Social Media Overuse and Anxiety among Chinese University Students: The Mediating Role of Perceived Stress

Abstract

With the development of social media applications, the use of social media is increasing among college students. Previous research has demonstrated the negative impacts of social media overuse on students' mental health. While social media overuse has been regarded as a potential cause for anxiety, little is known about its underlying mechanisms. Therefore, this study aims to examine whether perceived stress mediated the relationship between social media overuse and anxiety. 358 Chinese college students completed anonymous questionnaires. These questionnaires measured social media usage, perceived stress, and anxiety. The results showed that (1) social media overuse positively predicts stress and anxiety; (2) no gender difference was found in the correlations between social media overuse, perceived stress and anxiety (3) perceived stress partially mediated the association between social media overuse and anxiety. This study can improve our understanding of how social media overuse relates with students’ well-being.