Examining the Relationship Between Social Media Addiction and Academic Burnout with the Mediating Role of Social Anxiety and Loneliness Among Upper Secondary School Students

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between social media addiction and academic burnout and to investigate the mediating roles of social anxiety and loneliness among upper secondary school students. Methods and Materials: This study employed a descriptive–correlational design using structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all upper secondary school students in Tehran during the second semester of the 2024–2025 academic year, from which 320 students were selected through multistage cluster random sampling. Data were collected using the Academic Burnout Inventory, Social Media Addiction Scale, Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. After verifying statistical assumptions including normality and absence of multicollinearity, data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS software. Model fit was evaluated using indices including χ²/df, CFI, NFI, TLI, and RMSEA. Findings: Structural equation modeling indicated that social media addiction had a significant direct positive effect on academic burnout (β = 0.163, p < 0.05). Social media addiction also significantly predicted social anxiety (β = 0.625, p < 0.001) and loneliness (β = 0.474, p < 0.001). Both social anxiety (β = 0.407, p < 0.001) and loneliness (β = 0.216, p < 0.001) had significant positive effects on academic burnout. Bootstrap analysis confirmed significant indirect effects of social media addiction on academic burnout through social anxiety (β = 0.254) and loneliness (β = 0.102). The total effect of social media addiction on academic burnout reached 0.519. The model demonstrated good fit (χ²/df = 1.138, CFI = 0.998, NFI = 0.980, RMSEA = 0.021), explaining 41% of the variance in academic burnout. Conclusion: The findings indicate that social media addiction contributes to academic burnout both directly and indirectly through increased social anxiety and loneliness. These results highlight the importance of addressing students’ emotional and interpersonal vulnerabilities alongside regulating social media use in order to reduce academic burnout and promote psychological well-being in adolescents.