Is social media addiction real and focus for dummies

Last week a woman in the US successfully sued Meta and Google, arguing their platforms were addictive. She said she was spending up to 16 hours a day online, starting from just six years old. It raises some big questions around the concept of social media addiction. Psychology researchers Deon Tullett-Prado and Sharon Horwood explain what the research says about how social media is changing our brains. Even if you're not technically addicted, ignoring the notifications on your phone and paying attention to your top priority tasks can feel impossible. So what can you do about it? Neuroscientist Lila Landowski shares why she decided to put pen to paper and write the dummies' guide to focus. When it comes to life admin, the more boxes to tick or steps to click through, the less likely you are to complete that boring task. And in some cases companies are embedding "digital friction" or "sludge" to keep us from cancelling that membership or ending the free trial. Consumer behaviour expert Paul Harrison digs into why this has become such a profitable and common model.