The Most Harmful Social Media Platforms in the U.S.
Many forms of media, whether it’s broadcast, gaming, or the most popular – social media – can spark feelings of inadequacy or isolation. Videos, gaming scenes, and social posts depicting drug or alcohol use can normalize risky behavior for vulnerable individuals dealing with addiction, and have a bigger impact than most people think.
Just in the last year, nearly 50 million Americans struggled with some sort of addiction, and many more continue to be at risk. With the number of gamers and social media users continuing to grow, we’ve analyzed factors like the number of sobriety-related mentions, level of drug glamorization, and more, to determine the most harmful social media platforms and video games nationwide, along with the most at-risk states in the U.S. when it comes to addiction.
The Most Harmful Social Platforms for Addiction
While social platforms can be spaces for connection and community, they can also be hubs for harmful content–especially for individuals recovering from or battling addiction, and posts that show drug and alcohol use often get more attention than positive, recovery-focused ones.
Reddit is the #1 most harmful social media platform for addiction and recovery
With only 1,283 sobriety and recovery-related hashtags, Reddit is the #1 most harmful social platform for people struggling with addiction. Reddit is known to be a platform that can be quite toxic, as individuals can make posts, comments, and subreddits all under an anonymous username and with their own community rules. This can be difficult for someone looking to be more vulnerable with their recovery journey, as there might not be as many inviting communities as there are on other social platforms. It’s also a known platform for misinformation, and for individuals seeking help with addiction, this can be extremely dangerous.
X is the #2 most harmful social media platform for addiction and recovery
With 1,660 sobriety and recovery-related hashtags, X is the second most harmful social media platform for addiction and recovery. Since its transition from Twitter, X has been known to be a social media platform of chaos. With more than 600 million active users, the massive amounts of misinformation, hate speech, and lack of inclusivity within the platform makes X nowhere near the best – nor the preferred platform – for an individual struggling with addiction to seek advice or a community for their recovery journey.
BlueSky is the #3 most harmful social media platform for addiction and recovery
Rounding out the top three is the Bluesky with only 3,156 sobriety and recovery-related hashtags. Bluesky officially went public in 2024 and is the smallest platform out of the seven listed, with 40 million registered users. Because of its size, smaller communities are built on the platform, which could be a double-edged sword for addiction and recovery support. The positives of it are that smaller communities on the platform can feel more intimate and welcoming, which is great for someone trying to find a safe space to feel comfortable sharing their recovery journey. The downside is that with a smaller user base and smaller communities, there’s less moderation, so certain content that might be triggering to a recovering addict still may slip through the cracks.
The Most Harmful Video Games for Addiction
With short-form being the most popular style of content shared across social media for engagement, clips from popular gaming titles like Grand Theft Auto and more are resurfacing on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other social platforms — normalizing and even glamorizing drug and alcohol use. This normalization can blind people, especially young people, to the consequences of substance misuse.
Schedule 1 is the #1 most harmful video game for addiction
As one of the most viral video games in 2025, Schedule 1 is the #1 ranked most harmful video game for addiction. The game involves a high level of player participation in drugs and crime as players are tasked to build a drug trafficking operation in a fictional setting, manufacturing marijuana, methamphetamine, and cocaine, while selling it across the city to average citizens.
What’s made the game so viral are the comedic effects when the citizens are handed each product, which involves their change in hair color to their bodies exploding. These scenes have been turned into viral TikTok clips and Instagram reels from users all over the world, making it seem funny and acceptable to participate in drugs and drug trafficking, which can be extremely triggering for one dealing with a substance abuse issue to watch.
Cartel Tycoon is the #2 most harmful video game for addiction
With a score of 94.4, Cartel Tycoon is the #2 most harmful video game for addiction. Released in 2021, the ’80s-inspired cartel simulation involves a high level of drug and crime glamorization, tasking players to build a drug empire through the supply of substances like cannabis, cocaine, and more.
Similar to Schedule 1, Cartel Tycoon makes the thought of illicit drug trade seem fun, but in a more exciting rather than comedic way. The constant pressure to grow a drug ring, defeat rival gangs, and escape authorities creates a high-risk, thrilling feel for players that rewards risk-taking, which can be highly offsetting for individuals dealing with addiction to come across.
Grand Theft Auto V is the #3 most harmful video game for addiction
Rounding out the top three is the classic Grand Theft Auto V as the #3 most harmful video game for addiction. With a score of 94.1, Grand Theft Auto V is very drug and crime-centric, as both online and story mode versions require players to partake in major heists and drug deals for monetary gain, in which scenes in between these heists showcase actions of alcohol and drug abuse. These scenes normally resurface on major social platforms in short-form, exposing these acts to younger audiences and making light of situations that individuals struggling with addiction may find offensive.
So, when you look at these three games from the comedic drug effects resurfaced in viral clips to the grind of building an organized crime organization, it showcases a major issue. These games are exciting to players because they let them live out thrilling fantasies, but the issue lies in social media taking scenes from these games and making them seem normal and funny. It’s an ongoing cycle of content, turning serious issues into comedic clips.
The States Most At Risk for Addiction
Social media can play a major role in hindering someone’s recovery journey, but it’s not the only contributor to someone’s addiction. The environments people live, work, and socialize in can also significantly influence their ability to recover when battling addiction. Every day, millions of people across all 50 states struggle with various addictions, but many more are still at risk.
Vermont is the #1 state most at risk of addiction
Vermont is the #1 state most at risk for addiction. The state is known for its natural view of the outdoors and small town atmosphere, but when it comes to addiction and rehabilitation, its reputation isn’t as green. As the state with the second smallest population in the country, Vermont has the highest percentage of adults misusing substances at about 29%.
Along with more than a quarter of their adult population misusing substances, they are one of the 10 lowest in terms of the number of rehab facilities the state has and harm reduction funding provided, which, in combination with using social platforms like X, could be extremely dangerous for Vermont adults struggling with addiction.
Wyoming is the #2 state most at risk of addiction
Moving out west, Wyoming is the #2 state most at risk for addiction. Wyoming is very mountainous, and many visitors usually rave over its National Parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton. The physical challenge of climbing mountains as an outdoor physical activity can also be therapeutic for individuals, but the state is one of the worst in regard to providing extensive mental health and harm reduction resources.
When it comes to harm reduction, the state receives the lowest amount of federal funding compared to the other states, at only $1.3 million. Wyoming also has one of the highest rates of individuals with mental illness at 27.4%, which isn’t great, especially considering nearly 50% of individuals with mental illness also suffer from a substance abuse issue. Knowing that the state has a low number of mental health and rehabilitation resources compared to other states, it opens the door for Wyoming residents to turn to social media to seek help and support, which can be potentially more harmful for them when battling addiction.
South Dakota is the #3 state most at risk of addiction
South Dakota is the #3 state most at risk of addiction. South Dakota is known to be a great state for individuals who love the outdoors. From its beautiful landscape to historic landmarks, it’s an ideal destination for adventurous people and a great area to enjoy some peace in nature.
However, the downside is that South Dakota is a very rural state with many isolated communities, which means access to mental health and substance use treatment is often scarce, and it shows with 25.95% of the state’s population being diagnosed with a mental illness and around 23% of its adult population struggling with alcohol dependency.
Montana is the #4 state most at risk of addiction
Montana is the #4 state most at risk of addiction. Similar to South Dakota, Montana is well known for its nature, as it is home to both Glacier National Park and parts of Yellowstone National Park. Studies have shown that frequent trips in nature can lower stress and improve your mood, but individuals struggling with addiction need more than just nature as an outlet to steer them on the right path. Montana lacks those necessary outlets and resources compared to other states, as it holds only 140 rehab facilities and received only $1.8 million in harm reduction federal funding, making it one of the top states for individuals to be most at risk of addiction.
Rhode Island is the #5 state most at risk of addiction
Rounding out the top five states most at risk of addiction is Rhode Island. Known as the Ocean State, Rhode Island offers a variety of beaches that people enjoy, as the state holds over 400 miles of coastline. Although the beach can be a great stress reliever, it may not always provide the most ideal environment for those working to overcome addiction. With only 95 rehab facilities statewide, there’s no question as to why Rhode Islanders are among the most at risk for addiction nationwide.
Finding Your Safe Space Outside of the Internet
When your social feed and your games are filled with depictions of substance abuse, the best thing to do is to take a break from the internet and focus on real-world connections. Think about connecting with friends, family, and local resources like support groups or therapists who can understand what you’re going through. Recovery can’t be tackled alone, as it takes a collective to come together and solve problems, so it’s best not to be afraid to reach out and seek the help of professionals at treatment centers like Sana Lake Recovery, who can help you in your recovery journey.
Methodology
We created a list of hashtags and search terms surrounding sobriety and recovery, then used Keyword Tool and a data scraper tool to identify which social media platform (TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook, Reddit, & YouTube) had the least mentions of sobriety and recovery-related hashtags over the past year to determine which social platform is the most harmful when it comes to addiction. In addition to finding out the most harmful social platforms for addiction, we also analyzed 20 popular video games over the past 10 years to determine which could be the most harmful for those struggling with addiction. We ranked each game by looking at the following metrics — centrality of crime/drugs to the storyline, level of crime/drug glamorization, realism, player participation in crime/drugs – giving them a score of 1-10 to determine our ranking. For scoring purposes, we looked at game descriptions, reviews, and game play forums. We also determined the most at-risk states for addiction by analyzing the number of rehab facilities, amount of harm reduction funding, percentage of adults who binge drink, percentage of adults with any mental illness, and substance misuse rates of adults 18+ in each state.
Data accurate as of September 22, 2025.
