Difficulties in controlling the use of social networking sites (SNS) have been argued to resemble addictive behavior patterns (e.g., Hussain and Wegmann, 2021, Wegmann and Brand, 2020, Wegmann et al., 2021) and to cause detriments to subjective well-being (e.g., Kross et al., 2013, Verduyn et al., 2015). Consequently, the problematic use of SNS, also called social-networks-use disorder (SNUD), is considered a potential behavioral addiction. Although there is a debate whether some behaviors are addictive at all and we are actually over-pathologizing everyday behaviors (e.g., Billieux et al., 2015, Brevers and Noel, 2015), a main line of reasoning why some behaviors may become addictive stems from cognitive psychology approaches arguing the similarity of underlying processes of several addictive behaviors as well as the clinical relevance of these behaviors (Brand et al., 2020, Brand et al., 2021). Next to established addictive behaviors such as gaming and gambling disorder (ICD-11; World Health Organization, 2019), SNUD is clinically relevant to a vulnerable minority as indicated by prevalence rates (for review, see Hussain & Griffiths, 2018). Therefore, it is important to investigate proximal precursors of SNS use in order to understand the occurrence of problematic SNS usage patterns.

When behaviors such as problematic SNS use stand in conflict with goals of restraint or abstinence, permissive beliefs are discussed as a candidate mechanism to resolve such a conflict. When reviewing the literature, there are numerous ways of describing the same process: permissive attitudes (King et al., 2022, Wright, 2022), self-forgiveness (Wohl & Thompson, 2011), self-licensing (de Witt Huberts et al., 2012, Lalot et al., 2022, Prinsen et al., 2016), justificational beliefs (Kivetz and Zheng, 2006, Taylor et al., 2014), or facilitative beliefs (Caselli et al., 2020). These constructs all refer to the process of allowing oneself indulgence. Such beliefs can become problematic if they become a prominent ‘excuse’ for engaging in a particular behavior. According to Beck et al. (1993), people with substance-use disorders may activate permissive beliefs that consist of reasons as to why it is fine to consume a certain substance, putting permissive beliefs into the specific context of addiction. Thus, permissive beliefs serve as a license for the engagement in a (problematic) behavior, while ignoring the possible negative consequences. These assumptions stem from a schema-based therapeutic perspective where behaviors are mainly driven by manifested cognitive schemata. If these schemata are prompted, they are experienced as verbal beliefs (Beck et al., 1993, Tammar, Graziani, & Laconi, 2020). Accordingly, permissive beliefs have been investigated in the context of hedonic consumption (de Witt Huberts et al., 2012, de Witt Huberts et al., 2014) and unhealthy behavior (Wohl & Thompson, 2011), as well as more specific contexts such as eating disorders (Burton and Abbott, 2018, Cooper et al., 2004), prescription medication misuse (King et al., 2022), cannabis (Chabrol et al., 2004, Plancherel et al., 2005), alcohol-use disorder (AUD; Caselli et al., 2020), and also among (online and offline) gaming (Taquet et al., 2014). Since permissive beliefs seem to play a role in the context of regulated behaviors, it is conceivable that they might also be associated with problematic SNS use.

Next to the extent of permissive beliefs, research investigating their precursors is just as important. One such precursor that is suggested to have an impact on permissive beliefs when manipulated in clinical samples is desire thinking (Caselli et al., 2017, Caselli et al., 2020). Desire thinking refers to the cognitive ability to - effortfully and voluntarily - prefigure future desired activities, objects, or states mentally, to create sensory images around these desired activities, and to be linguistically involved in planning how to achieve the favored target (Caselli and Spada, 2011, Caselli and Spada, 2015). Accordingly, desire thinking conceptually divides into the imaginal prefiguration and verbal perseveration subcomponents. Desire thinking has been shown to be a transdiagnostic feature of substance and behavioral addictions that appears to be qualitatively similar among several targets (Caselli and Spada, 2010, May et al., 2004). It has been detected across a range of substances such as alcohol and nicotine (Caselli et al., 2015, Caselli et al., 2017, Caselli et al., 2012, Caselli et al., 2012, Khosravani et al., 2022, Martino et al., 2017, Solem et al., 2020), as well as among behaviors such as gaming, SNS use, pornography, gambling, and sexual behaviors (Brandtner and Brand, 2021, Brandtner et al., 2020, Caselli et al., 2012, Caselli and Spada, 2015, Efrati et al., 2020, Fernie et al., 2014, Khosravani et al., 2022, Sharifi Bastan et al., 2022). Since desire thinking is assumed to be closely linked to the activation and persistence of craving (Caselli & Spada, 2015), it might also be likely involved in self-regulatory conflicts where craving to use SNS conflicts with attempts to restrict oneself. Thus, when desire thoughts are experienced although SNS use is perceived as problematic, permissive beliefs might serve as a permission and relieve individuals from this experienced conflict (de Witt Huberts, Evers, & de Ridder, 2013). In this regard, Caselli et al. (2020) have found that desire thinking activates permissive beliefs in AUD patients. This raises the question if such an effect might also be detectable and replicable in SNS users.

As a process that might serve as a technique to control urges and desires, self-control is often discussed in the context of addictive behaviors (e.g., Brand, 2022, Brevers and Turel, 2019, Hofmann and van Dillen, 2012, Tang et al., 2015). A high level of self-control is relevant for a variety of health-related behaviors such as breaking bad habits, exercising self-discipline, and resisting temptations (Baumeister and Heatherton, 1996, Baumeister et al., 2007, Bertrams and Dickhäuser, 2009, de Ridder et al., 2012, Tangney et al., 2004). Therefore, a variety of problematic behaviors are thought to be related to low self-control such as addictive behaviors and unregulated SNS use in particular (e.g., Du et al., 2018, Zahrai et al., 2021, Zahrai et al., 2022). It is therefore conceivable that higher levels of self-control might be associated with a higher expression of permissive beliefs since highly regulated individuals might need better excuses. Permissive beliefs might therefore predict daily SNS use in interaction with self-control.

In summary, we hypothesize (1) a relation between permissive beliefs for using SNS and the problematic use of SNS; (2) that a desire thinking condition activates permissive beliefs for using SNS compared to a neutral thinking condition; and (3) that permissive beliefs interact with self-control in predicting SNS use in everyday life.