Adolescents’ Problematic Social Media Use and Socioemotional Well-Being: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Abstract Social media has become an inseparable part of modern life. While existing research focuses on the various outcomes of social media use on adolescents, there is a perceived need for an in-depth investigation into the relationship between problematic social media use and adolescents’ overall socioemotional well-being. This study aimed to examine the associations between adolescents’ problematic social media use and their socioemotional well-being. A sample of 715 adolescents (mean age = 16.69, SD = 0.65) was included in the study group. Self-reported data were collected using scales designed to assess problematic social media use and socioemotional well-being. Parametric test methods, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), were utilized after confirming the normal distribution of the data. The analyses indicated that problematic social media use was significantly and negatively associated with the components of socioemotional well-being. A relationship was established between problematic social media use and socioemotional well-being variables. Furthermore, problematic social media use was found to be higher among girls, as well as among participants who spent more time on social media and those who reported attempts to reduce their social media use. Considering the associations between social media use and adolescents’ socioemotional well-being, taking precautionary measures in this regard is deemed highly important.