Loneliness and problematic social media use among university students: exploring the mediating roles of meaning in life and resilience

Loneliness, resilience, and meaning in life play pivotal roles in shaping university students' social experiences. This study investigates the relationships between these factors and problematic social media use (PSMU). A total of 429 university students (66.9% female; age range = 18-32 years, M 19.59, SD = 2.16) participated in this cross-sectional study. Validated instruments were employed, including the UCLA Loneliness Scale, Resilience Scale, Meaning in Life Scale, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and a Personal Information Form. Mediation analyses were conducted using SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 4). Loneliness was significantly negatively correlated with resilience and meaning in life and positively correlated with problematic social media use (PSMU). Mediation analyses revealed that loneliness predicted lower resilience and meaning in life while significantly increasing problematic social media use (PSMU), accounting for 26% of the variance. Resilience and meaning in life partially mediate the association between loneliness and problematic social media use (indirect effect = 0.08, SE = 0.02, 95% CI [0.04, 0.12]). These findings highlight the role of loneliness as a driver of problematic social media use (PSMU), with resilience and meaning in life serving as partial mediators. Interventions targeting loneliness and fostering resilience and life purpose may help reduce the negative effects of problematic social media engagement. Longitudinal research is needed to explore these relationships' causal pathways and demographic variations.