · Studies in neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46276-9 · Cited by 26
Self-citationPsychological and neuroscientific advances to understand Internet Use Disorder
Becker, B., & Montag, C. (2019) · e-Neuroforum · doi:10.1515/nf-2018-0026 · Cited by 24
Self-citationIs Internet overuse associated with impaired empathic ability in Korean college students?
Jeon, H. J., Kim, S., Chon, W.-H., & Ha, J. H. (2018) · Medicine · doi:10.1097/md.0000000000012493 · Cited by 21 · cited 1×
“Moreover, important insights of a study are mentioned which on the one hand observed reduced social skills in excessive Internet users, but on the other hand observed enhanced empathy when the Internet is used in a healthy way [19].”
BackgroundInnovationskommunikation 2.0 — Das Beispiel Apple iPhone
Maisch, B., & Meckel, M. (2009) · Marketing Review St Gallen · doi:10.1007/s11621-009-0031-8 · Cited by 6 · cited 1×
“Without doubt, one of the major driving forces towards a totally connected world with the Internet available in everyone’s pocket was the inception of the iPhone in 2007 [2].”
BackgroundZweig, K. A., Lachmann, B., Montag, C., & Herrlich, M. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-23841-4_4 · Cited by 4 · cited 1×
“Some of these thoughts have been already covered in a chapter published by the authors in German language [47].”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe Camera Phone in the Concert Space
Glitsos, L. (2018) · Music Sound and the Moving Image · doi:10.3828/msmi.2018.2 · Cited by 3
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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.”
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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