Relationships Between Social Media Addiction, Social Media Use Metacognitions, Depression, Anxiety, Fear of Missing Out, Loneliness, and Mindfulness

Recent research has suggested that metacognitions about social media use may play a role in social media addiction. The aim of the present study was to investigate (a) the contribution of positive and negative social media use metacognitions in explaining social media addiction after accounting for a range of risk factors related to negative affect and (b) the mediating roles of positive and negative social media use metacognitions in associating depression, anxiety, fear of missing out (FoMO), loneliness, and low trait mindfulness with social media addiction. A sample of 810 Australians (M_age=66.39 years; 63.6% female) completed an anonymous online survey. Both positive and negative social media use metacognitions accounted for a significant proportion of unique variance in social media addiction after controlling for age, sex, social media engagement, depression, anxiety, FoMO, loneliness, and mindfulness. Serial mediation models indicated that depression, anxiety, FoMO, loneliness, and mindfulness had a direct effect on social media addiction, as well as an indirect effect that was mediated by positive and negative metacognitions. The present study’s findings show the mediating role of social media use metacognitions in the relationship between negative affect and social media addiction.