Impact of Social Networking Sites Addiction on Loneliness among Young Adults

The study delves into how social media addiction (SNSA) and feelings of loneliness correlate, among adults aged 18-25 years old with the main aim to ascertain if heightened SNSA leads to increased loneliness levels in this age group. The research employed convenience and snowball sampling methods to recruit participants, and two standardized tools were used: the Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS) by M.G. Shahnawaz and Usama Rehman to measure SNSA and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) to assess loneliness levels. Statistical methods for both inferential and descriptive analysis were used. The findings revealed a weak but statistically significant positive correlation between SNSA and loneliness (r = .177, p < .05). This indicates that as SNSA increases, loneliness levels also rise. However, the weak correlation suggests that other factors like traits or existing mental health issues might also play a role, in this association. These results underscore the impact of spending much time on social media and the importance of implementing measures to encourage more positive online habits in young adults. Further research should investigate influencing factors and causal mechanisms to gain insight into how loneliness and social networking site addiction are linked.