ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Addictive Behaviors
This article is part of the Research TopicExpanding Harm Reduction: A New Frontier in Behavioral Addiction TreatmentView all articles
Social Media and Functional Deterioration: Indicators of Problematic Use in University Students
Provisionally accepted
- Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain
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The widespread use of social media among university students has raised concerns about its potentially addictive nature and psychological impact. This study examined usage patterns, indicators of addictive behavior, and dimensions of problematic use among 526 Spanish university students (68.8% female; aged 17–25). Participants completed an ad hoc questionnaire and the Problematic Smartphone and Social Media Use Scales (PSSNUS). The results showed an average of 3.13 hours per day spent on social media, with WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok being the most frequently used platforms. More than 75% of the participants reported tolerance, and 43.4% of the total participants experienced a relapse (representing 230 individuals out of the 326 who uninstalled a social media platform). Psychological dependence and loss of productivity were the most affected dimensions (especially among women). Correlational analyses revealed associations between problematic use and time spent on mobile devices, number of platforms used, and TikTok consumption. These findings identify a profile of use consistent with addictive indicators of social media use among college students and highlight the need for targeted prevention strategies and further research.
Keywords: Social Media1, university students 2, addiction 3, gender4, dependence5
Received: 08 Oct 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Carbonell Colomer, Bernabéu Brotóns and Marchena. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Myriam Carbonell Colomer
Elena Bernabéu Brotóns
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