Echoes of the Feed: A Cross-Sectional Exploration of Social Media Behavioural Patterns and Their Psychological Imprint on Anxiety Subtypes among Emerging Adults

Abstract

The growing incorporation of social media into emerging adults’ daily routines has sparked concern about its psychological consequences. The purpose of this study was to look at social media use habits and their relationship with anxiety subtypes in people aged 18 to 25. A cross-sectional research design was used, and data were collected from 130 participants using a structured questionnaire that included demographic questions, behavioural indicators of social media use, the 6-item Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN), and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2). The study sought to establish whether problematic social media use had quantitative links with generalised anxiety and social anxiety symptoms. Descriptive analysis revealed that 59.2% of respondents showed signs of anxiety, 44.6% showed signs of social anxiety, and 18.5% matched the criteria for problematic social media use. Normality testing using the Shapiro-Wilk test revealed a non-normal distribution (W = 0.9618, p = 0.001), hence a non-parametric technique was employed. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between social media addiction scores and generalised anxiety levels (r = 0.2592, p = 0.0029). Participants with higher BSMAS scores reported considerably higher social anxiety based on Mini-SPIN scores (rₛ = 0.2345, 95% CI [0.0598–0.3953], p = 0.0072). These data indicate that higher social media participation, particularly frequent checking and emotionally motivated usage habits, is connected with increased anxiety symptoms in emerging adults. This study found that problematic social media use had a quantifiable psychological impact on both generalised and social anxiety in young adults. The association, albeit slight, is significant and confirms the rising body of data relating digital behaviours to emotional well-being. Further study with long-term follow-up and additional psychological factors is necessary. The study’s main finding is that social media activity patterns correlate to greater anxiety symptoms among emerging adults.