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Abstract Social phobia has often been associated with problematic social media use (PSMU) and problematic smartphone use (PSU). Studies have also shown an association between social phobia and self-esteem. However, no studies have analyzed the relationship between social phobia, self-esteem, PSMU, and PSU in an integrated model. The present study hypothesized that social phobia may influence PSMU and PSU through the role of self-esteem. A cross-sectional study comprising 400 Italians (74.75% female) with a mean age of 37.11 years (SD = ± 10.83) participated in the study that included Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Severity Measure for Social Phobia Disorder, and Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale. The results indicated direct positive associations between social phobia and both types of problematic technology use (PSMU and PSU). The results also indicated that self-esteem was a partial mediator in this complex relationship, suggesting that excessive technology use could be a way to compensate for low self-esteem among individuals with social phobia. The present study contributes to the understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between social anxiety, self-esteem, and problematic technology use.
Soraci et al. (Tue,) studied this question.