{"id":16270,"date":"2023-08-09T15:05:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T22:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=16270"},"modified":"2023-08-16T10:58:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T17:58:13","slug":"social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/","title":{"rendered":"Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                                    \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  role=\"none\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  USC Dornsife researchers compared the motivations behind habitual and nonhabitual social media users\u2019 behavior. (Image Source: Pixabay\/Mohamed Hassan.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=health\">Health<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A USC Dornsife study revealed that frequent and infrequent users of social media respond differently to social rewards. Altering a platform\u2019s structure may curb negative habits.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Ileana Wachtel<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">August 9, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 1.6884158 4.03502747 1.6884158 1.44087681 0 2.80427251-.5423678 3.86936601-1.5289606l.1656615-.1594552 2.2321428-2.2321428-1.6311813-1.6311813-2.2321429 2.26076c-.6581959.658196-1.5167124 1.0016026-2.43246332 1.0016026s-1.7742674-.3434066-2.43246337-1.0016026c-.65819597-.6581959-1.00160257-1.5167124-1.00160257-2.4324633 0-.8547009.2991453-1.6595442.87416905-2.2981957l.12743352-.1342677 2.23214286-2.2321429zm6.88661855-.40736607-5.26116068 5.26116075 1.61881868 1.6188186 5.2611607-5.2611607zm1.3837569-5.54501488c-1.4408768 0-2.8042725.54236779-3.869366 1.52896062l-.1656615.15945513-2.23214282 2.23214286 1.63118132 1.63118132 2.2321429-2.23214286c.6581959-.65819597 1.5167124-1.00160256 2.4324633-1.00160256s1.7742674.34340659 2.4324634 1.00160256 1.0016026 1.51671246 1.0016026 2.43246337c0 .85470089-.2991453 1.65954419-.8741691 2.29819559l-.1274335.1342678-2.2321429 2.2321428 1.5739469 1.5739469 2.2321429-2.2321428c1.0874542-1.058837 1.6884157-2.5183151 1.6884157-4.03502751 0-1.51671245-.6009615-2.94757326-1.6884157-4.03502747-1.058837-1.08745421-2.518315-1.68841575-4.0350275-1.68841575z\" transform=\"translate(-3 -3)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Copy Link<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Facebook\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_facebook\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m23.9512 6h-16.9024c-.57923625 0-1.0488.46956375-1.0488 1.0488v16.9024c0 .5792362.46956375 1.0488 1.0488 1.0488h9.10024v-7.34768h-2.46772v-2.87584h2.46772v-2.11508c0-2.45404 1.49872-3.79012 3.68828-3.79012.7389668-.00263323 1.4775241.03516995 2.21236.11324v2.56348h-1.51392c-1.18788 0-1.4174.56544-1.4174 1.39612v1.8316h2.84772l-.37088 2.87584h-2.47684v7.34844h4.83284c.5792362 0 1.0488-.4695638 1.0488-1.0488v-16.9024c0-.57923625-.4695638-1.0488-1.0488-1.0488z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Facebook<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"X\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_twitter\">\n              <svg version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\"\n\t y=\"0px\" viewBox=\"0 0 30 30\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 30 30\" xml:space=\"preserve\" width=\"19\" height=\"19\">\n<path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M14.5,16.2l-0.8-1.1l-6.3-9h2.7l5.1,7.3l0.8,1.1\n\tl6.6,9.4h-2.7L14.5,16.2L14.5,16.2z M16.9,13.4l7.4-8.7h-1.8l-6.5,7.5L11,4.8H5l7.8,11.4L5,25.2h1.8l6.8-7.9l5.5,7.9h6L16.9,13.4\n\tL16.9,13.4z\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">X<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#linkedin\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Linkedin\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_linkedin\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m25 21.4220779c0 1.974026-1.6038961 3.5779221-3.5779221 3.5779221h-11.84415582c-1.97402598 0-3.57792208-1.6038961-3.57792208-3.5779221v-11.84415582c0-1.97402598 1.6038961-3.57792208 3.57792208-3.57792208h11.84415582c1.974026 0 3.5779221 1.6038961 3.5779221 3.57792208zm-14.5584416-12.21428569c-.98701295 0-1.60389606.61688311-1.60389606 1.48051949-.12337663.8636364.49350649 1.4805195 1.48051946 1.4805195.987013 0 1.6038961-.6168831 1.6038961-1.4805195 0-.86363638-.6168831-1.48051949-1.4805195-1.48051949zm1.3571429 12.70779219v-8.6363636h-2.83766234v8.6363636zm10.2402597 0v-4.9350649c0-2.5909091-1.3571428-3.8246753-3.3311688-3.8246753-1.4805195 0-2.0974026.8636363-2.4675325 1.4805194v-1.2337662h-2.8376623v8.6363636h2.8376623v-4.9350649c0-.2467532 0-.4935065.1233767-.7402597.1233766-.4935065.6168831-.987013 1.4805194-.987013.987013 0 1.4805195.7402597 1.4805195 1.974026v4.564935z\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_bluesky\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#bluesky\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Bluesky\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_bluesky\">\n              <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\">\n                <path fill=\"#00000\" d=\"M12 10.8c-1.087-2.114-4.046-6.053-6.798-7.995C2.566.944 1.561 1.266.902 1.565C.139 1.908 0 3.08 0 3.768c0 .69.378 5.65.624 6.479c.815 2.736 3.713 3.66 6.383 3.364c.136-.02.275-.039.415-.056c-.138.022-.276.04-.415.056c-3.912.58-7.387 2.005-2.83 7.078c5.013 5.19 6.87-1.113 7.823-4.308c.953 3.195 2.05 9.271 7.733 4.308c4.267-4.308 1.172-6.498-2.74-7.078a8.741 8.741 0 0 1-.415-.056c.14.017.279.036.415.056c2.67.297 5.568-.628 6.383-3.364c.246-.828.624-5.79.624-6.478c0-.69-.139-1.861-.902-2.206c-.659-.298-1.664-.62-4.3 1.24C16.046 4.748 13.087 8.687 12 10.8\"  fill-rule=\"evenodd\" \/>\n              <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Bluesky<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_email\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#email\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"E-mail\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_print\">\n              <svg height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 18 12\" width=\"18\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-highlights \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-highlights\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Key points:\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n      <ul>\n              <li><p>A new study by USC Dornsife scholars confirms that the more people engage in social media activities, the more automatic and routine their posting activity becomes. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>After a time, habitual or frequent users become desensitized to positive feedback, such as likes and comments, from other users.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>Simply telling habitual users not to share certain content or using motivational interventions won&#8217;t be as effective as it is for nonhabitual users.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>The USC researchers argue that changing the structure of social media platforms could address issues like misinformation, hate speech and mental health among habitual users.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n  <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>People join social media to enhance their social lives, make new friends and build an online identity while expressing themselves. However, as they delve deeper into these digital realms, their behavior changes.<\/p>\n<p>Engaging in likes, shares, posts and retweets becomes habitual, eclipsing the original motivations that initially drew them to the platform. What was once a conscious choice transforms into automatic, almost impulsive action.<\/p>\n<p>Those are the findings of a new study by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n<p>Despite public health experts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/about\/news\/2023\/05\/23\/surgeon-general-issues-new-advisory-about-effects-social-media-use-has-youth-mental-health.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">raising concerns<\/a> about the negative impact on mental health and overall well-being, particularly among young users, a significant majority of Americans \u2014 70%, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/internet\/2021\/04\/07\/social-media-use-in-2021\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to Pew Research<\/a> \u2014 still find themselves drawn to their apps daily, some even hourly.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/\">Psychology<\/a> researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/wendy-wood\/\">Wendy Wood<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/profile\/ian-anderson\/\">Ian Anderson<\/a> at USC Dornsife compared posting rates of frequent, habitual users with those of infrequent, nonhabitual users. They wanted to know if those groups\u2019 rates varied in response to the reactions and comments they received from others. The <a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/record\/2023-66902-001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research<\/a> was published online earlier this year in <em>Motivation Science<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Building on <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usc.edu\/204782\/usc-study-reveals-the-key-reason-why-fake-news-spreads-on-social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">previous work<\/a>, the researchers conducted three consecutive studies focused on Instagram and Facebook posting behavior. They found evidence that users develop posting habits that differ based on how frequently they use the two apps.<\/p>\n<p>The studies highlighted how a daily habit of posting can become insidious over time \u2014 shifting from posting with a goal in mind to posting automatically with little thought. And this behavior can lead to a never-ending urge to share content on these platforms.<\/p>\n<p>Using metrics from Facebook and comparing habitual users with infrequent or new users, the researchers investigated whether social rewards motivate the two types of users in the same way.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson said he and Wood also looked at whether automatic, habitual, repeated posting on Facebook or Instagram happens when social motivation is limited or absent. \u201cIn other words, do these frequent users just post no matter if they are receiving likes or comments from their posting? Or are they posting just out of sheer habit?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<h2>Social rewards only work for some<\/h2>\n<p>The researchers found that likes, comments and shares had less impact on frequent habitual users\u2019 motivation to post than on infrequent users and new users.<\/p>\n<p>In a preliminary study using Instagram user data gathered from a study conducted by Emilio Ferrara of the <a href=\"https:\/\/viterbischool.usc.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Viterbi School of Engineering<\/a>, Woods and Anderson found, as expected, that social rewards in the form of likes indeed did motivate users to engage more frequently and faster. The more likes a user received, the more frequently they posted. Fewer likes resulted in a slower posting rate.<\/p>\n<p>However, digging a little deeper, the researchers made an intriguing discovery: Social rewards such as likes increased engagement primarily among new or infrequent users. In contrast, frequent users continued posting at their usual rate regardless of the reactions they received from others.<\/p>\n<p>Woods and Anderson conducted a second study to test this theory further, examining more than 1,900 Facebook posts.<\/p>\n<p>They found that positive reactions motivated increased and faster engagement only among infrequent and new users but not among frequent users. Replicating the results from Instagram<em>,<\/em> habitual Facebook users continued to post quickly regardless of whether they received positive or negative recognition.<\/p>\n<h2>Habitual users don\u2019t care what you think<\/h2>\n<p>The findings confirmed what Woods and Anderson suspected: With enough repetition, users form habits or mental associations tied to specific contextual cues. Context cues include factors such as the location or time when they use the app or receive notifications. For example, a user who frequently uses the app while lying in bed, sitting on the couch or at a particular time of day will start associating using the app with those specific situations. Once these habits are formed, users respond quickly and automatically whenever they encounter these context cues, with minimal deliberation.<\/p>\n<p>In this second study, the researchers also surveyed the participants and found that for those with really strong habits, even though they said they cared about the social rewards and reactions from other people, their behavior told a different story. These users post at roughly the same rate, no matter how many likes they get. This can have adverse consequences, Anderson said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re not just ignoring the likes, they\u2019re also ignoring the consequences of posting, which is how misinformation starts to spread,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The study indicates that motivational interventions won\u2019t impact habitual and nonhabitual users in the same way. Simply telling people not to share certain types of content that could be harmful, dangerous or false will not be effective for habitual users, even if it works for nonhabitual users.<\/p>\n<h2>Structural site changes may work<\/h2>\n<p>To further test the hypothesis that frequent habitual users are not motivated by positive feedback or warnings about not posting harmful or misinformation, the researchers examined whether a structural change in a social media platform would alter the posting rates of such users.<\/p>\n<p>In 2007, Facebook changed its platform design to increase engagement, launching a status update bar and placing content from a user\u2019s friends at the forefront of their news feed.<\/p>\n<p>The change initially slowed down highly frequent posters\u2019 automatic responses. But, for infrequent users, the structural change did what it intended to do: increase engagement with others and speed up their posting rate after receiving positive reactions.<\/p>\n<p>The study demonstrated that the design of social platforms could have an impact for the better on the posting rates of habitual posters by slowing them down for a moment.<\/p>\n<p>However, over time, these users regained their posting speed, suggesting that they re-trained their habitual posting behavior to fit the platform\u2019s new design.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson concluded that if social media companies are serious about addressing issues such as misinformation, hate speech and adolescent mental health, they must also change their platforms\u2019 structure to impact habitual users.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInterventions that work for one type of user just don\u2019t work for the other. There will have to be something really disruptive structurally on these social media sites to change the behavior of habitual users,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>He said that if Facebook and Instagram wanted to move behavior in another direction, they would have had to change the structures to make users post accurate content. That has not happened to the degree necessary to break frequent users\u2019 bad habits.<\/p>\n<h2>About the study<\/h2>\n<p>This study was funded by grants from the USC Department of Psychology.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Featured USC Dornsife researchers:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/wendy-wood\/\">Wendy Wood<\/a>, Professor Emerita of Psychology<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/profile\/ian-anderson\/\">Ian Anderson<\/a>, PhD candidate, Psychology<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related News:\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/dad-brain-is-real-its-reshaping-our-understanding-of-fatherhood\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >\u2018Dad brain\u2019 is real. It\u2019s reshaping our understanding of fatherhood<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/ai-may-promote-cultural-homogenization\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >AI is changing more than your writing \u2014 it may be shaping your worldview<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/ai-may-be-making-us-think-and-write-more-alike\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >AI may be making us think and write more alike<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USC Dornsife psychology researchers find that frequent and infrequent users of social media respond differently to likes, comments and other social rewards \u2014 and changing a platform\u2019s structure may curb negative habits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":16271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,16,24],"tags":[96,1907,112,60,328],"class_list":["post-16270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-science-and-technology","category-social-impact","tag-natural-sciences","tag-psyc","tag-psychology","tag-research","tag-social-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Habitual and nonhabitual social media users respond differently to likes, shares and comments.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Habitual social media users post real and fake news mindlessly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Habitual and nonhabitual social media users respond differently to likes, shares and comments.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-09T22:05:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-16T17:58:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Liu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Liu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d03084ed5319ed7575c96017879a7447\"},\"headline\":\"Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-09T22:05:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-16T17:58:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/\"},\"wordCount\":10,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"natural sciences\",\"psyc\",\"psychology\",\"research\",\"social media\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"Science and Technology\",\"Social Impact\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/\",\"name\":\"Habitual social media users post real and fake news mindlessly\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-09T22:05:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-16T17:58:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"Habitual and nonhabitual social media users respond differently to likes, shares and comments.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1150},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"USC Dornsife News\",\"description\":\"USC Dornsife news and events\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"USC Dornsife News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":330,\"caption\":\"USC Dornsife News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/uscdornsife\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uscdornsife\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/USCCollege\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/uscdornsife\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d03084ed5319ed7575c96017879a7447\",\"name\":\"Michael Liu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16962c8d3900280cb2e47f931ab45f9c2432ea07c167e9c00a6c2f8a0ec3d61f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16962c8d3900280cb2e47f931ab45f9c2432ea07c167e9c00a6c2f8a0ec3d61f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Liu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/author\/liumk\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly","description":"Habitual and nonhabitual social media users respond differently to likes, shares and comments.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Habitual social media users post real and fake news mindlessly","og_description":"Habitual and nonhabitual social media users respond differently to likes, shares and comments.","og_url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/","og_site_name":"USC Dornsife News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife","article_published_time":"2023-08-09T22:05:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-16T17:58:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1150,"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Liu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@uscdornsife","twitter_site":"@uscdornsife","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Liu","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d03084ed5319ed7575c96017879a7447"},"headline":"Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly","datePublished":"2023-08-09T22:05:45+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-16T17:58:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/"},"wordCount":10,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg","keywords":["natural sciences","psyc","psychology","research","social media"],"articleSection":["Health","Science and Technology","Social Impact"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/","name":"Habitual social media users post real and fake news mindlessly","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg","datePublished":"2023-08-09T22:05:45+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-16T17:58:13+00:00","description":"Habitual and nonhabitual social media users respond differently to likes, shares and comments.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/08\/Anderson_SocialMediaStudy_Top.jpg","width":2000,"height":1150},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/social-media-addiction-share-mindlessly\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Social media\u2019s addictive loop compels users to share mindlessly"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/","name":"USC Dornsife News","description":"USC Dornsife news and events","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#organization","name":"USC Dornsife News","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/01\/USC-Dornsife-Cardinal-Black-on-White-RGB.jpg","width":1000,"height":330,"caption":"USC Dornsife News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife","https:\/\/x.com\/uscdornsife","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uscdornsife\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/USCCollege","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/school\/uscdornsife"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d03084ed5319ed7575c96017879a7447","name":"Michael Liu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16962c8d3900280cb2e47f931ab45f9c2432ea07c167e9c00a6c2f8a0ec3d61f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16962c8d3900280cb2e47f931ab45f9c2432ea07c167e9c00a6c2f8a0ec3d61f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael Liu"},"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/author\/liumk\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16270"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16357,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16270\/revisions\/16357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}