Published Apr 01, 2026 | 7:10 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 01, 2026 | 7:10 AM
Woman scrolling through phone. (iStock)
Synopsis: A recent study said that modern social media platforms rely on algorithms that track what users watch, like or pause on — and then serve more of the same to keep them engaged. According to psychologists, repeated exposure to similar content through algorithm-driven feeds can gradually influence how adolescents think, behave and form their identities online.
It often begins with a quick check. A teenager opens a social media app while doing homework or before bed. A video plays, then the next appears automatically.
The feed keeps refreshing, drawing the thumb into one more scroll. Before long, the few minutes they planned to spend online stretched into hours.
This endless loop is not accidental. Chapter 3 of the World Happiness Report 2026 says modern social media platforms rely on algorithms that track what users watch, like or pause on — and then serve more of the same to keep them engaged.
“Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube share features such as user-generated content, networking, interactivity and algorithmically curated content,” the report notes.
The scale is striking: The average American teenager spends nearly five hours a day on social media, with some younger teens logging seven hours or more.
The chapter examines what it calls the “product safety question” — whether social media is reasonably safe for children and adolescents.
To answer this, the authors analysed seven lines of evidence, including surveys of teens, observations from parents, teachers and clinicians, internal company documents, and several types of academic studies.
Taken together, the report says these different strands of research point in the same direction.
“Combining all seven lines of evidence reveals consistent and converging evidence that major social media platforms are dangerous consumer products that harm adolescents at a massive scale,” it states.
Every like, pause or share becomes data that trains the algorithm to deliver even more engaging content.
Algorithms can also amplify harmful content. The report says ordinary social media use can expose adolescents to disturbing material, including violent imagery, pornography, cyberbullying and dangerous online challenges.
“Direct harms include exposing them to videos of graphic pornography and real-life violence, facilitating cyberbullying and deepfakes, and promoting dangerous ‘challenges’,” the report notes.
Internal research from Meta — the parent entity of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and others — also raised concerns, finding that one in three teenage girls said using Instagram made their body-image issues worse.
The report also notes how difficult many users find it to disengage from these platforms. In an experiment with college students, some participants said they would actually prefer a world without apps like TikTok and Instagram if most others on their campus stopped using them.
Researchers describe this phenomenon as a kind of “product trap”, where the design of the platform keeps people returning even when they recognise the negative effects.
Adolescence, typically between the ages of 10 and 19, is a period when the brain is highly sensitive to repeated experiences and environmental influences.
The report points out that this stage of life is marked by significant brain development, making young people particularly responsive to patterns of behaviour such as spending hours watching rapid-fire videos.
“Many participants described their use of TikTok as disturbing their sleep, which limited their productivity and performance the following day,” the report says.
For many adolescents, the algorithm keeps the content coming — and the scrolling going longer than planned.
According to psychologists at CHRIST University in Bengaluru, repeated exposure to similar content through algorithm-driven feeds can gradually influence how adolescents think, behave and form their identities online.
Dr Abhilash K, assistant professor and consultant psychologist at the university’s School of Psychological Sciences, said adolescence is a phase of high cognitive sensitivity, when attention, memory and self-identity are still developing.
“Frequently seen content begins to feel more normal and desirable over time,” he told South First. As a result, adolescents may slowly internalise certain lifestyles or values as standard, even if they are not representative of their real-world environment.
From a behavioural perspective, he added that algorithm-driven feeds are particularly engaging because they rely on unpredictable rewards. “When rewards such as likes or novelty appear unpredictably, it encourages repeated scrolling and gradually turns usage into a habit,” he explained.
Dr Abirami VM, a consultant psychologist at Christ University, said the type of content repeatedly shown by algorithms can also influence how teenagers evaluate themselves.
“Adolescents often begin to compare themselves with unrealistic standards they see online,” she told South First. Over time, such comparisons can affect body satisfaction and self-esteem.
She added that in contexts like India, where adolescents also navigate cultural expectations, these global digital ideals may create tension between online aspirations and everyday realities.
Adding to this, Dr Jonah Angeline from Christ University said repeated exposure to similar content can also shape emotional responses. “Continuous comparison and validation-seeking can gradually affect emotional regulation,” she told South First.
When certain themes dominate a teenager’s feed, the lack of diverse perspectives can narrow how they interpret reality. She noted that, over time, this pattern may contribute to anxiety, mood changes and a reduced ability to critically question online content.
Experts warned that, although many adolescents understand how social media algorithms work, chasing engagement can shape how they see themselves.
Dr Mithun Prasad, consultant psychiatrist at SIMS Hospital in Chennai, said the concern lies in the manner in which algorithms interact with the brain’s reward system.
“Human behaviour is strongly linked to the brain’s reward pathways. With social media, the reward — likes, views or engagement — is unpredictable, which makes it more compelling for young users,” he told South First.
Unlike real-world activities, where effort and reward are more consistent, online platforms operate on variable feedback. As a result, adolescents may keep repeating certain behaviours in the hope of receiving the same attention again.
He explained that this can be particularly significant during adolescence, when identity is still developing. “At this stage, young people learn through trial and reward. If online content receives appreciation, they may start narrowing their behaviour to what works on the platform,” he said.
Over time, this could affect how teenagers understand themselves. “The self can slowly become a curated version shaped by online response,” he noted. When validation begins to depend on likes or views, a young person’s sense of self-worth may also become closely tied to how their content performs online.
Dr Prasad added that this cycle can create a behavioural loop where external validation drives behaviour, gradually overshadowing a teenager’s offline identity.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
