How does social media use affect attentional bias?

Social media has risen within the past 15 years to become a pervasive influence on the lives of the majority of people in 2020. Previous research in the field has focussed on the potentially addictive nature of high levels of social media use. So far results regarding the cognitive effects of intense social media use have not been conclusive therefore this study attempts to investigate if there is measurable attentional bias for social media related stimuli across a range of social media users. A representative sample of 82 social media users (41 female/39 male, 18-30 years) completed a Stroop task which assessed reaction time for social media related words and neutral words. In addition participants completed a series of established self-report questionnaires to assess social media, smartphone and general technology related behaviours and attitudes. Finally participants were asked to provide iPhone screen time data in relation to their smartphone and social media use. Users who identified as high users of social media were found to have no significant bias for social media related words, similar to low and medium social media users. In addition high social media users who also exhibited high smartphone use showed no significant bias for social media related words. Due to the high exposure to social media across 99% of the targeted demographic it is possible familiarity contributed to the lack of results. Research on social media use and its effects on cognitive processes remain inconclusive, understudied and rarely objective. We propose there must be more urgent focus on understanding the potential cognitive (and social) effects of intense social media use.