You're the reason your friends are hooked.

There are several reasons I no longer use social media [1].

1. I don’t view it as a particularly good use of time. I felt this way long before the introduction of short-form video on most major platforms; since then, this feels obvious. As for what does constitute a good use of time — to me, that's something you remember. By that measure, a good book qualifies as much as an episode of Selling Sunset. Scrolling on social media does not, even as a guilty pleasure.
2. Social media encourages passive relationships. If I wondered how an old friend was doing, I could scroll through their profile and feel caught up without ever reaching out. I maintained countless “relationships” through low-effort interactions such as likes and shares that sold the illusion of staying in touch. Leaving social media forced me to actually reach out to distant friends. The result was a net positive for my social life, not the net negative I was warned it would be.
3. When you scroll, you’re not just taking a hit. You’re helping with production.

This last point is what makes social media different from other modern vices. It isn’t like junk food or cigarettes: you’re on the supply side, too.

Your likes, views, and idle scrolling are gathered, concentrated, and served back to others in a more addictive form.

Since platforms feed most aggressively on social proximity, your engagement doesn’t only land on strangers; it lands on your friends. Their feeds are refined using your behavior. You are, in part, the reason your friends are hooked.

So, if you need one more reason to quit social media next year, consider refusing to stock the shelves.

[1] Among these reasons is not that I am old or antisocial. I am a 22-year-old woman with an active social life. I go out. I date. Please do not picture me as an opinionated groundhog.