Problematic social media use and cognitive performance in young adults: Associations with selective attention and...

Problematic social media use (PSMU) has been associated with emotional and behavioral difficulties, yet its relationship with cognitive performance remains insufficiently understood. This study examined whether PSMU is associated with deficits in selective attention and inhibitory control, and whether sex moderates these associations.

A total of 943 Spanish young adults (18-35 years) completed the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and two computerized tasks: the Stroop task, assessing selective attention, and the Simon task, assessing inhibitory control. Correlational and multiple regression analyses examined associations between PSMU severity, cognitive performance, age, and daily social media time of use. Moderation analyses examined sex differences.

PSMU showed a positive correlation with Stroop reaction times (r = .65, p < .05), indicating a positive relationship between attentional interference and PSMU scores. However, in regression models, greater daily social media time of use, rather than PSMU severity, was the only significant correlate of slower Stroop performance (β = .28, p < .001). No significant associations were found between PSMU and Simon task performance. A significant Sex × PSMU interaction (β = .14, p = .018) indicated that the association between PSMU and slower Stroop performance was stronger among women than among men.

Selective attention appeared to be more closely associated with daily social media time of use than inhibitory control. Our findings underscore the need to distinguish between problematic use and overall time of use when assessing cognitive correlates.