Contribution This Study Will Make to the Literature

Contribution This Study Will Make to the Literature

There is a significant amount of literature surrounding the negative effects of high social media use and social media addiction. Many of these studies also address social media addiction and highlight that “a key aspect of social media addiction is that individuals do not only use social media more frequently, but may experience distress without it” (Lin et al., 2017, as cited in Larson, 2021, p. 233). Although the studies above prove a relationship between high social media usage and social media addiction, high usage alone is not enough to constitute addiction. It is important to perform continual research regarding this topic because technology and social media platforms are constantly evolving. For example, TikTok did not exist until 2016 but is now one of the most popular social media platforms amongst young people (D’Souza, 2021). Furthermore, no specific research has been done on young Canadian adults and social media use and addiction, especially anything specific to Alberta or the Edmonton Area.

This is where the current research study adds to the discussion. It is also important to acknowledge that the Covid-19 pandemic may play a significant role in increased social media use among young adults. Social media addiction statistics may have changed substantially in the past couple of years. This specific sample and period in time are what makes this study different from others that are similar. This research will also represent Alberta on a global scale when it comes to research surrounding social media addiction in young adults.