A Study of the Effects of Social Media Use and Addiction on Relationship Satisfaction

Based on traditional theories of relationship satisfaction and Internet dependency, this study examined the relationship between social media use and addiction to interpersonal relationship satisfaction with an individual’s closest relationship. Two hundred nineteen (N = 219) individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 who are users of social media participated in an online questionnaire about their satisfaction with their closest interpersonal relationship. Our results were based on one-tailed correlations between time spent on social media, social media withdrawal, and their connection to relationship satisfaction. The results did not support our hypothesis and there was a negative correlation between social media use and relationship satisfaction. Further implications and future investigations of the effects of social media use are discussed. Keywords: relationship satisfaction; social media use; Internet dependency; interpersona