Combating Social Media Addiction Among Adolescents

Social media enables networking and information-sharing. However, overuse of social media in adolescents may contribute to mental health issues and interfere with daily occupations related to school, leisure, and social relationships. OTPs provide interventions for adults with substance abuse disorder but have not addressed interventions for social media addiction, despite the increasing use. The purpose of this study was to pilot an 8-wk program in a high school boarding school to reduce social media addiction behaviors using education and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques. The study was descriptive with an inclusion criterion of students enrolled in the school and having a social media account. The intervention involved a) participation in eight modules on social media addiction embedded in a health class and b) attending a weekly 1-hr CBT support group. Participants completed the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), a 20 question, 5 pt Likert scale on the behaviors associated with social media addiction as the pre/post-test. Seven students completed the IAT, with five students participating in the 8-week intervention. Results indicated that students who completed interventions showed a mean decline of 17% in symptoms as compared to no change in students who did not participate. The greatest changes in symptoms were decreases in unhealthy coping (22%), unintentional use (14%), and improved sleep (12%). The findings suggest that an education and CBT-focused support group can be effectively utilized in this setting to increase adolescents’ awareness of social media’s risks and offer participants means to reduce the behaviors by introducing positive occupations such as exercise and meditation. This study may impact practice by presenting an OT framework that enables adolescents to modify their attitudes and actions surrounding social media, thereby lessening the detrimental effects of addiction. This study can be a foundation to combat this growing epidemic.

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