The Moderating Effects of Young Adults’ Personality Traits on Social Media Immersion

Abstract

Young adults are currently among the heaviest users of Internet-based social media applications. The goal of this study was to develop and empirically validate a conceptual model to test associations between students’ attitudes toward social media and their experiences in social media use and immersion. Participants were 9,633 students (average age 16 years; 4,702 males, 4,931 female) who randomly selected from 150 high schools in Taiwan. Participants completed questionnaire surveys describing their attitudes toward social media, immersion experiences, and Big Five personality traits. Structural equation modeling was used to determine factors that predicted and moderated social media immersion. The results of this study highlight the impact that specific personality traits have on the connections between attitudes toward social media and the immersion young adults experience when engaged with social media platforms. These findings suggest that schools and families should establish guidelines to protect young adults from excessive immersion in social media usage, ensure the safety of online environments for this user group, and inform youth regarding the proper use of social media.