Predictors of Problematic Social Media Use: Personality and Life-Position Indicators

Given the preponderance of social media in our increasingly saturated media environments, there is a need for greater understanding of how personality traits and states can influence problematic social media use. This study examines whether contextual age indicators (life satisfaction, interpersonal interaction, social activity), the fear of missing out, and the Big Five personality traits are significant predictors of Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat addictions. A survey of 337 college students reveals that greater social activity is a positive predictor of addiction to Snapchat. Another significant finding is a positive relationship between social media addiction and the fear of missing out, which explained the most variance in addiction scores for Snapchat (16%). An inductive analysis of open-ended responses indicated strong similarities between those who claimed that they were addicted to these social media apps and those said that they were not addicted. Both groups described largely similar usage patterns and media dependency, yet several users did not self-identify as addicted to social media. These patterns indicate that more research is needed to determine how social media users differentiate between normative, heavy, and addicted usage.