Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Loneliness is a growing issue among emerging adults and social media use has been suggested as a contributing factor. Previous studies have investigated the connection between social media and loneliness with inconclusive results, since the effects of social media use seem to depend on how it is used. In this study, I decided to further the research by examining propensity to use social media and its association with loneliness in emerging adults aged 18–29 years. I created The Social Media Propensity Scale to measure the propensity to use social media to fill spaces of time. The scale included three subscales (passive, active, and social). The sample consisted of 183 people (77% women) with a mean age of 23.36 years. I conducted a linear regression analyses to examine the associations between propensity to use social media and loneliness. There was no statistically significant association between propensity to use social media and loneliness for the full scale, as well as the passive and active subscales. However, there was a statistically significant association between propensity to use social media versus doing something social and loneliness, with a higher propensity to use social media being associated with more loneliness. These results indicate that social media use is only associated with loneliness when used instead of being social. The association was moderated by a participant’s social network size and tendency to socially compare. Most of the analyses in this study were exploratory and further research would be necessary to confirm any significant associations, as well as investigate different aspects of social media use.
Source: Doria (University of Helsinki)
Author: Gustafsson, Emma
Institution: Åbo Akademi University
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7115405966