Social Media Addiction and Life Satisfaction among Undergraduate Students: The Mediating Role of Anxiety

Abstract

This study aims to explore the relationship between addiction to social media and life satisfaction among university students in Pakistan and the mediation of anxiety. Research design used quantitative explanatory research design, while the data collection method used a structured self-administered questionnaire with validated measurement scales which were filled out by 150 undergraduate students. The analysis of data was carried out using SPSS and SmartPLS. The results of the structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping analysis showed that social media addiction negatively affects life satisfaction. Anxiety level was a significant mediator in this process, suggesting that high social media usage increases anxiety that leads to reducing life satisfaction. The results indicate that, as a psychological risk factor, unregulated usage of social media has a significant role among students and anxiety is a mediating factor. The study provides empirical evidence which is novel in the Pakistani context and provides some practical suggestions for the mental health practitioners, university counselors and platform designers. It is recommended that future studies and research continue to use the longitudinal design and experimental design to investigate the causal dynamics further.