The Impact of Social Media Addiction on Procrastination, Sleep Quality and Depression among Young Adults

Abstract

: The increasing use of social media has become an important behavioural and psychological concern among young adults. Excessive and uncontrolled social media use may interfere with daily functioning, productivity, sleep patterns, and psychological well-being. The present study examined the relationship between social media addiction, procrastination, sleep quality, and depressive symptoms among young adults. It also investigated whether procrastination and sleep quality mediated the relationship between social media addiction and depression. A quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational research design was adopted. The final eligible sample consisted of 149 young adults aged 18 – 35 years. Data were collected using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Spearman’s rank -order correlation, and simple mediation analysis using 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Social media addiction was significantly and positively associated with procrastination (ρ = .517, p < .001), poor er sleep quality (ρ = .376, p < .001), and depressive symptoms (ρ = .311, p < .001). Procrastination and poor er sleep quality were also significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Mediation analysis showed that procrastination did not significantly mediate the relationship between social media addiction and depression, as the indirect effect was .213 with a 95% bootstrap confidence interval of [-.028, .488]. In contrast, sleep quality significantly mediated the relationship, with an indirect effect of .134 and a 95% bootstrap confidence interval of [.010, .316]. The findings highlight the importance of healthy social media habits and adequate sleep in promoting psychological well-being among young adults.