BMC Psychol. 2025 Oct 30;13(1):1200. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03544-9.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Life satisfaction is an essential component that enables individuals to discover meaning in their lives and attain cognitive well-being. Life satisfaction is typically associated with aspects such as meaningfulness, fulfilment, and happiness. To gain a deeper understanding of university students’ life satisfaction, this study explores the influence of psychological mechanisms of social anxiety for social media users and mental well-being from the perspective of smartphone addiction. Specifically, it aims to examine the effect of smartphone addiction on life satisfaction among university students in China, with social anxiety for social media users and mental well-being acting as serial mediators within the proposed research model.
METHODS: The respondent in this study was analyzed using a non-probability cross-sectional survey approach. Questionnaires were distributed to university students in China, which include the regions of Northeast China, North China, Northwest China, Central China, South China, East China, and Southwest China. Eventually, 4,159 university students were identified as usable data for analysis. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 29 and SmartPLS 4.1.1.4 software, specifically adopting the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.
RESULTS: The results indicated that, for the direct effect hypotheses, smartphone addiction was not significantly associated with life satisfaction. However, smartphone addiction was positively and significantly associated with social anxiety related to social media use, and negatively and significantly associated with mental well-being. Social anxiety for social media users was negatively and significantly associated with both mental well-being and life satisfaction. Mental well-being, in turn, was positively and significantly associated with life satisfaction. Regarding the mediation and serial mediation hypotheses, the results showed that social anxiety for social media users and mental well-being both had significant negative indirect associations with the relationship between smartphone addiction and life satisfaction. Additionally, the serial mediation pathway through social anxiety and mental well-being was also statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to a better understanding of the associations among smartphone addiction, social anxiety, mental well-being, and life satisfaction among university students. While causal interpretations cannot be drawn due to the cross-sectional design, the findings highlight potential psychological pathways that may underlie the link between intensive smartphone use and reduced life satisfaction. These insights may inform the development of future university-based interventions that aim to address smartphone-related difficulties and promote student well-being. As digital engagement continues to grow, further longitudinal research is recommended to clarify the directionality of these associations and to support the design of effective strategies for enhancing university students’ quality of life.
PMID:41168877 | DOI:10.1186/s40359-025-03544-9
