Are you still doom-scrolling? This may be why.
Social media is not designed to satisfy you. It is designed to keep you coming back.
The dopamine response that fires with every "like" is not incidental. It is the product, and it has been deliberately engineered.
Dr Arianna Masotti explains that repeated activation of this reward loop can gradually alter how the brain processes behaviour. What begins as occasional checking can become genuinely compulsive, making it difficult to regulate use even when a person recognises the cost.
The impact goes beyond lost time. Excessive social media use has been linked to reduced concentration, strained relationships, and a general erosion of the mental space needed to be present in daily life.
Awareness is the starting point, not the finish line. Recognising the pattern for what it is, a designed system playing on neurobiology rather than a personal failing, makes the shift towards more considered use possible.
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Dr Arianna Masotti
Clinical Psychologist
Specialisation: Self-Esteem, Anxiety, Relationships, Addiction, Body Image
Regulatory Body: HCPC, BPS
Based in: London, UK
