The Mediating Role of Hopelessness in the Relationship Between Social Media Addiction and Loneliness Among Adolescents.
Mustafa Durmuş, Abdullah Sarman, Necmettin Çiftci and 1 others
PMID 40343674WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents who reported more social media addiction also reported more loneliness and hopelessness.
Hopelessness was linked to both, so clinicians may need to assess all three.
Key findings
01Higher scores on social media addiction, loneliness, and hopelessness were positively related.
02Social media addiction and hopelessness were each significantly associated with loneliness in the model.
03Females had higher hopelessness scores than males.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show which came first or whether social media use causes loneliness or hopelessness. It was conducted in one province in Turkey, so the pattern may not apply to other regions or cultures. All measures were self-reported by adolescents, with no separate check of actual social media use or clinical diagnosis. The researchers did not know participants' social media behaviour before the study and did not record which platforms were used. The paper reports mediation statistics, but that does not prove a cause-and-effect pathway.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The supplied text does not report funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that social media addiction causes loneliness or hopelessness. The study measured associations at one time, not a tested intervention or cause.