The word “addiction” does a lot of work in this question, and it is worth slowing down on. Social media addiction is not a formal diagnosis. It does not appear as a recognized disorder in the DSM-5 or the ICD-11, and clinicians more often use the phrase problematic social media use. That matters, because it sets honest expectations: most people asking this question are dealing with a habit that has grown heavier than they want, not a clinical condition with a proven cure.
For that everyday kind of overuse, the compulsive checking, the lost hours, the reaching for the phone out of boredom or to escape a feeling, hypnosis may have a modest, relaxation-based role. A session can guide a person into a calm, focused state and pair that with suggestions toward more awareness of the habit and less automatic reaching. The proposed mechanism is unremarkable in a good way: much social media use is unconscious and cue-driven, and slowing down enough to notice the urge is a real first step toward not acting on it.
That said, the strongest evidence for changing problematic technology use does not point to hypnosis. It points to cognitive behavioral therapy, which has preliminary support for helping people cut back, often by identifying the triggers and thoughts that drive the behavior and building different responses. Practical changes matter too, such as removing notifications, setting limits, and replacing the scroll with something a person actually values. Hypnosis, where it helps, is best seen as one possible support beside that work, not a stand-in for it.
There is a real line to respect here. When overuse stops being a bad habit and becomes a genuine compulsion, when a person cannot stop despite clear harm to sleep, work, relationships, or mental health, that is no longer a self-help matter. It often sits alongside anxiety, depression, or loneliness, and the underlying issue, rather than the screen time, is what needs attention from a qualified professional.
A fair summary stays narrow. For ordinary overuse, hypnosis may help some people bring a stubborn habit into awareness and loosen its grip a little, working on the automatic urge rather than the technology itself. It is not a cure, the evidence for it in this area is limited, and serious compulsion calls for proper support. Used with realistic expectations, it can be a small part of building a calmer relationship with the phone.