Instagram head Adam Mosseri likens social media addiction to being hooked on a Netflix show, says 16 hours of daily use 'problematic' but not...

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri testified Wednesday that he does not think users can be “clinically addicted” to the social media app. The head of Instagram defended his social media platform against claims it caused mental health damage to minors. He was arguing in a California court where he testified that seemingly excessive use of social media does not equal an addiction. Adam Moserri made the comments over a lawsuit that argues Meta and YouTube knowingly engineered their platforms to addict and cause harm to kids.

Adam Moserri was asked whether Instagram chooses profit over the health and safety of minors and whether he himself oversees an app that hooks younger users, reports CNN. Mosseri said that he didn’t think that it was possible to be addicted to Instagram but that “problematic use” was possible, though it varies from person to person. Mosseri compared it to “watching TV for longer than you feel good about.”

“It’s relative,” he said. “Yes, for an individual, there’s a such thing as using Instagram more than you feel good about.”


The lawsuit was filed by a 20-year-old woman, identified by the initials KGM, who alleged that the company intentionally developed addictive features to hook young users, which she claims harmed her mental health.

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Instagram chief on social media addiction

Adam Mosseri said that there can be problematic usage of social media, but he disagreed that it constitutes an addiction. “I’m sure I said this, but I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” said Mosseri, who noted several times that he is not a medical professional. Mosseri said that the term addiction is often used casually, noting that while he may have once said he was addicted to a Netflix show, it did not imply a clinical addiction.

"It's important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use," he added. "I'm sure I've said that I've been addicted to a Netflix show when I binged it really late one night, but I don't think it's the same thing as clinical addiction."

Who is Adam Mosseri?

Adam Mosseri became head of Instagram in 2018 after joining the company then known as Facebook in 2008. Mosseri testified in the landmark trial that began this week in Los Angeles, making him the first high-profile executive to appear.

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Adam Mosseri is the Head of Instagram, where he oversees all functions of the app including engineering, product and operations. Adam has been at Meta, formerly Facebook, for more than 11 years. He was the company's Design Director for Mobile Apps and then moved into product management where he led the News Feed product and engineering teams for many years.

Prior to Meta, Adam worked at TokBox as the company's first designer. He began his career founding a design consultancy in 2003 with offices in New York and San Francisco that focused on graphic, interaction and exhibition design. Adam holds a BA from the Gallatin School of Interdisciplinary Study at NYU where he studied information design and media. Born and raised in New York, he now lives in San Francisco with his wife and three sons.