Introduction: Problematic social media use (PSMU) is an emerging mental health concern among young adults, often linked to adverse outcomes in emotional well-being and daily functioning. Individuals experiencing loneliness may be more susceptible to engaging in problematic social media behaviors, using these platforms as a coping mechanism to alleviate feelings of isolation and seek social connection.
Purpose: Based on the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model of specific internet-use disorders, this study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of PSMU by examining the serial mediating roles of emotion dysregulation and metacognitions in the relationship between loneliness and PSMU.
Method: A cross-sectional design was employed with 768 participants aged 18-29 years (M=21.89, SD=3.17) from various regions in India. Participants completed validated self-report measures assessing PSMU, loneliness, emotion dysregulation and metacognitions related to social media use. Data were analyzed using partial least squares equation modeling in RStudio.
Results: Loneliness was found to predict PSMU significantly. The relationship was partially mediated through a serial pathway involving emotion dysregulation, positive metacognitions about social media use and negative metacognitions about social media use. Specifically, loneliness was associated with greater emotion dysregulation, which was linked to heightened maladaptive metacognitive beliefs about social media. These cognitive processes further increased the likelihood of engaging in problematic use.
Conclusions: The findings highlight a complex interplay of psychosocial, affective and cognitive factors in the development of PSMU. Interventions to reduce PSMU may benefit from addressing emotion regulation deficits and reshaping maladaptive metacognitive beliefs, particularly in lonely young adults.