Connecting Virtually, Living Authentically: Understanding Social Media Addiction’s Influence on a Sample of College Students’ Psychological Well-Being

Background Psychological well-being is a state of mental and emotional health where people feel happy, fulfilled, and satisfied with their lives. Social media addiction refers to compulsive and excessive usage of social media platforms to the point where it impairs a person’s relationships, everyday functioning, and general well-being.Purpose This study aims to understand the relationship of social media addiction with psychological well-being.Methodology Three hundred twenty-one college students were included in the cross-sectional descriptive study. The tool included three sections: demographic data, the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale.Result Our results indicate that 6.2% of participants had high social media addiction and 19.6% had good psychological well-being. We identified a statistically significant inverse relationship between social media addiction and psychological well-being. Type of family was identified as a significant predictor of social media addiction.Discussion As social media addiction increases, psychological well-being decreases. Excessive use of social media should be managed to improve psychological well-being.Translation to Health Education Practice Proactive nursing interventions such as early detection and community education can help young individuals to reduce social media addiction.