Introduction

Technological developments have led to the very frequent use of online communication tools. The increased use of online communication tools has brought social media addiction to the agenda (Griffiths & Szabo, 2014). Social media addiction is defined as the withdrawal reaction, anger, irritability, and spending time on social media tools for a long time when individuals stay away from social media sharing tools (Kuss & Griffiths, 2011). Adolescence is among the high-risk groups in terms of social media addiction (Allen et al., 2014). The report published by We Are Social (2022) indicates high rates of internet, smartphone, and social media usage within the age range of adolescence period. Studies show that social media addiction among adolescents is positively related to variables such as depression (Kircaburun, 2016; Labrague, 2014), low life satisfaction (Geraee et al., 2019; Türkel & Dilmaç, 2019), negative self-esteem (Yüksel-Şahin & Öztoprak, 2019; Wang et al., 2018), and shyness (Tian et al., 2021). The negative effects of social media addiction on adolescents have prompted researchers to investigate the factors causing this addiction in adolescents. In conducted studies, factors such as social anxiety (Ime et al.,  2024), shyness (Satici, 2019), low self-esteem (Kircaburun, 2016), loneliness (Kitiş et al., 2022; Xu et al., 2022), and lack of social support (Ling et al., 2023) have been reported to be associated with the emergence of social media addiction in adolescents.

Although there are many studies on social media addiction in adolescents, it is of great importance to continue investigating the causes of social media addiction, considering the prevalence rate of social media addiction in adolescents and its negative effects on them. Nevertheless, despite the extensive literature on factors associated with social media addiction in adolescents, it is a fact that the investigation of intermediary mechanisms will contribute to a better understanding and discussion of these addictions. Previous studies have examined the mediating roles of mindfulness (Doğan & Turp, 2023) and social exclusion (Çiftçi et al., 2023) between loneliness and social media addiction in adolescents. Another study focused on the mediating role of psychological resilience between perceived support from family and social media addiction (Lin et al., 2023). However, no research has been found examining the mediating role of psychological resilience between loneliness and social media addiction in adolescents. In addition, recent various studies have begun to focus on the mediating role of psychological resilience between various risk factors and psychopathological conditions in adolescents (Arslan, 2016; Yang et al., 2022). There are also some studies examining the mediating role of psychological resilience, especially between loneliness and various negative life events (Ai & Hu, 2016; Zhao et al., 2018). Loneliness is seen as a risk factor for individuals during adolescence in terms of social media addiction (Schwartz-Lifshitz et al., 2022) and psychological resilience (Masten & Reed, 2002). Therefore, in this study, we focused on the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. In the following sections, we explain why we determined such a model and support the relationship between variables with relevant literature and theoretical explanations.

Loneliness and social media addiction in adolescents

Loneliness is defined as an unwelcome feeling experienced by individuals when their social needs cannot be met by their achieved levels of social relationships (Perlman & Peplau, 1982). Studies show that as the social relationship is one of the most important developmental tasks that need to be developed during adolescence (Havighurst,  1956), loneliness is among the most common emotions during adolescence (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009; Qualter et al., 2015). Research shows that loneliness in adolescence has a positive relationship with depression (Spithoven et al., 2017), stress (Yaacob et al., 2009), social anxiety (Baytemir &Yildiz, 2017), substance use (Kayaoğlu et al., 2022) and technology addictions (Parashkouh et al., 2018). One of the most important causes of social media addiction in adolescence is the feeling of loneliness. Adolescents who fail to achieve social relationships usually withdraw from social environments and feel lonely (Qualter et al., 2015). Adolescents who feel lonely turn to social media tools to get rid of this feeling and to meet their need for social relationships (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008). Although this situation may seem normal at first, social media addiction gradually starts to develop in adolescents who feel lonely. The positive relationship between the loneliness levels of adolescents and social media addiction has been reported in the literature (Schwartz-Lifshitz et al., 2022; Thomas et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2018). On the other hand, the I-PACE model developed by Brand et al. (2016) may make it easier for us to understand the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. On the other hand, the I-PACE model developed by Brand et al. (2016) may make it easier for us to understand the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. The I-PACE Model (Brand et al., 2016) claims that individuals' problematic internet use is caused by various psychological, biological, cognitive, affective, and social variables. According to the I-PACE model, individuals use the internet extensively to cope with negative emotional states such as anxiety, stress, depression, shyness, and loneliness. However, this increased use leads to an increase in the undesirable emotional states experienced by individuals, which causes them to enter into a vicious circle in which they turn to internet use again to cope with these feelings. Loneliness is a common emotion experienced during adolescence (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009; Qualter et al., 2015). Social media addiction risk rates were reported to increase due to the sense of loneliness experienced by adolescents (Allen et al., 2014; Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008). According to the I-PACE model, adolescents with increased feelings of loneliness may be using social media excessively to cope with this feeling. Increased use of social media may cause adolescents' social relationships to decrease and their feelings of loneliness to increase. Adolescents may fall into a vicious cycle where they turn to social media again to cope with these emotions. In light of all these explanations, we propose the following hypothesis:

  • H1: Loneliness will be positively associated with social media addiction.

The psychological resilience as a mediator

Psychological resilience is defined as the ability of individuals to overcome negative life conditions and return to normal (Connor & Davidson, 2003). The Resilience Theory in Adolescents focuses on how some adolescents maintain their mental health despite risky life events (Zimmerman et al., 2013). According to the Resilience Theory in Adolescents, resilience reduces or eliminates possible negative consequences by interrupting the effects of environmental, individual, and social risk factors. For instance, various studies have revealed that adolescents with high psychological resilience exhibit lower levels of depression (Yang et al., 2022), reduced incidence of suicidal thoughts (George & Moolman, 2017), and lower rates of technology addiction (Ozturk & Kundakci, 2021; Zhao et al., 2022). Additionally, they have been shown to better protect their mental health against stressful life events (Chen & Kuo, 2020). In addition, in recent years, mediation studies have been conducted focusing on the protective role of psychological resilience between various risk factors and psychopathological conditions in adolescents (Anyan & Hjemdal, 2016; Arslan, 2016; Lee & Cranford, 2008; Yang et al., 2022; Zhao et al., 2018. In short, psychological resilience enables adolescents to respond adaptively to challenging life events in their daily lives.

Psychological resilience consists of three aspects: positive outcomes, risk factors, and protective factors. Risk factors are undesirable life events and emotions that threaten resilience (Masten & Reed, 2002), while protective factors are factors that increase individuals' resilience against risk factors and enable them to use their coping skills effectively (Rutter, 2006). For individuals to actively manifest psychological resilience in the face of undesired life events, it is essential for there to be fewer risk factors, more protective factors, and abundant positive outcomes. Loneliness is a commonly experienced phenomenon during adolescence and is considered a risk factor for psychological resilience (Masten & Reed, 2002). Adolescents who fail to achieve social relationships usually withdraw from social environments and feel lonely (Qualter et al., 2015). In other words, adolescents experiencing feelings of loneliness may be deprived of the protective effects of friendship relationships that contribute to psychological resilience. This situation may negatively affect the psychological resilience of adolescents. Because having social relationships is a protective factor for psychological resilience (Henderson & Milstein, 1996). Some studies in the literature reveal the negative relationship between loneliness and psychological resilience (Jakobsen et al., 2020; Yakıcı & Traş, 2018; Zhang et al., 2021). However, the limited number of studies exploring the relationship between loneliness and psychological resilience specifically in adolescents (Ai & Hu, 2016; Cao et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2018) makes this association intriguing. Therefore, based on these explanations, we propose the following hypothesis.

  • H2: Loneliness will be negatively associated with psychological resilience.

Psychological resilience also gives individuals the opportunity to effectively fight against undesirable living conditions (Doğan, 2015). Studies reported low depression levels (Wei et al., 2022), high levels of well-being (Brighi et al., 2019), and life satisfaction (Arslan, 2019) in adolescents with high psychological resilience. On the other hand, some studies have reported a negative relationship between adolescents' psychological resilience and social media addiction (Bilgin & Taş, 2018; Zhou et al., 2017; Žmavc et al., 2022). The results of this research indicate that adolescents with high psychological resilience will have a lower tendency to use social media in an addictive manner. Therefore, based on these explanations, we propose the following hypothesis.

  • H3: Psychological resilience will be negatively associated with social media addiction.

The above explanations and research results indicate that there is a positive relationship between loneliness and social media addiction, and a negative relationship between psychological resilience and loneliness and social media addiction. Psychological resilience is the individual's ability to continue normal development under difficult conditions or to return to normal after difficult life events. Psychological resilience is not a behavior, it is a concept with antecedents (risky factors, protective factors) and positive outcomes (Masten & Reed, 2002). In other words, the more risk factors present in an individual's life, the higher the probability of their psychological resilience being weak, and consequently, the likelihood of effectively coping with adverse life conditions will decrease. Loneliness is considered a risk factor for both psychological resilience and social media addiction during adolescence (Qualter et al., 2015), and it is known that adolescents frequently use online communication tools to cope with their negative emotions (Allen et al., 2014). Therefore, we believe that, due to the increased sense of loneliness in adolescents and the subsequent decrease in psychological resilience, adolescents may be more inclined to use social media as a means of coping with feelings of loneliness. Based on all these explanations, we propose the following hypothesis:

  • H4: Psychological resilience will play a mediating and buffering role in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. The theoretical background of the hypotheses in the study is presented in Fig. 1 and the model of the research is presented in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Theoretical background of the hypotheses in the study

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Fig. 2
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Model of current research

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In short, we believe that the results of this study will contribute to expanding the literature on understanding the mediating variables between loneliness and social media addiction in adolescents. Additionally, we hope that the results of this study will have the potential to provide practical outcomes to practitioners in the field of technology addiction, especially in terms of preventive mental health measures for adolescents.

Method

Study group

Convenience sampling method was used in this cross-sectional research. Convenience sampling method is one of the non-probability sampling methods. With the convenience sampling method, the researcher collects data from the population in the easiest, fastest and most economical way (Malhotra, 2004). A total of 786 Turkish adolescents, including 474 (60.3%) girls and 312(39.7%) boys, participated in the study. The ages of the adolescents participating in the study ranged from 11 to 18 years (Mean = 14.25, Sd = 2.29). Among the adolescents participating in the study, 107 (13.6%) were enrolled in secondary school and 679 (86.4%) were enrolled in high school.

Data collection procedure and ethical process

Ethics approval for the study was obtained before data collection (Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Social and Human Sciences Ethics Committee, Date-Decision no: 22/12/2022–16.59). Before the data collection process, the administrators of the selected schools were contacted and the necessary permissions were obtained for the study. Then, parents were informed about the content of the study with an informed consent form. Consent for the research was obtained from the parents of the students participating in the study. Data collection was performed using a paper–pencil method, and participation was on a voluntary basis. Filling out the data collection tools took about 15 min for the participants. Data were collected from a total of 830 adolescents in the data collection process. However, 44 adolescents were found not to have filled in the data collection forms completely, so they were removed from the data set. The study included data from 786 adolescents.

Data collection tools

Personal information form

The Personal Information From was prepared by the researchers to determine the participants’ gender, age, and school type.

UCLA Loneliness Scale Short Form (UCLA-L SF)

The scale developed by Russell, Peplau and Cutrona (1980) was converted into a short form by Hays and DiMatteo (1987). The Turkish validity and reliability of the scale were performed by Yıldız and Duy (2014). The scale is used to evaluate individuals’ loneliness levels. The seven-item scale includes one dimension. The scale is responded on a four-point Likert scale (1-Never, 4-Always). Scores to be obtained from the scale range from 7 to 28. Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficient calculated on the data collected in the current study was found to be sufficient (a = 0.72).

Psychological Resilience Scale (PRS)

The Psychological Resilience Scale, which was developed by Smith et al. (2008), was adapted to Turkish by Doğan (2015). The scale consists of six items and a single factor. The scale is answered using a five-point Likert type (1- Not at all true 5- Almost always true). The scores to be obtained from the scale range from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating higher levels of psychological resilience. Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficient calculated on the data collected in the current study was found to be sufficient (a = 0.71).

Social media addiction scale- short form for adolescents (SMASSF-A)

The scale was developed by Van de Eijnden et al. (2016) and adapted to Turkish by Taş (2017). It consists of nine items and a single factor. Higher scores obtained from the scale indicate social media addiction. The scale is responded on a two-point Likert scale (1-Yes, 2-No). The scores to be obtained from the scale range from 0 to 9. Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficient calculated on the data collected in the current study was found to be sufficient (a = 0.78).

Data analysis

The descriptive statistics of the data collected in the study were calculated, and the relationships between the variables were determined by the correlation coefficient. The mediating role of resilience in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction of adolescents was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Structural equation analysis enables the determination of the relationships between variables based on a certain theory to be tested through a model (Byrne, 2001). Structural equation results CFI, GFI, TLI, IFI > 0.90, RMSE < 0.010 and χ2/df < 5model fit indices were considered (Hu & Bentler, 1999). In addition, bootstrapping analysis was used to determine whether the mediating effect in the mediation analysis was significant and 10,000 resamples were made. When the confidence intervals calculated as a result of the bootstrapping analysis do not cover zero, it is decided that the mediation effect is significant (Hayes, 2013).

Results

Descriptive statistics findings

The descriptive statistical findings and correlation coefficients of the variables in the study are given in Table 1.

Table 1 Descriptive statistical findings and correlation coefficients (r)
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Table 1 shows a negative correlation between loneliness and psychological resilience (r = -0.33; p < 0.01), social media addiction and psychological resilience (r = -0.23; p < 0.01), and a positive correlation between loneliness and social media addiction (r = 0.21; p < 0.01). In addition, coefficients of kurtosis and skewness were found to be within the recommended limits (-1.5 and + 1.5) for normal distribution (Tabachnick & ve Fidell, 2013).

Mediation analysis findings

This study examined the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. Figure 3 demonstrates the path diagram of the structural equation analysis. The model fit indices obtained as a result of the analysis show that the tested model has good fit values [χ2 = 483.520, df = 204 p < 0.001, χ2/df = 2.37; TLI = 0.91; IFI = 0.92; CFI = 0.92; GFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.042 (90% CI = 0.037-0.047)].

Fig. 3
figure 3

Path diagram regarding the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction

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The structural equation analysis indicated that loneliness positively predicted social media addiction (β = 0.21, p < 0.001). Loneliness negatively predicted psychological resilience (β = -0.43, p < 0.001). Psychological resilience negatively predicted social media addiction (β = -0.22, p < 0.001). Also, psychological resilience was found to significantly mediate the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. The bootstrap intervals obtained did not include zero, which showed that psychological resilience had a significant mediating role [β = 0.10, BC-Bias 95% lower-bound = 0.048, upper-bound = 0.153]. The results obtained in the structural equation analysis are presented in Table 2.

Table 2 Mediation analysis findings
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Discussion

This study, we focused on the mediating role of psychological resilience in the effect of loneliness levels of adolescents on social media addictions. We assuumed that, due to the increased sense of loneliness in adolescents and the subsequent decrease in psychological resilience, adolescents may be more inclined to use social media as a means of coping with feelings of loneliness. The results we obtained in the study supported the accuracy of this hypothesis we put forward. Although the study has a cross-sectional design, we think that the results obtained from the study expand the literature on mediating variables between loneliness and social media addiction in adolescents. In addition, we think that the mediation finding in the current research on psychological resilience sheds light on the fact that it can be a protective resource that can be used in negative emotional states that cause social media addiction in adolescents.

This study found that loneliness positively predicted social media addiction, which confirmed the H1 hypothesis. This result shows that loneliness is associated with increasing social media addiction among adolescents, which is consistent with several studies in the literature (Doğan & Karakaş, 2016, Schwartz-Lifshitz et al., 2022; Wang et al., 2022). Adolescents are known to use social media intensely to cope with feelings of loneliness and to compensate for their unsatisfactory social relationships (Griffiths, 2005; Riva et al., 2016). On the other hand, the I-PACE model claims that individuals use the internet intensively to cope with negative emotional states such as anxiety, stress, depression, shyness, and loneliness. However, this increased use causes an increase in unwanted emotional states, which causes them to enter into a vicious circle in which the individual turns to internet use again to cope with these emotions (Brand et al., 2016). According to this model, the current study finding indicates that adolescents with an increased sense of loneliness use social media excessively to cope with this emotion. Nadkarni and Hofmann (2012) state that social media platforms meet two needs: belonging and self-presentation. In addition, according to the Uses and Satisfactions Theory (Rubin, 2009), individuals with high levels of loneliness use social media to meet these wants and needs that they cannot meet in social life. The current research finding can be interpreted as adolescents with higher levels of loneliness tend to use social media more both to meet their social relationship needs and to cope with the tension created by the feeling of loneliness.

This study found showed that loneliness predicted psychological resilience negatively, which confirmed the H2 hypothesis of the study. This finding shows that loneliness is associated with low psychological resilience in adolescents. This result is consistent with studies indicating a negative relationship between loneliness and psychological resilience (Jakobsen et al., 2020; Pakdaman et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2021). This finding can be interpreted as loneliness causes adolescents to be deprived of social relationships that play a protective role in terms of psychological resilience, and this situation negatively affects the psychological resilience of adolescents.

The third finding of the study indicated that psychological resilience predicted social media addiction negatively, which confirmed the H3 hypothesis of the study. This finding indicates that high psychological resilience is associated with low social media addiction in adolescents, which is consistent with other studies in the literature (Bilgin & Taş, 2018; Žmavc et al., 2022). The current research finding and other research results in the literature indicate that psychological resilience can prevent undesirable behaviors. Similarly, psychological resilience is reported to be a protective factor in social media addiction (Lin et al., 2023). A possible interpretation of this result could be that adolescents with high psychological resilience are less likely to develop undesirable situations (e.g. social media addiction) because they can give adaptive responses to difficult life events.

The last finding of the study showed that psychological resilience had a mediating role in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction, which confirmed the H4 hypothesis of the study. This result indicates that loneliness negatively affects adolescents’ psychological resilience and hence increases social media addiction. Because it is known that adolescents use social media too much to cope with their increasing feelings of loneliness (Griffiths, 2005; Riva et al., 2016). In addition, I-PACE model suggests that individuals repetitively use the internet in a way that leads to a vicious cycle for coping with negative emotional states such as anxiety, stress, depression, shyness, and loneliness. (Brand et. al, 2016). According to I-PACE model, the current mediation finding can be thought that adolescents, whose loneliness level increases and psychological resilience decreases, spend more time on social media, reducing the possibility of social relationships. Due to the decrease in social relationships, adolescents begin to feel more loneliness, and this can negatively affect their psychological resilience. In an attempt to escape this negative emotional state, adolescents may, once again, turn to social media, entering a cycle of reinforcement.

Limitations and future research

The present study has some limitations. Firstly, since the data of the study consisted of Turkish adolescents, the results obtained in the study cannot be generalized to adolescents from other cultures. Other studies to be conducted in the future could obtain more generalizable results by testing the current research model in a sample group of adolescents from various cultures. Secondly, since this study uses a self-reported data collection method, it can contain various personal opinions. This limitation should be taken into account while interpreting the results. Future studies could utilize different data collection methods to avoid such limitations. Additionally, the research data was collected using the convenience sampling method, which is one of the non-probability sampling methods. This may make it difficult for the sample to fully represent the population. In future studies, the study can be repeated with a data group that has a strong ability to represent the main population and where bias is more controlled, by using probability sampling methods. Finally, the cross-sectional nature of the study prevents establishing a causal link between the results obtained. For this reason, experimental or longitudinal studies to be conducted in the future could reveal a causal link between the variables in the current research.

Conclusion

This research reveals important results for understanding the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction in adolescents. We think that the results obtained in this study expand the relevant literature on understanding the relationship between technology addiction and loneliness, which is frequently seen in adolescents, and provides practical outcomes for researchers and practitioners. This study revealed that psychological resilience had a mediating role in the relationship between loneliness and social media addiction. This result indicates that loneliness negatively affects adolescents’ psychological resilience, which causes them to use social media more. Although it was stated in this study that increases in social media usage rates in adolescents could be observed due to loneliness negatively affecting psychological resilience, we claim that the mediation finding here also points to the potential protective role of psychological resilience. Since psychological resilience enables individuals to effectively use their ability to cope with negative situations, adolescents with high levels of loneliness can be supported to cope with this feeling effectively by supporting their psychological resilience. With increased psychological resilience, loss of control and the development of social media addiction can be prevented while trying to satisfy the search for social relationships caused by loneliness through social media. This we claim is supported by the results of mediation studies focusing on the buffering role of psychological resilience between various risk factors and psychopathological conditions in adolescents (Anyan & Hjemdal, 2016; Lee & Cranford, 2008; Zhao et al., 2018).