Work

Social Media Usage and Its Association With the Social Media Addiction Questionnaire Scale Among Early Adolescents

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Objective Despite increasing social media use among adolescents, few studies have investigated social media use patterns associated with the social media addiction (SMA) scale. SMA is characterized in terms of social media platforms, engagement patterns, and account settings. Method Cross-sectional data on youth ages 10-13 years from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development SM Study (n = 5,639) were used. The majority of the sample was female, White, and from families living above poverty. SMA was assessed via an adapted scale. Regression models assessed links between SMA and hours spent per day on social media, most-used platform, public and secret accounts, and follower and following counts. Results SMA was higher among youth whose most-used platforms were TikTok ( b = 1.52, 95% CI 1.12, 1.93), Instagram ( b = 0.92, 95% CI 0.51, 1.34), and Snapchat ( b = 0.60, 95% CI 0.16, 1.03). Those with a public account ( b = 0.85, 95% CI 0.56, 1.13), a secret account ( b = 2.27, 95% CI 1.65, 2.89), or reporting more social media hours ( b = 0.66, 95% CI 0.61, 0.71) had higher SMA scores. Weak interactions between social media hours and platforms were observed. Conclusion Higher SMA scores were most associated with TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat use as well as using a public account, a secret account, and spending more time on social media. The relationship between social media hours and SMA confirms previous findings. This is the first study to investigate the relationship between account settings and SMA.

Source: JAACAP Open

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaacop.2026.02.003