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A project helping young people build healthier digital habits through real stories, practical tools, and peer support.

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Co-funded by the European Union.

Project Ref: 2024-2-RO01-KA220-YOU-000279040

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Youth of Europe: Digital Wellness. All resources are open-access under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

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6 questions · About 2 minutes

Social media self-check (BSMAS)

This short self-check looks at your relationship with social media over the past year. It measures six patterns that research links to problematic use. It takes about two minutes, your answers stay on your device, and the result is educational — not a diagnosis.

Before you start

High use is not automatically a problem

Spending a lot of time online does not automatically mean that something is wrong. What matters most is control, purpose and impact. Can you stop when you decide to stop? Are you using social media mainly to connect and learn, or mainly to escape difficult feelings? Is your use interfering with sleep, school, work, offline friendships or emotional balance?

Why social media can become hard to stop

Social media platforms often offer fast and unpredictable rewards: new posts, likes, comments, messages, short videos and notifications. Because the next reward might appear at any moment, the brain can learn to check repeatedly. This does not mean that the user is weak. It means the environment is designed to capture attention, and self-regulation needs practice and support.

Emotions matter

Many people scroll more when they feel bored, lonely, stressed, anxious, rejected or overwhelmed. If social media becomes the main way to regulate emotions, it can create a loop: difficult feeling → scrolling → short relief → guilt, lost time or more stress → more scrolling. Recognising this loop is the first step toward changing it.

The goal is balance, not shame

Digital wellbeing is not about blaming young people or banning technology. It is about building a more intentional relationship with screens: using technology when it serves your values, taking breaks, protecting sleep, choosing offline activities, asking for support and learning how to return to balance after setbacks.

Please read before you begin

This is not a medical or psychological diagnosis. Your result is only an educational screening indication. If social media use is seriously affecting your sleep, school, work, relationships, mental health or safety, consider talking to a trusted adult, youth worker, counsellor, psychologist or healthcare professional.

Safety and legal information

This self-assessment is an educational screening and reflection tool. It does not provide a medical, psychiatric or psychological diagnosis. A high score does not mean that you 'are addicted'; it means that several indicators of problematic social media use may be present and that further reflection or support may be useful.

Crisis note

If you feel unsafe, overwhelmed, hopeless, or have thoughts of self-harm, please contact emergency services, a crisis helpline, a trusted adult or a mental health professional immediately. Do not rely on an online self-assessment in a crisis.

Your privacy: Your answers are used only to calculate your score on this page. Individual responses are not stored by the website. If the website collects any personal data, a separate privacy notice applies.

Attribution: This self-assessment is based on the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), developed by Andreassen, Torsheim, Brunborg and Pallesen. It is provided for educational and self-reflection purposes only and does not offer a diagnosis. The Unplugged project promotes healthy digital habits, resilience and informed support for young people.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Before you start

Think about your experience during the past 12 months. For each statement, choose how often this has happened to you.

  1. Very rarely
  2. Rarely
  3. Sometimes
  4. Often
  5. Very often

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