Abstract
Self-esteem expresses the individual's approach to himself and affects the whole life in terms of mental health. Another important factor affecting self-esteem, which has a critical importance for the youth period, is social media. In the literature, there are many studies examining the relationship between social media use and self-esteem of young people. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem in university students and to test the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between these two variables. The sample of the study consisted of 239 young individuals, 197 (82.4%) female, and 42 (17.6%) males, with a mean age of 20.62 ± 1.92 years, studying at a private university. Participants were evaluated by administering the “Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)”, “Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD-9)”, and “Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS)”. The scales were administered via an online survey. Results revealed that there was a negative significant relationship between the problematic social media use levels of the participants and their self-esteem. In the model established to evaluate the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem levels, in the first step, it was found that problematic social media use directly predicted self-esteem negatively. In the second step, it was determined that the use of problematic social media negatively predicted the mediating variable cognitive distortions. In the third step, when cognitive distortions, which are mediator variables, are added to the model in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem; it was determined that cognitive distortions played a partial mediating role in the sub-dimensions of “self-perception”, “self-blame”, “hopelessness” and “seeing life as dangerous”, while the sub-dimensions of “helplessness” and “total scale scores” played a full mediator role. Our findings show that there is a negative relationship between the problematic social media use of young people and their self-esteem levels, and cognitive distortions play a mediating role in the relationship between both variables.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams JF (1995) Ergenliği anlamak: ergen psikolojisinde güncel gelişmeler. In: Onur B, Dönmez A (eds). İmge Kitabevi, Ankara
Agir MS, Yavuzer H (2018) Cognitive distortion scale Turkish form: reliability and validity study. MJER 12(26):175–198. https://doi.org/10.29329/mjer.2018.172.10
Banyai F, Zsila A, Kiraly O, Maraz A, Elekes Z, Griffiths MD, SchouAndreassen C, Demetrovics Z (2017) Problematic social media use: results from a large-scale nationally representative adolescent sample. PLoS ONE 12(1):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169839
Baron RM, Kenny DA (1986) The Moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. J Pers Soc Psychol 51:1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.51.6.1173
Baumeister RF, Campbell JD, Krueger Jİ, Vohs KD (2003) Does High Self-Esteem Cause Betterperformance, İnterpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles? Psychol Sci Public Interest 4:1–10
Beck AT, Rush AJ, Shaw BF (1987) Cognitive therapy of depression. The Guilford Press
Berber Celik C, Odaci H (2013) The relationship between problematic internet use and interpersonal cognitive distortions and life satisfaction in university students. Child Youth Serv Rev 35(3):505–508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.01.001
Bergagna E, Tartaglia S (2018) Self-esteem, social comparison, and Facebook use. Eur J Psychol 14(4):831–845. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v14i4.1592
Bilgin M, Dogrusever C (2018) The relationship between social media addiction and cognitive distortions. ERPA International Congresses on Education, pp 645–653
Błachnio A, Przepiorka A, Benvenuti M, Mazzoni E, Seidman G (2019) Relations between facebook intrusion, internet addiction, life satisfaction, and self-esteem: a study in Italy and the USA. Int J Ment Health Addict 17:793–805
Blackburn I, Davidson KM, Kendell RE (1995) Cognitive therapy for depression and anxiety: a practitioner’s guide. Blackwell Science, Cambridge
Bozkurt H, Sahin S, Zoroglu S (2016) Internet addiction: a current review. J Contemp Med Edu 6(3):235–247. https://doi.org/10.16899/ctd.66303
Briere J (2000) Cognitive distortion scales. PAR Psychological Assessment Resources, USA
Buunk BP, Collins RL, Taylor S, Yperen NWV, Dakof GA (1990) The affective consequences of social comparison: either direction has ıts ups and downs. J Pers Soc Psychol 59(6):1238–1249. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.59.6.1238
Camadan F, Kirac SN (2020) Examining self-esteem and various demographic variables as a predictor of university students’ psychological resilience. J Higher Educ 10(2):253–263. https://doi.org/10.5961/jhes.2020.387
Caplan SE (2002) Problematic Internet use and psychosocial well-being: development of a theorybased cognitive–behavioral measurement instrument. Comput Hum Behav 18(5):553–575. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0747-5632(02)00004-3
Caplan SE (2003) Preference for online social interaction: a theory of problematic internet use and psychosocial well-being. Commun Res 30(6):625–648. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650203257842
Caplan SE (2007) Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic internet use. Cyberpsychol Behav 10(2):234–242. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2006.9963
Caplan SE (2010) Theory and measurement of generalized problematic internet use: two-step approach. Comput Hum Behav 26:1089–1097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.03.012
Chen W, Lee K (2013) Sharing, liking, commenting, and distressed? The pathway between Facebook interaction and psychological distress. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 16(10):728–734. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0272
Clark JL, Algoe SB, Green MC (2018) Social network sites and well-being: the role of social connection. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 27(1):32–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417730833
Coopersmith S (1967) The antecedents of self-esteem. Freeman, San Francisco
Cuhadaroglu Cetin F, Akdemir D (2012) Türkiye’deki Gençlerin Benlik Saygısı. Türkiye’de Gençlik. In: Keskin M, Dereboy C, Harlak H, Dereboy F (eds) Ankara, Türkiye Çocuk ve Genç Psikiyatrisi Derneği Yayınları, pp 69–81
Cuhadaroglu F (1986) Self-esteem in adolescents. Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Master Thesis
Dale LP, Vanderloo L, Moore S, Faulkner G (2019) Physical activity and depression, anxiety, and self-esteem in children and youth: an umbrella systematic review. Ment Health Phys Act 16:66–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2018.12.001
Davis RA (2001) A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use. Comput Hum Behav 17:187–195
Demir S, Buga A (2019) The relationship between loneliness and ınternet addiction in university students: the mediating role of cognitive distortions. İnonu Univ J Fac Educ 20:859–875. https://doi.org/10.17679/inuefd.627543
Dimmick J, Chen Y, Li Z (2004) Competition between the ınternet and traditional news media: the gratification-opportunities niche dimension. J Media Econ 17(1):19–33. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327736me1701_2
Fennell MJV (1997) Low self-esteem: a cognitive perspective. Behav Cogn Psychother 25(1):1–26
Fennell MJV (1998) Cognitive therapy in the treatment of low self-esteem. Adv Psychiatr Treat 4:296–304
Griffiths MD and Kuss DJ (2015). Online addictions. In the handbook of the psychology of communication technology. In: Sundar SS (Ed.). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118426456.ch17
Griffiths MD, Szabo A (2014) Is excessive online usage a function of medium or activity? An empirical pilot study. J Behav Addict 3:74–77. https://doi.org/10.1556/jba.2.2013.016
Hawi NS, Samaha M (2017) The relations among social media addiction, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in university students. Soc Sci Comput Rev 35(5):576–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439316660340
Hay I, Byrne M, Butler C (2000) Evaluation of a conflict-resolution and problemsolving programme to enhance adolescents’ self-concept. Br J Guid Counc 28(1):101–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/030698800109646
Hicdurmaz D, Oz F (2011) Empowerment of self via cognitive approach. Univ Health Sci J Nurs 18(2):68–78
Jan M, Soomro SA, Ahmad N (2017) Impact of social media on self-esteem. Eur Sci J 13(23):329–341. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2017.v13n23p329
Kalkan M (2012) Predictiveness of interpersonal cognitive distortions on university students’ problematic Internet use. Child Youth Serv Rev 34:1305–1308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.03.003
Kaya N, Tastan N (2020) A review on self-confidence. Kırıkkale Univ J Soc Sci 10(2):297–312
Khan NT (2018) Internet addiction: a global psychological addiction disorder. J Med Res 4(4):202–203
Kurumluoglugil R, Tanriverdi D (2022) The effects of the psychoeducation on cognitive distortions, negative automatic thoughts and dysfunctional attitudes of patients diagnosed with depression. Psychol Health Med 27:2085–2095. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2021.1944654
Kuss DJ, Griffiths MD (2011) Online social networking and addiction a review of the psychological literature. Int J Environ Res Public Health 8:3528–3552. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8093528
Kuzucu Y, SariotErturk O, Simsek OF, Gokdas I (2020) Cognitive distortions and problematic internet use connection: examining the mediator roles of loneliness and social anxiety by partialling out the effects of social desirability. J Evid-Based Psychother 20(1):51–76
Kwon M, Lee JY, Won WY, Park JW, Min JA, Hahn C, Gu X, Choi JH, Kim DJ (2013) Development and validation of a Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). PLoS ONE 8(2):e56936. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056936
Le M (2021) Cognitive mechanisms underlying the relationship between social media use and depressive symptoms. PCOM Psychology Dissertations. 572. https://digitalcommons.pcom.edu/psychology_dissertations/572
Lee ZWY, Cheung CMK (2014) Problematic use of social networking sites:the role of self-esteem. Int J Bus Manag 9:143–159
Liu D, Baumeister RF (2016) Social networking online and personality of self-worth: a meta-analysis. J Res Pers 64:79–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.06.024
Mai Y, Hu J, Yan Z, Zhen S, Wang S, Zhang W (2012) Structure and function of maladaptive cognitions in pathological internet use among Chinese adolescents. Comput Hum Behav 28(6):2376–2386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.009
Malik S, Khan M (2015) Impact of facebook addiction on narcissistic behavior and self-esteem among students. J Pak Med Assoc 65(3): 260–263. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275716907
Ministry of Youth and Sports (2013) Youth and Social Media Research Report. In: Bulut M (ed) Ankara, Education, Culture and Research Publications
Nematollahi A, Tavakoli P, Akbarzadeh M (2017) The relationship between self-esteem and students’ academic achievement and some parental demographic factors. Sch J App Med Sci 5(5):1758–1764
Ozparlak A, Karakaya D (2022) The associations of cognitive distortions with internet addiction and internet activities in adolescents: a cross-sectional study. J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs 35(4):322–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcap.12385
Pantic I (2014) Online social networking and mental health. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 10:652–657. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0070
Preacher KJ, Hayes AF (2008) Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing ındirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behav Res Methods 40:879–891
Ribeiro RM, Bragiola JVB, Eid LP, Pompeo DA (2020) Impact of self-esteem and of the sociodemographic factors on the self-efficacy of udergraduate nursing students. Texto Contexto Enferm 29:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-265X-TCE-2018-0429
Rosenberg M (1979) Conceiving the self. Basic Books, New York
Rosenberg M (1989) Self-concept research: a historical overview. Soc Forces 68(1):34–44. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/68.1.34
Sahan M, EraslanCapan B (2017) The role of interpersonal cognitive distortions and social anxiety in adolescents’ problematic ınternet use. Ege J Educ 18(2):887–913. https://doi.org/10.12984/egeefd.336391
Saricam H, Adam Karduz FF (2018) Adaptation of social media use disorder scale to Turkish culture: validity and reliability study. J Meas Eval Educ Psychol 9(2):116–135. https://doi.org/10.21031/epod.335607
Senormanci O, Konkan R, Sungur MZ (2010) Internet addiction and its cognitive behavioral therapy. Anatolian J Psychiatry 11:260–268
Simsek A, Elciyar K, Kizilhan T (2019) A Comparative study on social media addiction of high school and university students. Contemp Educ Technol 10(2):106–119. https://doi.org/10.30935/cet.554452
Song H, Zmyslinski-Seelig A, Kim J, Drent A, Victor A, Omori K, Allen M (2014) Does Facebook make you lonely? A meta analysis. Comput Hum Behav 36:446–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.04.011
Stendberg ID (2014). Influence of social media in stages of democratization. University of Nevada, Master Thesis
Suler JR (1999) To get what you need: healthy and pathological internet use. Cyberpsychol Behav 2(5):385–393. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.1999.2.385
Tagay O, Calısandemir F, Unuvar P (2018) The relationship between young adults’ perceived stress levels and irrational beliefs and self-esteem. Int J Educ Technol Sci Res 7:167–175
Talawar JS, Kumar V (2020) The impact of social media on self-esteem. Int J Humanit Soc Sci 25(2):10–14
Tang CS-K, Koh YW, Gan Y (2017) Addiction to internet use, online gaming, and online social networking among young adults in China, Singapore, and the United States. Asia Pac J Public Health 29(8):673–682. https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539517739558
Tanriverdi D, Özguc S (2022) Metacognitive features and cognitive distortions of the patients with major depression. Curr Psychol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03026-w
Taylor SE, Nobel M (1989) Social comparison activity under threat: downward evaluation and upward contacts. Psychol Rev 96(4):569–575. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295x.96.4.569
Taylor SE, Peplau LA, Sears D (2006) Attitude and attidude change. The social being in social psychology. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, pp 132–168
Ummet D (2015) Self esteem among college students: a study of satisfaction of basic psychological needs and some variables. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 174:1623–1629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.813
Van den Eijnden RJJM, Lemmens JS, Valkenburg PM (2016) The social media disorder scale. Comput Human Behav 2016(61):478–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.03.038
Vogel E, Rose J, Roberts L, Eckles K (2014) Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychol Pop Media Cult 3(4):206–222
Waite P, McManus F, Shafran R (2012) Cognitive behaviour therapy for low self-esteem: a preliminary randomized controlled trial in a primary care setting. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 43:1049–1057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2012.04.006
Wall C (1986) Self concept: an element of success in the female library manager. J Libr Adm 6(4):53–65. https://doi.org/10.1300/J111V06N04_05
World Health Organization [WHO] (2004) Chapter 4: "Determinants (Risk and Protective Factors)". http://www.who.int/hiv/pub/me/en/me_prev_ch4.pdf
Wilson K, Fornasier S, White KM (2010) Psychological predictors of young adults’use of social networking sites. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 13:173–177. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2009.0094
Yigman F, Aksu MH, Özdel K, Unver H (2021) Social media addiction among Turkish young adults ıs partially mediated by automatic thoughts and social problem-solving skills. Alpha Psychol 22(1):25–30. https://doi.org/10.5455/apd.219876
Yildiz F (2019) Investigation of the predictive effect of cognitive distortions on problematic internet use in university students. Master Thesis, Bayburt University Institute of Social Sciences Guidance and Psychological Counseling Department
Yorukoglu A (1985) Youth age. Tisa Printing House, Ankara
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or non-profit sectors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
O.S., A.D., and M.C. conceptualised and designed the study, collected the data. O.S. wrote the article. M.C. and A.D. supervised the study and helped in the writing of the article. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest in this research.
Ethical approval
Ethics committee approval of the study was obtained on December 8th, 2020 from Beykent University Publication Ethics Committee for Social and Human Sciences.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
Editor: Massimiliano Palmiero (University of Teramo); Reviewers: Albandri Sultan Alotaibi (King Saud University) and a second researcher who prefers to remain anonymous.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Sireli, O., Dayi, A. & Colak, M. The mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem in youth. Cogn Process 24, 575–584 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-023-01155-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-023-01155-z