How Facebook and Instagram Became as Addictive as Painkillers

Posted December 10, 2018

External Article: CNET

Robert Rosenberger, a professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy, was recently referenced in a CNET article entitled “How Facebook and Instagram Became as Addictive as Painkillers.”

Read an excerpt here: 

When it comes to apps and social media platforms, the habit forms less around what we see, and more around the anticipation of what we could potentially experience when we check our smartphones or open an app.

The motivation element comes when the smartphone vibrates. You might feel a spark of excitement. Did someone like your photo? Do you have a new message or follower?

In fact, we're so fixated on our devices that we feel them buzz or hear them ring when they're not. About 90 percent of smartphone users have experienced Phantom Vibration Syndrome, according to findings from Dr. Robert Rosenberger at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Read the full story here.

The Georgia Tech School of Public Policy is a unit of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.