Review of the Problem

Review of the Problem

This current study is focused on investigating whether or not the majority of young adults, ranging from ages 18 to 24, in Edmonton are addicted to social media. The impact social media has on the lives of young adults was closely examined by exploring how social media affects behaviour (Larson, 2021), variables that predict social media addiction (Ciplak, 2020), as well as the impact of social media addiction on the health and well-being of students (Zhao, 2020). Insight can be gained from the sources included in the literature review, as they provided data that support the study’s hypothesis and research questions.

The research team learned that social media addiction is not yet a classified psychological disorder in the DSM-5 and that there is a close relationship between social media use and addiction and social behaviours like social skill deficits. There is also a strong correlation between smartphone addiction and stress, a negative link between smartphone addiction and academic performance, and a mediated negative link between smartphone addiction and life satisfaction (Samaha & Hawi, 2016). Additionally, social media addiction can be a cause of lower rates of happiness in youths, FOMO (fear of missing out) being a significant example of a social psychological process which has been associated with excessive usage of social media platforms (Gosain & Yadav, 2020). These insights complement the current study’s findings and contribute to a further understanding of social media’s impact on the lives of young adults, particularly in the Edmonton region. These topics will be expanded upon in the conclusions.