The Connection Paradox: How Social Support Facilitates Short Video Addiction and Solitary Well-Being among Older Adults in China

Background: In the Chinese context, the impact of short video applications on the psychological well-being of older adults is contested. While often examined through a pathological lens of addiction, this perspective may overlook paradoxical, context-dependent positive outcomes. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to challenge the traditional Compensatory Internet Use Theory by proposing and testing a chained mediation model that explores a paradoxical pathway from social support to life satisfaction via problematic social media use. Methods: Data were collected between July and August 2025 via the Credamo online survey platform, yielding 384 valid responses from Chinese older adults aged 60 and above. Key constructs were assessed using the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Simplified UCLA Loneliness Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A chained mediation model was tested using stepwise regression and non-parametric bootstrapping (5000 resamples), controlling for age, gender, household income, and health status. Results: The analysis revealed a paradoxical pathway, which was clarified by a key statistical suppression effect. Social support significantly and positively predicted problematic usage (β = 0.157, p = 0.002). After controlling for the suppressor effect of social support, problematic usage in turn negatively predicted social connectedness (β = −0.177, p < 0.001). Finally, reduced social connectedness—reflecting a state of solitude—positively predicted life satisfaction (β = −0.227, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggest that for older adults with sufficient offline social support, these resources may serve a “social empowerment” function. This empowerment allows behaviors measured as “problematic usage” to be theoretically reframed as a form of “deep immersive entertainment”. This immersion appears to occur alongside a state of “high-quality solitude”, which ultimately is associated with higher life satisfaction. This study provides a novel, non-pathological theoretical perspective on the consequences of high engagement with emerging social media, offering empirical grounds for non-abstinence-based intervention strategies.