Another way social media negatively affects attention spans is its inherent “multitaskability.” This means that we’re often engaged in social media AND something else – a conversation, a TV show, reckless driving, etc. 9 Cyber-Crack: Social Media & AddictionSocial media can be as physically and psychologically addictive as any substance (such as nicotine) or compulsion (such as gambling). One sickening statistic sums up society’s collective social media addiction: Americans check their phones an average of 160 times per day. Simply put, social media dialogue smothers social issues dialogue, castigating and drowning out dissent. In a 2019 study, only 44% of participants were able to accurately assess whether headlines on social media were true or false.
