Investigating the Relationship Among Social Media Addiction, Cognitive Absorption, and Self-Esteem

Abstract

The present study aimed at testing a model developed to uncover the relationships among social media addiction, cognitive absorption, and self-esteem. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 361 university students, 198 of whom were females, and 163 were men. The data were collected using the Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS), the Cognitive Absorption Scale (CAS), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that there was a positive and significant relationship between cognitive absorption and social media addiction; thus, cognitive absorption predicted social media addiction. It was also found that there was a negative and significant relationship between self-esteem and social media addiction; thus, self-esteem predicted social media addiction.