Investigating the Relationship Between Time Spent on Social Media, Self-Esteem and Loneliness in its users.

Since the evolution of social media networking sites, it has been a constant question without a definite answer whether social media sites have a negative or positive effect on user’s well-being. This study aims to bridge the gap in existing literature by investigating the relationship between time spent on social media and its effect on user’s self-esteem and loneliness in college students. This study used a quantitative cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of 115 participants were recruited via online social media platforms, 88 females (76.5%) and 27 males (23.5%). The participants completed a survey consisting of 4 questionnaires including, demographic questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Social Media Activity Intensity Scale (SNAIS). A relationship between loneliness and social media activity intensity was found after running Pearson Correlation analysis along with a significant relationship between age and social media activity intensity; There was no significant relationship between self-esteem and social media. Hierarchical Multiple Regression showed that after controlling for age and time spent on social media, there was still a significant relationship between loneliness and social media activity intensity. Further research is needed to determine the direction of the relationships. Key words: Social Media, Self-Esteem, Lonelines