Exploring social media’s platform-specific effects on cognitive functions: the mediating role of mental health using objective screen-time metric

This study investigated whether depression and anxiety mediate the association between social media use and cognitive failures among 302 undergraduate students at Hail University, Saudi Arabia. Addressing gaps in previous research that relied largely on self-reported exposure, we used objective screen-time data from six major platforms (TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, YouTube, and X [formerly Twitter]) alongside validated psychological scales—the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) while controlling for relevant covariates. Results showed that TikTok and Instagram use were positively correlated with anxiety (ρ = 0.133, p < 0.021) and depression (ρ = 0.109, p < 0.048), as well as higher CFQ scores. Multivariate regression analyses indicated that depression (β = 0.458, p < 0.001) and anxiety (β = 0.213, p = 0.002) together accounted for 32% of the variance in cognitive complaints (R2 = 0.32). A bootstrapped mediation analysis confirmed significant indirect effects of social media use on cognitive failures through depression and anxiety (effect = 0.008, 95% CI [0.003, 0.014]). Findings advance prior work by integrating objective usage metrics and platform-specific modelling with psychological assessment, supporting mental health as a pathway linking digital engagement and cognitive function. The results suggest promoting psychological well-being may mitigate cognitive difficulties associated with high social media exposure.