THE SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AND AGGRESSION: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF YOUNG ADULTS

Rukhsana Kausar; Fatima Salman; Afia Irfan

Rukhsana Kausar Clinical Psychologist, The Government College University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Fatima Salman PhD Scholar, Centre for Clinical Psychology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Afia Irfan Clinical Psychologist, Pakistan Recovery Oasis (PRO), Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Keywords: Social Media Addiction, Aggression, Negative Emotions, Depressed Mood, Mediator

Abstract

Young adults frequently engage with social media platforms for various purposes, including the communication, information sharing, business and education. However, excessive use of these platforms can lead to negative outcomes such as aggressive behavior, as suggested by previous research. Despite this, the role of negative emotions, particularly depressed mood, in this association has been largely ignored, especially in Pakistan. This study seeks to address this gap by exploring the association between the social media addiction, depressed mood, and aggression. Using a cross-sectional correlational design and purposive sampling, study focused on 147 young adults aged 18 to 30 (M=20.61, SD=1.52). Results show that while social media addiction is positively related with depressed mood, this association is not statistically significant. However, social media addiction is significantly associated with aggression, depressed mood is positively and significantly associated with aggression. The result also depicts a partial mediation effect of depressed mood in the association between social media addiction and aggression, with both direct and total paths being significant, but indirect path being insignificant. The study concludes with limitations and provides recommendations and implications for supporting the mental well-being of young adults.