The Role of Critical Thinking in Mitigating Social Network Addiction: A Study of TikTok and Instagram Users
Open accessAbstract
This study addresses the growing concern of social network (SN) addiction, with a focus on TikTok and Instagram. Guided by the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), we explored the motivations (escapism and social interaction), attitudes (critical thinking), and states (flow and sense of belonging) that influence SN use. Our objective was to investigate whether critical thinking acts as a protective factor against SN addiction. A sample of 332 university students completed questionnaires assessing motivations, attitudes, states, and SN addiction. Critical thinking was measured using the Critical Thinking Attitude Scale (CTAS), and critical thinking skills were assessed through the Critical Reasoning Assessment (CRA). Statistical analyses revealed significant associations between motivations, critical thinking, states, and SN addiction. Specifically, critical thinking (CTAS scores) demonstrated a negative correlation with SN addiction (r = −0.34, p < 0.01), indicating that higher critical thinking is associated with lower SN addiction. Regression analysis further indicated that escapism (β = 0.45, p < 0.01) and social interaction (β = 0.31, p < 0.05) positively predicted SN addiction, while critical thinking negatively predicted SN addiction (β = −0.28, p < 0.01). Additionally, states of flow and sense of belonging showed significant positive correlations with SN addiction (r = 0.42, p < 0.01 and r = 0.37, p < 0.01, respectively). These findings highlight the potential of critical thinking as a safeguard against SN addiction. This study offers valuable insights into the intricate dynamics of SN use, with implications for promoting healthier digital engagement. Understanding the factors influencing SN addiction and the roles of motivations, dispositions, and states can inform interventions aimed at fostering responsible and mindful online behaviors.
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Instagram's design elements are purposefully crafted to exploit cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities.
“One of the key drivers of Instagram addiction lies in its design elements, which are purposefully crafted to exploit cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities.”
From The Scrolling Paradox: Analyzing Instagram Addiction Patterns in The Digital Age (2025) · cites this paper as Fabio & Iaconis 2024
The Introduction links Instagram addiction to content updates and image curation, and discusses susceptibility to manipulative social-network algorithms. It does not say that Instagram’s design elements were purposefully crafted to exploit cognitive and emotional vulnerabilities. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredFeatures such as infinite scrolling, algorithm-driven content, and push notifications are engineered to trigger the brain's dopaminergic reward system, encouraging continued engagement with Instagram.
“Features such as infinite scrolling, algorithm-driven content, and push notifications are engineered to trigger the brain's dopaminergic reward system, encouraging users to continue engaging with the platform (Yousef et al. 2025;Fabio & Iaconis 2024).”
From The Scrolling Paradox: Analyzing Instagram Addiction Patterns in The Digital Age (2025) · cites this paper as Fabio & Iaconis 2024
The Introduction describes flow during social-network use as intrinsically rewarding and links expected gratification to continued platform use. The Discussion reports an association between flow and extended use of TikTok and Instagram, but explicitly avoids causal claims. Neither section supports the specific assertion that infinite scrolling, algorithm-driven content, or push notifications are engineered to trigger a dopaminergic reward system. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSocial media addiction refers to compulsive and maladaptive behaviors such as frequent checking, content consumption, and engagement on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
“A prominent subtype within this framework is social media addiction, which refers to compulsive and maladaptive behaviors such as frequent checking, content consumption, and engagement on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (Sarialioğlu & Oluç 2024;Fabio & Iaconis 2024;Arslan et al. 2025).”
From The Scrolling Paradox: Analyzing Instagram Addiction Patterns in The Digital Age (2025) · cites this paper as Fabio & Iaconis 2024
The Introduction describes social media addiction as an uncontrollable desire to stay online that can displace other parts of life, and links Instagram addiction to a need for content updates. The Measurement Instruments section includes an item about needing to use Instagram repeatedly. The paper focuses on Instagram and TikTok; it does not substantiate the claim’s examples of Facebook and Twitter. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe identification of Instagram's design elements as primary addiction drivers (36.6% of themes) aligns with Yousef et al. (2025) and Fabio & Iaconis (2024), who emphasized how algorithm-driven content and push notifications trigger dopaminergic reward systems.
“Our identification of Instagram's design elements as primary addiction drivers (36.6% of themes) aligns with Yousef et al. (2025) and Fabio & Iaconis (2024), who emphasized how algorithm-driven content and push notifications trigger dopaminergic reward systems.”
From The Scrolling Paradox: Analyzing Instagram Addiction Patterns in The Digital Age (2025) · cites this paper as Fabio & Iaconis (2024)
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredInstagram's gamification strategies resemble the reward mechanisms seen in gambling, encouraging compulsive use, especially among younger users.
“These behaviors are compounded by Instagram's gamification strategies, which resemble the reward mechanisms seen in gambling, encouraging compulsive use, especially among younger users (Fabio & Iaconis 2024).”
From The Scrolling Paradox: Analyzing Instagram Addiction Patterns in The Digital Age (2025) · cites this paper as Fabio & Iaconis 2024
The Introduction links Instagram addiction to repeated content updates, and the Results report an association between Instagram addiction and rewarding flow experiences. However, the paper does not describe Instagram’s features as gambling-like gamification or show that they encourage compulsive use especially among younger users; its Discussion cautions that the findings are correlational. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
The Scrolling Paradox: Analyzing Instagram Addiction Patterns in The Digital Age
Balcıoğlu, Y. S., Bayraktar, Ü., & Güven, E. (2025) · İmgelem · doi:10.53791/imgelem.1685011 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Fabio, R. A., & Iaconis, S. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Messina (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Fabio, Rosa Angela
- ORCID
- Fabio, Rosa Angela
- Venue
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2024-09-30
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1305
- ISSN
- 1660-4601 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC11507925
- OpenAlex
- W4402996808
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 4
- FWCI
- 10.04
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Digital Media and Philosophy
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Media and Digital Communication
- Keywords
- social network addiction, critical thinking, TikTok, Instagram, uses and gratifications theory, escapism, social interaction, flow experience, sense of belonging, university students, digital well-being, online behavior
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Attitude, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students, Thinking, Behavior, Addictive, Young Adult, Social Networking, Social Media
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