People Enter a ‘Dissociative State’ When Using Social Media

hubie writes:

'I don't even remember what I read':

Sometimes when we are reading a good book, it's like we are transported into another world and we stop paying attention to what's around us.

Researchers at the University of Washington wondered if people enter a similar state of dissociation when surfing social media, and if that explains why users might feel out of control after spending so much time on their favorite app.

The team watched how participants interacted with a Twitter-like platform to show that some people are spacing out while they're scrolling. Researchers also designed intervention strategies that social media platforms could use to help people retain more control over their online experiences.

[...] The team designed and built an app called Chirp, which was connected to participants' Twitter accounts. Through Chirp, users' likes and tweets appear on the real social media platform, but researchers can control people's experience, adding new features or quick pop-up surveys.

[...] When internal interventions were activated, participants got a "you're all caught up!" message when they had seen all new tweets. People also had to organize the accounts they followed into lists.

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