Young people who experience social anxiety may be at higher risk of developing psychological dependence on digital networking platforms. A new study reveals that this relationship is partially explained by the psychological habit of comparing ourselves to others online. The study was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
Accessing social networks is a common daily habit, but long-term involvement can lead to conditions similar to drug use disorders. Although medical guidelines do not currently classify social media obsession as a formal mental illness, psychologists recognize a clear pattern of addiction. Some people can become overly distracted by their feed and have a strong urge to log in throughout the day. This behavior can escalate to the point where it regularly interferes with schoolwork, career goals, and personal well-being.
This digital behavior pattern is thought to be especially common in late adolescence and early 20s. Psychologists call this stage of life the emergence of adulthood. During these years, individuals typically become more independent and focus on developing their own identity. Building romantic and platonic relationships has become a top priority, making digital communication tools extremely attractive.
Some people enter this life stage with a condition known as social anxiety, an intense fear of being negatively evaluated by peers. For young people dealing with this persistent fear of judgment, navigating physical space can be draining. Seeking alternatives, socially anxious people often turn to digital environments to satisfy their desire for human connection. The Internet provides a controlled space where users can passively view content without the immediate pressure of real conversation.
Psychological theory proposes that Internet addiction acts as a coping mechanism. By immersing themselves in digital spaces, people seek to compensate for relationship needs that are not met in the physical world. Although this strategy may alleviate negative emotions in the short term, it can build lasting vulnerability. Relying on digital safety nets can ultimately make it more difficult to return to in-person interactions.
The architecture of digital networks also fosters a widespread psychological habit known as social comparison. This behavior involves evaluating one’s worth, success, and social status by comparing oneself to others. Timelines and feeds display highly curated streams of personal updates and photos, giving users endless opportunities to compare and rank themselves against friends and strangers. Entering this environment can be complicated for users with social anxiety, who often have persistent uncertainty about their own identity.
Observing others online can sometimes include comparing yourself to people who seem incredibly successful. Researchers call this upward comparison. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and result in you spending hours trying to learn the secrets of popularity. Alternatively, people may focus on those they perceive to be struggling, a habit known as downward comparison. Considering downward comparisons temporarily boosts your self-esteem and acts as a highly rewarding psychological experience, encouraging you to stay glued to your screen.
Previous research has regularly noted strong correlations between anxious traits and phone use at a given point in time, but by tracking individuals over several months, researchers are now able to better understand how these habits unfold. Researchers Randolph CH. Chan and Marcus Shengkai Lam designed a project to map this progress. They are researchers based at the School of Social Work, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The research team collected a final sample of 330 young people living in Hong Kong. Volunteers ranged in age from 18 to 25 years old. Women accounted for approximately three-quarters of all participants, and the majority of young people are currently enrolled as students. The researchers offered participants a small monetary voucher as a reward for their efforts.
Participants first completed an online survey measuring various aspects of their mental health and technology habits. Three months later, the research team contacted the exact same group of people for a follow-up assessment. A total of 243 participants returned and provided updated information about their habits. The researchers chose a three-month gap because it reflects the length of a typical college semester and helps stabilize the student participants’ daily schedules.
To assess emotional well-being, the study asked participants to rate statements about personal difficulties they had in talking about with others. The researchers also asked volunteers how often they compared their abilities and lifestyles to people they saw online. To measure problematic internet usage, the survey asked whether participants spent a lot of time thinking about their digital profiles or felt irritated when trying to log off.
The researchers used statistical models to track how changes in one behavior predicted changes in another behavior over time. Dropout rates between the two periods did not highlight statistically significant differences in mental health, although a higher proportion of men dropped out of the study compared to women. They tested several mathematical possibilities, including a model to examine whether internet dependence actually causes social anxiety rather than the other way around. A model in which anxiety leads to comparison, which leads to addictive behavior, fits the data best.
Initial research pointed to high rates of problematic technology use among young people. Applying standard score thresholds to the questionnaire, the researchers determined that 30% of participants reported symptoms consistent with high risk for digital addiction.
When comparing three months of data, the researchers observed a clear predictive pattern. Participants who reported high levels of fear regarding social interactions at the beginning of the study were more likely to have increased addictive digital behaviors by the end of the semester. This finding suggests a self-reinforcing timeline in which people increase their reliance on technology by avoiding face-to-face conversations.
The research team also identified an underlying mechanism that helps explain exactly how this progression occurs. Higher initial anxiety scores reliably predicted increased habit of comparing oneself to others in digital feeds. Additionally, a higher proportion of online comparisons predicted the onset of addiction symptoms after 3 months. Socially anxious people are turning to technology to clarify their social standing, and their search for clarity seems to trap them in a never-ending cycle of scrolling.
This springboard effect varies depending on the user’s gender. In a group of volunteer women, a pathway bridging anxiety, comparison, and ultimately addiction was evident. Researchers speculate that women often engage with communication technologies in ways that highly emphasize the relational aspects of their identities. Female users may be particularly sensitive to comparison features because they may place more emphasis on group dynamics.
In contrast, the results pointing to this particular psychological pathway were not statistically significant for the men in our sample. The authors note that the small number of male volunteers may have limited the mathematical ability needed to detect subtle relationships in the data. Future studies will need to enroll more men to fully understand their digital habits.
The researchers highlighted several other limitations that should inform how the public interprets the findings. The reliance on female college students means that the conclusions may not apply to working adults or older adults. Additionally, the survey focused entirely on general network usage. The tool did not differentiate between text-based messaging applications and highly visual photo platforms, which could impact users in very different ways.
The survey only asked about the general act of evaluating other users and did not distinguish between upward and downward comparisons. It remains unclear whether striving for popularity or seeking out disadvantaged peers triggers an addictive response. It’s also very likely that other psychological factors, such as fear of missing out on an event, also play a role in linking anxiety to increased screen time.
The findings provide practical guidance for multiple groups navigating the digital age. Mental health professionals who treat anxiety disorders should regularly ask their clients about screen time and help them break their digital comparison habits. At the same time, researchers suggest that technology developers have an ethical responsibility to develop healthier products. Redesigning applications to limit infinite feeds and discourage heavy social rankings could protect the mental health of vulnerable users.
The study, “Social Anxiety as a Predisposition to Social Media Addiction: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study of Social Comparison as an Underlying Mechanism,” was authored by Randolph CH Chan and Marcus Shengkai Lam.
