The effect of deactivating Facebook and Instagram on users' emotional state

If people didn’t like the way these apps make them feel, they would stop using them.

Many people prefer having anxiety about drama to being bored.

That is not the only possible explanation. A more likely explanation imho is that social media falls into the long list of things you do for a short term reward even though you know you shouldn't, like smoking a cigarette or getting drunk.

You know it is not good for you but your executive function and ability to plan long term are compromised (whether chronically or acutely), so you do it anyway, and regret it later.