Impact of social media addiction on anxiety symptoms as modified by social support and its subscales

Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the moderating effect of social support and its subscales on the relationship between social media addiction (SMA) and anxiety symptoms in young Taiwanese adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on young adults in universities across regions in Taiwan. 1324 Taiwanese young adults aged 20–40 participated in this survey. Sociodemographics, health-related behaviors, social media use, perceived social support (including family, friends, and significant others), and anxiety symptoms were assessed. Linear regression models were used to examine the associations and interactions. Results: Of the sample, 21.4% exhibited SMA symptoms. The mean anxiety symptoms and social support scores were 6.7 ± 5.4 and 61.8 ± 14.2, respectively. SMA was associated with higher anxiety scores (adjusted coefficient [aB] = 2.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.35, 2.70; p < .001). Social support was associated with lower anxiety scores (aB = −0.06, 95% CI = −0.08, −0.04; p < .001). Among individuals with SMA, higher overall social support (aB = −0.05, 95% CI = −0.10, −0.01; p = .033), family support (aB = −0.14, 95% CI = −0.26 to −0.02; p = .025), and support from significant others (aB = −0.13, 95% CI = −0.25, −0.01; p = .047) were each associated with lower severity of anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: Overall social support, particularly support from family and significant others, is associated with reduced anxiety symptom levels and serves as a moderating factor in mitigating the adverse effects of social media addiction on anxiety symptom severity. Social support plays an important role in protecting young adults’ mental health from social media use.