Social Media Addiction Test
Do you use it, or does it use you?
Published by the Healthio+ editorial team · Based on Adapted from the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS).
How we build our tests →Think about the past year. Answer how often each statement applies to you. Nothing you enter is saved or linked to you.
This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Results are for self-reflection only. Only a licensed professional can diagnose a condition.
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About the Social Media Addiction Test
Also known as: social media addiction quiz, am I addicted to social media, problematic social media use test, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS).
This is a free social media addiction test. It asks about social media in general rather than one app, so answer it with whichever platform takes most of your time in mind — TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube or anything else.
It is adapted from the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), developed by Andreassen and colleagues. The scale has six items rated from 1 to 5, giving a total between 6 and 30, and it is one of the most widely used and translated measures of problematic social media use.
Each of the six questions maps to one component of Griffiths' components model of addiction: salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict and relapse. That is why the test is short — it is designed to touch each component once rather than ask the same thing repeatedly.
This test is a free, anonymous online screening you can complete in about three minutes. It has 6 questions and is adapted from Adapted from the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). Your answers are scored privately in your browser — nothing is saved or linked to you — and you get an instant result framed for self-reflection rather than as a diagnosis.
Signs and symptoms of Social Media Addiction
Researchers describe problematic social media use through six components. These are what the test asks about:
- Salience — spending a lot of time thinking about social media or planning your next use.
- Tolerance — feeling an urge to use it more and more to get the same effect.
- Mood modification — using it to forget about personal problems or escape difficult feelings.
- Relapse — trying to cut down without success.
- Withdrawal — becoming restless or troubled when you cannot use it.
- Conflict — using it so much that it has harmed your work, study or relationships.
Who is this test for?
Anyone who has been noticing these feelings or patterns and wants a structured, private way to reflect on them. It's a starting point for people wondering whether what they're experiencing is worth paying attention to — not a way to label or diagnose yourself. It is not suitable for anyone in crisis or in need of urgent help — if that's you, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis line right away.
How to read your results
Low (score 6–11)
Your social media use looks balanced. It's a tool in your life, not the other way around.
Moderate (score 12–18)
Your use shows some addictive-leaning patterns. Small friction — notifications off, app timers — often re-balances things.
High (score 19–30)
Your responses suggest a strong problematic-use pattern. When cutting down feels impossible and it's costing you elsewhere, structured breaks — and support if needed — are worth it.
Where this test comes from
This screening is adapted from Adapted from the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). We keep the original questions and validated scoring intact and add plain-language explanations of what each result means. You can read our full process, including how we handle sources and sensitive topics, in how we build our tests.
What to do with your result
Whatever your result, treat it as information, not a verdict. If it resonates, it can be a useful thing to bring to a doctor or mental-health professional — they can see the full picture a short questionnaire can't. Feelings and circumstances change, so retaking the test after a few weeks can also show whether things are shifting over time.
Frequently asked questions
Am I addicted to social media?
No questionnaire can answer that definitively, and this one does not try to. What it can show is whether your use touches the six components researchers associate with problematic use — and how many of them, and how strongly. If several land high and it is affecting your work, sleep or relationships, that is worth taking seriously and worth discussing with a professional.
What are the signs of social media addiction?
The six patterns most used in research are salience (it occupies your thoughts), tolerance (needing more of it), mood modification (using it to escape), relapse (failed attempts to cut down), withdrawal (restlessness without it), and conflict (it damages work, study or relationships). The presence of one occasionally is normal; several, persistently, is the pattern that matters.
Is it a real diagnosis?
Not formally. "Social media addiction" does not appear as a diagnosis in the DSM-5. Researchers study it as a behavioural addiction pattern using validated scales like the BSMAS, and the harms it describes are real — but the label itself is not an official diagnostic category.
What score counts as problematic use?
There is no single agreed threshold. Different studies have proposed different cut-off points on the BSMAS — around 19 in one population, 24 in another, and 26 in another — which is exactly why this page does not present a score as a diagnosis. Use your result as a description of your patterns, not a label.
Does a social media detox work?
Short breaks help most when they change the structure of your use rather than testing willpower. Removing the apps from your phone but keeping browser access, turning off notifications, and deciding in advance what you will do with the freed-up time all tend to outlast a fixed-length detox. If you feel genuinely restless or low within a day or two of stopping, that is worth paying attention to — it is the withdrawal component the scale asks about.
Is the Social Media Addiction Test free?
Yes — completely free. No signup, no email, and no paywall. Healthio+ currently carries no advertising at all.
Is this test anonymous, and is my data saved?
It's fully anonymous. Your answers are scored entirely in your browser and are never sent to us or stored anywhere. We keep only an anonymous count of how many people take each test, plus which browser family was used and which site you arrived from — never who took it or how they answered.
Is this test a diagnosis?
No. This is a screening tool for self-reflection, not a medical or psychological diagnosis. No online test can diagnose you. If your result resonates, consider speaking with a qualified doctor or mental-health professional.
How long does this test take?
About three minutes. It has 6 questions and gives you an instant result the moment you finish.
What is this test based on?
Adapted from the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS).