The Serial Mediating Role of Perceived Digital Cognitive Manipulation and Brain Rot in the Relationship Between...

Social media continues to be associated with emerging adults' thinking skills and decision-making processes, as well as behavioral addictions. This research aims to examine the correlation between emerging adults' levels of social media addiction and psychological resilience through the processes of "Perceived Cognitive Manipulation" and "Brain Rot," and to develop an original Perceived Digital Cognitive Manipulation Scale (PEDCOM-8) within this scope.

The research was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, confirmatory factor analysis was applied to data obtained from 151 participants in the pilot study and 309 participants in the confirmatory factor analysis conducted during the development of the PEDCOM-8.

The scale was found to be valid and reliable with a two-factor structure and high internal consistency coefficients. In the second stage (N 355, mean age 20.78, 49.9% female), the relationships among social media addiction (X), perceived digital cognitive manipulation (M₁), brain rot (M₂), and resilience (Y) were examined using structural equation modeling (SEM) and network analyses, which were created with data obtained from 355 participants. The findings showed that social media addiction is a significant and strong predictor of perceived digital cognitive manipulation. It has been demonstrated that perceived digital cognitive manipulation is negatively associated with brain rot, and compromised brain health is, in turn, linked to lower levels of resilience. Serial mediation analysis results revealed that perceived digital cognitive manipulation and brain rot together play a significant mediating role in the relationship between social media addiction and resilience.

The study presents a new conceptual model that explains the indirect roles of social media addiction on the cognitive integrity and psychological resilience mechanisms of emerging adults. The developed PEDCOM-8 serves as a unique measurement tool for future research examining the mental effects of digital behaviors.