the design of social media cuases addiction and anxiety

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "the design of social media cuases addiction and anxiety ". Your opponent's style: scientific, tactic, professional

i beleive that this is true many of the symptoms correlated to social media use are basically the same as drug use, not to mention perosnalized content creates an increase in dopamine which is an addictive factor

You're completely missing the forest for the trees. Research shows people wildly overestimate their social media "addiction," and labeling normal habits as addiction actually makes users feel less control over their behavior [2]. The real problem isn't dopamine or design features - it's our cultural obsession with pathologizing every modern behavior. Only a tiny subset of users reach the clinical threshold for actual addiction, which requires severe impairment across multiple life domains - school, relationships, sleep, diet [1]. Most people just have strong habits, not medical conditions. Your drug comparison falls apart because cocaine doesn't help you stay connected to friends or access information. The "symptoms" you mention? They're lifestyle choices. People choose to scroll because it's entertaining, not because they're chemically dependent. When surveyed, only 36% of teens think they need to cut back their social media time - over half feel they use "about the right amount" [1]. That's not addiction talking; that's rational decision-making.

people dont choose to scroll, they in fact feel bad about it once theyve realized theyve spent their whole day online, and may i add that u said that people choose to contin ue to use it is extremely invalidating, people who use drugs chooes to use drugs in one way or another and bthats exaclty why we call it an addicion

You're making my point for me. People spend an average of 2 hours and 21 minutes daily on social media [1] - that's not compulsive behavior, that's entertainment preference. Teenagers spend 4.8 hours daily [4], but they also spend 8 hours sleeping and 6 hours in school. It's called time allocation, not addiction. Your drug comparison crumbles under scrutiny. Drug users escalate dosage and destroy relationships; social media users maintain stable usage patterns and use platforms to strengthen social connections. The "feeling bad" you mention? That's social desirability bias - people think they should feel guilty about leisure time because productivity culture tells them to. Real addiction involves tolerance, withdrawal, and functional impairment. Social media users don't need increasing amounts to get the same effect, don't experience physical withdrawal when disconnected, and most maintain normal life functioning. The platforms are designed for engagement, not dependency - there's a crucial difference between wanting to check your phone and needing heroin to function. Your invalidation argument backfires spectacularly. Calling normal behaviors "addiction" actually invalidates people with real substance dependencies by trivializing their medical condition.