The Bidirectional Longitudinal Relations Between Problematic Social Media Use and Loneliness Among Adolescents: The Indirect Effect of Active Use

Objective: Problematic social media use (PSMU) and loneliness among adolescents are closely linked, yet research findings remain inconsistent due to cross-sectional and adult-centered studies. Moreover, limited studies have explored how specific social media activities contribute to both PSMU and loneliness. This study examined the bidirectional relationship between PSMU and loneliness, focusing on the indirect effect of active social media use (self- vs. other-oriented use). Methods: A sample of 1185 Italian adolescents (59.3% female, Mage = 15.97 years) completed self-report measures at two timepoints, 6 months apart. A cross-lagged path analysis was employed. Results: Bidirectional associations were found from T1 loneliness to T2 PSMU, and from T1 PSMU to T2 loneliness, while controlling for autoregressive effects. At T1, PSMU and loneliness were linked to both other-oriented and self-oriented social media use. However, higher other-oriented use was related to increased T2 PSMU, whereas higher self-oriented use was associated with greater T2 loneliness. Two significant indirect effects emerged: PSMU at T1 was associated with T2 loneliness via self-oriented use, and T1 PSMU was linked to T2 PSMU through other-oriented use. Conclusions: Contrary to expectations, lonely adolescents avoided active social media engagement, failing to mitigate their social difficulties online. Thus, other factors beyond active use may contribute to PSMU. Meanwhile, problematic users who engaged in active use faced an increased risk of both PSMU and loneliness 6 months later. These findings highlight the complexity of adolescent social media use and suggest that interventions should consider different engagement patterns to address PSMU and loneliness effectively.