Mediating Role of Social Anxiety in the Relationship Between Phubbing and Social Media Addiction Among Higher Education Students

Oral M., Karakurt N.

International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, cilt.41, sa.18, ss.11743-11752, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 41 Sayı: 18
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/10447318.2024.2445098
  • Dergi Adı: International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, ABI/INFORM, Applied Science & Technology Source, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, Compendex, Computer & Applied Sciences, INSPEC, Library and Information Science Abstracts, Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts, Psycinfo
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.11743-11752
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: coping mechanisms, Higher education students, mental health, phubbing, problematic social media use, smartphones, social anxiety
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Increased reliance on smartphones has given rise to concerning behaviors such as phubbing, which has been linked to various adverse outcomes This study examines the mediating role of social anxiety in the relationship between phubbing behavior and problematic social media use among Turkish higher education students. A cross-sectional study with 783 university students majoring in Health Sciences used the Generic Scale of Phubbing, Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult, and Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users. Data were analyzed with Pearson correlations, multiple regression, and mediation modeling. Phubbing, problematic social media use, and social anxiety were positively correlated. Social anxiety significantly predicted both phubbing (14% variance) and problematic social media use (19% variance) and mediated the relationship between them (indirect effect = 0.051, 95% CI = 0.03–0.07). Social anxiety mediates the link between phubbing and problematic problematic social media use, highlighting the need for interventions addressing social anxiety to mitigate these digital behaviors.