ArticlePsychological reports2022
The Predictive Utility of Reward-Based Motives Underlying Excessive and Problematic Social Networking Site Use.
Article in Psychological reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Seeking pleasure or seeking compensation: a dual-pathway model of problematic social networks use.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Neural Sensitivity to Social Media Use: Implications for Sleep Duration in Adolescents.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Longitudinal association between problematic social media use and school refusal among adolescents: a random intercept cross-lagged panel model.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Screen time and manic symptoms in early adolescents: prospective findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2025Article
- The Effects of Social Feedback Through the "Like" Feature on Brain Activity: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Development of a questionnaire for problematic social networking sites use: Ensuring content validity through Delphi methodology.PloS one · 2025Article
- The enduring echoes of juvenile bullying: the role of self-esteem and loneliness in the relationship between bullying and social media addiction across generations X, Y, Z.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- The central mediating effect of inhibitory control and negative emotion on the relationship between bullying victimization and social network site addiction in adolescents.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Longitudinal and daily associations between adolescent self-control and digital technology use.Developmental psychology · 2023Article
- Article
- Vulnerable Narcissism and Problematic Social Networking Sites Use: Focusing the Lens on Specific Motivations for Social Networking Sites Use.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The roles of implicit approach motivation and explicit reward in excessive and problematic use of social networking sites.PloS one · 2022Article
- Problematic Social Networking Site use-effects on mental health and the brain.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Review
- Detours increase local knowledge-Exploring the hidden benefits of self-control failure.PloS one · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Compulsive seeking of reward is a hallmark feature of drug addiction, but the role of reward is less well understood in behavioural addictions. The present study investigated the predictive utility of ten reward-based motives, which we identified in the literature, in explaining excessive and problematic use of social networking sites (SNSs). These motives were examined in a cross-sectional survey of 411 young adults, revealing that prolonged use and excessive checking were predicted by distinctly different motives. More frequent checking of SNSs was most closely associated with motives related to obtaining social rewards (impression management/social comparisons/fear of missing out) and the desire to find/consume enjoyable content. In contrast, the amount of time an individual spends on SNSs was predicted by the desire to engage in negative social interactions or to fulfil personal needs (self-expression/documentation of life events). Problematic SNS use was best explained by the motivation to obtain social rewards and to a lesser extent by enjoyment and negative social potency (e.g., trolling) motives. Our results highlight the importance of social reward in explaining excessive and problematic SNS use, suggesting that a focus on reducing the desire to obtain social reward (e.g., through likes, social comparisons, continual connection) may be most beneficial in tackling problematic SNS behaviours.
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