Social media addiction, sensation seeking, and social anxiety among college students: A latent profile analysis

In view of the increasing reach of social media, this study explored the latent characteristics of social media addiction, the relationship between demographic variables and heterogeneity of social media addiction, and the influence of sensation seeking and social anxiety among college students. Participants (N = 1,544) completed measures of social media addiction, social anxiety, and sensation seeking. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct groups: moderate use, mild dependence, and deep addiction. Women were more likely to show moderate use or mild dependence, whereas men were more likely to show deep addiction, while those with positive (vs. negative) roommate relationships and harmonious (vs. disharmonious) father–child relationships were more likely to belong to nonaddicted groups. The deep-addiction group scored significantly higher on sensation seeking and social anxiety than did the other groups. Society and families can identify various characteristics and influencing factors at an early stage and provide effective interventions to promote the responsible use of social media.