Mindful Awareness as a Mediator Between Social Appearance Anxiety and Social Media Addiction in Adolescents

PURPOSE: Adolescence is a critical period for identity formation and social development, and social media can shape appearance perceptions and social acceptance. Social appearance anxiety may be associated with greater vulnerability to social media addiction, whereas mindful awareness may be linked to lower levels of this risk. The current study tested mindful awareness as a mediator between social appearance anxiety and social media addiction in adolescents. METHOD: The sample comprised 383 volunteer secondary school students in eastern Türkiye during the 2024-2025 academic year. Participants completed standardized measures of social appearance anxiety, mindful awareness, and social media addiction. RESULTS: Social appearance anxiety was positively related to social media addiction and negatively related to mindful awareness; mindful awareness was also negatively related to addiction. CONCLUSION: Mediation results indicated partial mediation, suggesting mindfulness-based interventions may reduce appearance anxiety and promote healthier social media use among adolescents. Findings highlight mindful awareness as a target for prevention.