In recent years, several research trends have emerged in the field of the psychological and social effects of social media addiction, focusing on highlighting the negative aspects of these platforms. This research direction faces two key challenges: the first relates to the types of activities that may constitute addiction for social media users; the second concerns the underlying causes of social media addiction. These studies are based on the assumption that social media platforms allow individuals to fulfill psychological needs that are unmet in real life, such as obtaining social support, feeling a sense of belonging to a group, and disclosing hidden aspects of the self (Bakhit, 2015, p. 7). Researchers adopting this perspective argue that diminished psychological well-being is one of the primary factors driving individuals toward social media addiction. Therefore, they attempt to link personality traits and psychological variables to social media addiction, considering addiction a dependent variable influenced by personality traits and the decline in psychological well-being resulting from socialization experiences and life pressures (Burwell et al., 2018, p. 142). Conversely, there is another research stream that views addiction as having an impact on psychological and social aspects, treating addiction as an independent variable with various effects at the psychological and social levels. Among the most prominent psychological effects of social media addiction are lower levels of happiness, experiences of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and fear of losing friends due to disconnection from social media. It also includes the disintegration of romantic relationships, as well as negative emotions arising from constant social comparison triggered by viewing certain images or situations that intensify internal conflict and have a negative impact. Privacy violations are also among the negative outcomes (Xue et al., 2018, p. 279). As for the most notable negative social effects, they include the deterioration of academic and professional performance, increased social isolation, lack of trust in relationships, and absence of social attachment. Social media addiction has weakened social bonds within families, among friends, and among coworkers or classmates. It has led to the emergence of a society characterized by a rupture with cultural traditions, negatively affecting youth relationships with their families and causing complaints about family visits. Family communication has lost many of its social meanings, as traditional gatherings during holidays and occasions have been replaced with posts on personal social media pages (Turel, Brevers & Bechara, 2018, p. 85; Burwell et al., 2018, p. 142). This growing interest and the emergence of these trends have led a number of researchers to conduct studies evaluating the state of research in this field. Their goal is to identify the dominant research and theoretical trends, assess their findings, reveal existing weaknesses, and propose new directions for future research. Relying on qualitative analysis and second-level analysis of an available sample of scientific output published in peer-reviewed international journals focusing on social media addiction, the present case study aims to trace the development of cognitive, theoretical, and methodological frameworks in research on social media addiction. The aim is to understand the dimensions related to the psychological and social effects of this phenomenon and to provide a preliminary map of the research agenda in this field.