Social Media Addiction Test — Free 10-Question Self-Check
- Free
- 10 questions
- No sign-up
- Instant result
A free 10-question self-check of how Instagram, YouTube and TikTok habits affect you. It takes about 3 minutes and scores three areas — control over use, comparison-driven mood shifts and intrusion into daily life — with interpretation and change over time when you retake it.
What's included
- Questions
- 10 items
- Price
- Free
- Areas measured
- Difficulty Controlling Usage · Comparison and Mood Changes · Notification Compulsion and Daily Intrusion
What the Social Media Overdependence Check looks at
This check uses 10 statements to look at what happens to you while you use social media such as Instagram, YouTube or TikTok. Thinking about the past 2 weeks, you pick how often each one applied to you, from "Not at all" (0 points) to "Almost always" (3 points). It is not about your total phone time or about gaming; it focuses on the experience specific to social media: scrolling a feed and measuring your own life against other people's.
The statements fall into three areas, and you get a separate score for each rather than one total. Difficulty controlling use (4 items, 0–12 points) covers whether you can stop after the amount you planned and how restless you feel when you can't check. Comparison and mood changes (3 items, 0–9) covers how much other people's posts, likes and comments move your mood. Notification compulsion and daily intrusion (3 items, 0–9) covers how often the urge to check breaks into studying, conversations and sleep.
Read the shape of your three scores
Each area is read in four levels: the lowest means you look when you want and stop without much effort, and the highest means that area is putting real weight on your mood or your day. The most useful information is which of the three scores stands out. A high control score points toward outside limits such as screen-time reminders or app-free hours; a high comparison score points toward tidying up which accounts you follow; a high intrusion score points toward your notification settings and bedtime habits.
Scores shift with what your last 2 weeks were like. An exam period when you unwound by scrolling, school holidays or a vacation with lots of free time, a falling-out with a friend or a breakup, or many late nights on your phone in bed can all push scores above your usual level. So rather than letting one result define you, read it together with what was going on in your life at the time.
Where the items come from, and retaking
Soundary wrote these items itself, drawing on ideas studied in social media overuse research such as the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) by Andreassen et al. (2016): loss of control, mood changes and conflict with daily life. It is not an official version of the BSMAS, and it is a self-check, not a medical diagnosis. If you save your result, you can retake the check after turning off notifications or setting app-free hours and compare each area with your previous result.
For a class, a teacher can create a group link and share it. Students take the check without signing in, each person sees only their own scores, and the group sees only an anonymous distribution. Setting a follow-up test 2, 4 or 12 weeks later makes it easy to compare before and after a lesson on digital habits. If cutting back on your own keeps not working and low moods keep coming back, talk to a school counselor or a mental health professional.
How scores are interpreted
Difficulty Controlling Usage
This examines how well you can stop after a set amount of time and how you feel when you cannot check social media.
0–3pts · Comfortable Control
You tend to look when you want to and stop without difficulty when you want to quit. Please maintain your current balance.
4–6pts · Occasional Disruption
You occasionally have days where you look longer than expected. It helps to decide how many minutes you will look before opening the app.
7–9pts · Frequent Difficulty Controlling
It seems you often keep looking even when you try to stop. We recommend turning on screen time alerts or setting specific times of the day when you don't open social media at all.
10–12pts · Severe Difficulty Controlling
It appears quite difficult for you to stop on your own, and you experience significant discomfort when you cannot check it. Rather than struggling alone, we recommend reviewing your usage habits with a psychiatrist or a counseling professional.
Comparison and Mood Changes
This examines how much other people's posts or reactions (likes, comments) affect your mood and self-esteem.
0–2pts · Minimal Fluctuation
You tend to leave others' daily lives as their own stories and keep your own mood centered.
3–4pts · Occasional Emotional Shift
There are moments when your mood drops due to comparison. On those days, close the app for a while and write down one thing you accomplished today.
5–6pts · Significant Impact of Comparison
It seems your mood is frequently swayed by others' appearances and reactions. It can be helpful to temporarily mute accounts that trigger severe comparison or clean up your following list.
7–9pts · Severe Burden on Mood
If you feel low about yourself and your mood stays down for a long time whenever you look at social media, it could be a signal from your mind. If feelings of depression persist for more than 2 weeks, we recommend consulting a professional.
Notification Compulsion and Daily Intrusion
This examines how often the urge to check interrupts the flow of your daily life, such as studying, working, conversing, or sleeping.
0–2pts · Well-Separated from Daily Life
You look when necessary, and it rarely interferes with your tasks or sleep.
3–4pts · Mild Intrusion
You occasionally reach for it while concentrating. Keeping notifications on silent or keeping your phone out of sight will help maintain your flow much better.
5–6pts · Frequent Interruption
It seems your checking habit frequently intrudes on your work and sleep. Start by keeping your phone away from your bed 30 minutes before going to sleep.
7–9pts · Severe Daily Burden
It appears your concentration and sleep are noticeably being disrupted. Since a lack of sleep affects your mood and focus again, we recommend reviewing your daily rhythm with a professional.
Sample questions
- 1. I spent much more time looking at social media than I had planned.
- 2. I kept scrolling through my feed even though I thought I should stop.
- 3. I made up my mind to reduce my usage time, but I couldn't stick to it.
- 4. I felt restless or frustrated when I was in a situation where I couldn't check social media.
Thinking about yourself over the past 2 weeks, please select how often you experienced each item. Rather than thinking too long, just answer with your first instinct. There are no right or wrong answers, and the more honest you are, the better you can understand your current self. It takes about 3 minutes to complete the 10 items.
FAQ
How do I interpret my social media test score?
Each item scores 0-3, and results come per area rather than as one total. Difficulty controlling use has 4 items (0-12 points) read in 4 bands of 0-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12; comparison and mood shifts, and notification urges intruding on daily life, each have 3 items (0-9 points) read in 4 bands of 0-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-9. Which area stands out matters more than the overall amount, and the score is a reference gauge of habits, not a diagnosis.
When should I consider professional help?
Consider talking to a mental health professional if you keep failing to stop despite trying and feel notably distressed when you cannot check, if comparison-driven low mood lasts more than 2 weeks, or if checking habits repeatedly disrupt sleep, study or work. This applies especially when attempts like screen-time alerts or app-free hours have not changed things. Seeking help is not a lack of willpower — it is a practical way to review the habit together.
How is this different from smartphone or gaming addiction tests?
This test focuses not on overall smartphone use or gaming, but on experiences specific to social media — consuming feeds and measuring yourself against other people's lives. How likes and comments affect mood and self-esteem, and how the urge to check notifications intrudes on daily life, are patterns that stand out on social media. If gaming is your concern, a separate gaming self-check covers that.
How often should I retake this test?
The items ask about the past 2 weeks, so every 2 weeks is the natural interval. If you have tried a change such as muting notifications or setting app-free hours, retaking after 2-4 weeks shows the effect clearly. Saving results lets you compare which of the three areas improved and which stayed the same. Testing daily mostly reflects that day's mood and makes the trend harder to read.
Source
The items in this test are a self-check adaptation based on the original instrument and literature below: These items were written by Soundary with reference to the concepts of impaired control, mood modification and daily-life conflict studied in social media overuse research such as the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) of Andreassen, C. S. et al. (2016). This is not an official edition of the BSMAS or any standardized instrument; it is a screening tool for reference only.
Related tests
This is a self-screening tool, not a medical diagnosis. If the result concerns you, please consult a mental health professional.