Investigating the Link between Social Media Use and Need to Belong

Abstract

The need to belong is a fundamental human motivation to be accepted into social relationships and be part of social groups. It has been hypothesized that one of the reasons why people use social media is to manage and maintain their social relationships. This study examined emerging adults’ frequency of social media use and the relationship between social media use and need to belong using data from the Emerging Adulthood Measured at Multiple Institutions 2 (EAMMI2) collaboration. As expected, need to belong was positive associated with social media use.