Boosts productivity.
Schwartz ’19 [Elaine; At the Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, she has been honored through an Endowed Chair in Economics and the History Department chairmanship; 1-16-2019; "The Hidden Cost of Social Media That the Economy Pays"; Econlife; https://econlife.com/2019/01/social-media-hidden-cost/; Accessed 7-25-2024] KL
All in all, roughly 13% of total productivity is said to be lost because of social media overuse (or addiction). Imagine all of the new music that could be created, businesses expanded, customer needs better met, if this percentage were lower.
This takes us to the economic idea of market failure, which is a situation in which externalities are not reflected in the equilibrium price. Smoking was the troubling market failure of the previous generation. Though the price of cigarettes was low, the social health costs were high.
In the case of social media, the market has failed to allocate the right amount of time for users to spend online. By not allowing productivity to reach its full potential, social media companies are working against the goals and well-being of society.
More specifically, the economy pays a hidden cost.