New study finds direct connection between social media addicts and their poor decision-making

Taking decisions under the influence of Facebook addiction could be as bad as taking decisions under the influence of drug addiction, a new study suggests. A new study published in the Journal of Behavior Addictions surveyed 71 participants. The study went on to measure their Facebook addiction, just like any other addiction.

Question asked in the survey encouraged users to talk about their level of involvement with Facebook, how do they feel in its absence, its impact on career and education, etc.  Participants were also asked to perform the Iowa Gambling Task, which happens to be a common technique employed by psychologists to determine decision-making.

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To complete the task, users had to perform a gambling task to select the best possible deck. Researchers found out a clear link between social media addicts and their poor decision-making when it comes to gambling. Those who did better in the task were less addicted to Facebook.

The study explains those who are addicted to opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine show similar results on the Iowa gambling task, thereby resulting in an identical deficiency.

"Around one-third of humans on the planet are using social media, and some of these people are displaying maladaptive, excessive use of these sites," said the lead author of the study Dar Meshi, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University in the US. 

"I believe that social media has tremendous benefits for individuals, but there's also a dark side when people can't pull themselves away. We need to better understand this drive so we can determine if excessive social media use should be considered an addiction," Meshi added.