The Relationship Between Social Media Use and Life Satisfaction and Loneliness in Adolescents

Abstract

Introduction. Active social media use has both positive and negative effects on psychological well-being. Recently, research in this field has explored the links between psychological well-being and social media use by considering various factors such as personality traits and motives for use. A question of particular relevance is how indicators of social media use, characteristics of psychological well-being and the extent to which social media is incorporated into the daily lives of adolescents are related. The novelty of the current work is the study of the mediating role of loneliness in the relationship between life satisfaction and social network use, which is particularly important for adolescents as active users. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between life satisfaction, loneliness and the incorporation of social media into daily activity, as well as the formal parameters of social media use. Methods. The study sample consisted of 391 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18. Formal indicators of social media use were identified as follows: time spent using social media, the number of social networks used and the number of friends in social networks. The Social Media Integration Scale (M. A. Jenkins-Guarnieri et al.), the Life Satisfaction Scale (E. Diener; adapted by D. A. Leontiev, E. N. Osin) and the Three-Point Loneliness Scale (A. Sirola et al.) were also used. Results. Life satisfaction was found to decrease and the experience of loneliness increase with increased incorporation of social media into the daily activities of adolescents. Formal indicators contributed little to overall life satisfaction and loneliness. Loneliness and life satisfaction were found to mediate reciprocal relationships regarding the incorporation of social networks into daily activities. Discussion. Overall, the avoidance of loneliness through active social media use reinforced life dissatisfaction, especially for girls.