Over the past decade, researchers have increasingly become interested in studying the potential harms of social media use. As a result, a large and rapidly growing body of research has emerged investigating how social media use can negatively impact users’ psychological functioning and wellbeing. Numerous studies have found evidence that some individuals can develop a maladaptive psychological dependence on social media resulting in a problematic pattern of excessive social media use. This maladaptive use has many similarities to the pattern of behaviour demonstrated by individuals with pathological gambling and Internet gaming disorder. Researchers have adopted various theoretical approaches to investigate the factors that contribute to this problematic pattern of social media use. The present program of research investigated personality factors associated with problematic social media use and applied theories of addictive behaviour to investigate important psychological factors that contribute to the development of problematic social media use.
A total of four studies were conducted. Study 1 was a meta-analysis of studies investigating the relationships between the five-factor personality traits and problematic social media use. The study found that high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, low openness, and low agreeableness were significantly associated with problematic social media use. Study 2 was a meta-analysis of studies investigating the relationship between trait mindfulness and problematic social media use. The study found that low trait mindfulness was associated with problematic social media use. Studies 3 and 4 applied theoretical models of addictive behaviour to investigate problematic social media use, operationalised as social media addiction. Study 3 investigated whether social media engagement and social media reward expectancies (i.e., expectations that social media use will result in positive and negative reinforcement) are associated with social media addiction. The study found that social media engagement and social media reward expectancies serially mediated the relationship between psychological distress and social media addiction. Study 4 investigated whether the relationships between social media addiction and various psychological predictors of social media addiction are mediated by positive and negative metacognitions regarding social media use. Metacognitions are beliefs about the effectiveness of using social media for cognitive and emotion regulation (positive metacognitions) and beliefs about the danger and uncontrollability of social media use (negative metacognitions). Results of the mediation analyses suggested that depression, anxiety, fear of missing out, loneliness, and trait mindfulness have indirect effects on social media addiction that are mediated by positive and negative metacognitions about social media use.
This thesis contributes to evidence regarding the personality traits associated with problematic social media use and the psychological factors associated with social media addiction. The results of this research suggest that individuals who are predisposed to experiencing psychological distress may be at risk of developing problematic social media use. Additionally, the results are consistent with theories of addictive behaviour which posit that using social media as a means of cognitive or affective regulation may reinforce the behaviour of coping with distress by using social media which, over time, can lead to the development of social media addiction. The findings have implications for future research investigating the psychological factors that play a key role in the development of social media addiction. For example, cognitive biases like metacognitions that relate to using social media for mood regulation may have a significant influence on the mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of problematic social media use. Additionally, the findings have implications for treatment research by identifying key psychological factors, such as metacognitions, that could be targeted in interventions to prevent or treat social media addiction.