What Motives Users to Engage With Dark Side of Social Media?—Mixed Method Approach to Study the Impact of Social Media Usage on the Subjective Wellbeing of Young Adults in India

ABSTRACT The study investigates the detrimental effect of social media engagement on subjective wellbeing, through a mixed‐methods (Qual + quan) approach to identify the motivation for social media usage. Using purposive cum snowball sampling technique, the qualitative research included 45 in‐depth interviews with young social media users, analysed through a grounded theory approach. The Quantitative phase surveyed 443 young, with data analysed using SEM (AMOS) to verify the proposed framework. Qualitative findings highlight that fear of missing out (FoMO) and mood regulation are key triggers that lead to communication and information overload, which controls the compulsive use of social media, which negatively affect subjective wellbeing. On the basis of these, insight, the conceptual framework, was developed and validated through the Stimulus–Organism–Behaviour–Consequence (SOBC) framework, with quantitative analysis confirming all purposed hypotheses. The study provides significant practical implications, recommending that marketers to adopt ethical communication strategies, guiding parents and educators in fostering healthy screen habits, and urging institutions to develop awareness programmes for mindful social media usage. The research originality lies in the application of the SOBC model to examine adverse effects of social media on young adults in India, providing new insight into the intricate connection between dark aspect of social media and subjective wellbeing.