Social Media Behaviors and Psychosocial Predictors of Social Media Addiction

Abstract

Social media addiction is an ongoing problem. Maladaptive social and personal factors associated with addiction can include: - Preoccupation with social media; - Withdrawal symptoms; - Replacing important activities (sleep, eating) with social media use; - Escape from problems (poor coping); - Loss of relationships. Prior research has identified several independent factors related to social media addiction: - Desire for belongingness; - Lack of conscientiousness; - High levels of extroversion; - Low self-esteem; - Anxiety; - Depression; - Stress. This study aims to simultaneously evaluate both the social media behaviors and psychosocial factors related to high levels of social media addiction.