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© 2025 Wei et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Objective

This study investigates the impact of social suspicion on social media addiction among Chinese college students, examining the mediating role of the sense of meaning in life and the moderating effect of gender.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted from September 19, 2023, to November 2, 2023, involving 1,558 students from three universities in southern Anhui Province, China. Participants completed questionnaires assessing social suspicion, social media addiction, and the sense of meaning in life. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, Hayes’ PROCESS macro, and bootstrap methods to test mediation and moderation effects.

Results

The findings revealed a bidirectional relationship between social suspicion and social media addiction. Social suspicion positively predicted social media addiction, with the sense of meaning in life mediating this relationship. Gender moderated the mediating effect, as the indirect effect of social suspicion on social media addiction through the sense of meaning in life was significantly stronger among female students compared to male students. Additionally, social media addiction also positively predicted social suspicion, with the sense of meaning in life and gender moderating this relationship.

Conclusion

This study reveals a bidirectional relationship between social suspicion and social media addiction among Chinese college students, mediated by a sense of meaning in life and moderated by gender. Social suspicion directly drives addiction while indirectly exacerbating it through reduced the sense of meaning in life, with females showing stronger mediation effects and males exhibiting heightened susceptibility to suspicion when addicted. These findings emphasize the need for gender-tailored interventions to address psychological vulnerabilities and mitigate risks of digital overuse.

Details

Title
The effect of social suspicion on social media addiction among Chinese college students: A moderated mediation model
Author
Tao Wei Xiao-Li Xing Jing-Jing Liu Yan Gan Xue Gong Xiu-Fang Zhang Bu Xu; Xiang-Xia Rong  VIAFID ORCID Logo 
First page
e0323474
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2025
Publication date
May 2025
Publisher
Public Library of Science
e-ISSN
19326203
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3206475246
Copyright
© 2025 Wei et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.