ArticleBMC psychology2024
The relationship between loneliness and problematic social media usage in Chinese university students: a longitudinal study.
Article in BMC psychology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The relationship between Problematic Social Media Use and academic performance among university students in the MENA region: a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Loneliness and Problematic Media Use: Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Analysis of the current state and influencing factors of loneliness among Chinese children aged 8-18 years.Frontiers in public health · 2026Trial
- Problematic Social Media Use and Its Associations with Loneliness, Bullying Perpetration, and Negative Body Image Among Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Secure Attachment and Resilience.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Loneliness and Problematic Social Media Use Among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Fear of Missing Out.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Article
- Problematic gaming, problematic social media use, and psychological well-being in adolescents: exploring networks of symptoms in 10 European countries.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Loneliness and AI chatbot dependence in young adults: the mediating role of perceived social support.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Digital social contacts predict reduced loneliness in chronic depression: an exploratory longitudinal study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Observational
- A Stress-Induced Digital Escapism Framework for Understanding the Link Between Stress and Problematic Social Media Use.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Psychological flexibility as a mediating mechanism linking adverse and positive childhood experiences to suicidal thoughts in emerging adults.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Fear of Missing Out and Problematic Social Media Use Among Chinese University Students: Latent Profiles and Two-Wave Network Comparisons.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- "Feeling unseen": Generation and psychometric validation of a scale assessing sense of absence.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2026Article
- The mediating role of social avoidance between relative deprivation and smartphone addiction: a random intercept cross-lagged panel model study.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Perceived support from AI chatbots and loneliness among higher vocational college students: a short-term three-wave study of social interaction anxiety and perceived social support.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Social Media Use Intensity and Social Media Use Problems in Relation to Interpersonal Adaptation During the Transition to College: An Intensive Longitudinal Study.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2026Article
- The impact of social media use on college students' mental health: a narrative review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Are Loneliness and Fear of Missing Out Linked to Social Media Addiction? Insights From a Cross-Sectional Study Among Young Adults in Saudi Arabia.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Mediating roles of self-esteem and positive childhood experiences in the relationship between problematic social media use and loneliness.Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS · 2025Article
- The Role of Fear of Negative Evaluation and Loneliness in Linking Insecure Attachment to Social Media Addiction: Evidence from Chinese University Students.Brain sciences · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundA significant number of cross-sectional studies have explored the correlation between loneliness and problematic social media use. However, the causal relationship between these two key variables remains controversial, and the developmental relationship over time is unclear.
methodsWe conducted a one-year longitudinal study with 538 Chinese college students using questionnaires and employing cross-lagged and latent growth models to investigate the causal relationship and developmental dynamics between loneliness and problematic social media use.
resultsThe results indicate that (a) loneliness and problematic social media use mutually and positively influence each other, establishing a bidirectional causal relationship; (b) Chinese college students experience a gradual increase in levels of loneliness and problematic social media use during their time in college; and (c) the intercept and slope of loneliness significantly and positively affect the intercept and slope of problematic social media use, and conversely, the intercept and slope of problematic social media use significantly and positively influence the intercept and slope of loneliness.
conclusionThese findings reveal the longitudinal relationship between loneliness and problematic social media use among Chinese college students and offer insights for researchers and educators to intervene in college students' loneliness and problematic social media use from a developmental perspective.
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