SOCIAL media is as addictive as chocs and fags — and just seeing Facebook’s logo makes the worst affected crave a fix.

Just spotting the blue “f” can be enough to set off “spontaneous pleasure cravings”, new research has revealed.

4 Social media is just as addictive as chocolate and nicotine Credit: Getty Images

This makes it almost impossible to resist logging on and can, in turn, can trigger disturbing feelings of guilt.

For frequent Facebook users, just seeing the logo is enough to get them logging in for their fix.

Dr Guido van Koningsbruggen said: “Failures to resist social media temptations may eventually negatively affect well-being.”

4 Credit: Getty Images

The findings, the latest to reveal the depth of social media addiction, come from a study of 200 people shown a series of pictures.

Frequent Facebook users were more positive about the images after seeing the “f” logo. Less regular users were unaffected.

4 Dr Guido van Koningsbruggen said that failing to resist the temptation to go on social media may have a negative affect on well-being

A follow-up experiment gauged participants’ desire to use Facebook.

There was a direct link between the level of craving and the reaction to the logo.

4 A study showed that avid users were more positive about images after seeing the Facebook logo Credit: Getty Images

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The doc, from Amsterdam’s Vrije University, said: “Exposure to social media cues triggers spontaneous pleasure reactions in frequent social media users.”

Cyberpsychology expert Dr Brenda Wiederhold added: “Understanding psychological and physiological reactions to social media cues can help us develop effective treatment.”