Or is this just fear mongering?
The reasons we worry about drug addictions all apply to social media addictions. Worse, the social media platforms are (eventually, if not intentionally) structured in a way to exploit human psychology. If social media is: exploitative, addictive, intrusive, can cause physical/mental harm, can influence behavior negatively, and so on... then why shouldn't we talk about it like it's a drug?
I haven't seen my friends thrown out on the street because of social media. But...
...I've had them zone out of a serious conversation to check their social media.
...I've had to call a friend, because they wouldn't stop texting me while driving.
...I've watched friends with social media tear each other apart due to differing political opinions during the last election--although they were polite when in person.
...I've watched a couple sit on a bench facing away from each other, on their phones instead of talking to each other.
In the USA alone, 9 people die and >1,000 people are injured daily due to distracted driving.[1] The NHTSA reports that 3,450 deaths due to distracted driving in 2016 alone, and an estimated 391,000 were injured.[2] How many of these people, predominantly in their teens and early 20s, would be alive today? The government doesn't distinguish between texting and driving, and posting to social media and driving, but I'd love to know how prevalent the 2nd is.
And yet, social media use is still socially acceptable--even when inappropriate to the situation, or addiction/level of use.
[1]: https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/in...
[2]: https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
(Edit: formatting)