Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: Social media use is often framed as inherently addictive, yet emerging evidence suggests that addiction may depend on user intentionality. However, little is known about how usage motivations influence social media dependency and how stress and anxiety arising from use affect real-world social engagement. This study examines whether goal-directed social media use reduces dependency and whether social media-related stress leads to neglect of offline social activities.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was administered to students at a private university in New York via online and in-person channels from February to March 2025. Measures, assessed on 5-point Likert scales, captured social media usage motivations, social media dependency, stress and anxiety related to social media use, and neglect of in-person social activities. Hierarchical multivariate regression analyses were performed while controlling for covariates.
RESULTS: A total of 399 completed surveys were analyzed. Participants were 50.4% male, 45.6% female, and 4.0% identifying as another gender; 39.6% identified as White, 27.3% Asian, 17.5% Hispanic or Latino, and 15.0% Black or African American. Goal-directed social media usage motivations were negatively associated with social media dependency (β = −0.212, p < 0.001), indicating that purposeful, utility-oriented use (e.g., information seeking or networking) may reduce vulnerability to problematic use. In contrast, greater stress and anxiety related to social media use were positively associated with neglect of offline social activities (β = 0.283, p < 0.001), reflecting diminished capacity to sustain real-world social engagement. These findings suggest that psychological strain arising from social media use translates into measurable negative social outcomes beyond the digital context.
CONCLUSIONS: Social media dependency and its adverse outcomes are not universal but vary by user motivation and stress responses. Interventions that promote purposeful, utility-driven social media use may reduce dependency, alleviate stress, and preserve offline social capital, thereby improving overall health outcomes and well-being.