Mediating Role of Cognitive Distortions in Social Media Use and Self-Esteem in Youth PDF

Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-023-01155-z RESEARCH ARTICLE The mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self‑esteem in youth Ozlem Sireli1 · Ali Dayi2 · Mehmet Colak3 Received: 24 Novemb...

Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-023-01155-z RESEARCH ARTICLE The mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self‑esteem in youth Ozlem Sireli1 · Ali Dayi2 · Mehmet Colak3 Received: 24 November 2022 / Accepted: 24 July 2023 / Published online: 21 August 2023 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Marta Olivetti Belardinelli 2023 Abstract Self-esteem expresses the individual's approach to himself and affects the whole life in terms of mental health. Another important factor affecting self-esteem, which has a critical importance for the youth period, is social media. In the literature, there are many studies examining the relationship between social media use and self-esteem of young people. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem in university students and to test the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between these two variables. The sample of the study consisted of 239 young individuals, 197 (82.4%) female, and 42 (17.6%) males, with a mean age of 20.62 ± 1.92 years, studying at a private university. Participants were evaluated by administering the “Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)”, “Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD-9)”, and “Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS)”. The scales were administered via an online survey. Results revealed that there was a negative significant relationship between the problematic social media use levels of the participants and their self-esteem. In the model established to evaluate the mediating role of cognitive distor- tions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem levels, in the first step, it was found that problematic social media use directly predicted self-esteem negatively. In the second step, it was determined that the use of problematic social media negatively predicted the mediating variable cognitive distortions. In the third step, when cogni- tive distortions, which are mediator variables, are added to the model in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem; it was determined that cognitive distortions played a partial mediating role in the sub-dimensions of “self-perception”, “self-blame”, “hopelessness” and “seeing life as dangerous”, while the sub-dimensions of “helplessness” and “total scale scores” played a full mediator role. Our findings show that there is a negative relationship between the prob- lematic social media use of young people and their self-esteem levels, and cognitive distortions play a mediating role in the relationship between both variables. Keywords Self-esteem · Problematic social media use · Cognitive distortions Introduction Self-esteem encompasses the feelings of compassion, Editor: Massimiliano Palmiero (University of Teramo); Reviewers: respect, and confidence towards oneself as a result of self- Albandri Sultan Alotaibi (King Saud University) and a second knowledge and realistic assessment of oneself, acceptance researcher who prefers to remain anonymous. of one's abilities and strengths as they are, and self-accept- ance (Yorukoglu 1985; Cuhadaroglu 1986). It has been Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy documented that self-esteem influences the entire life of an or position of any affiliated agency of the authors. 1 * Ozlem Sireli Mugla, Turkey [email protected] 2 Department of Psychiatry, Beykent University Faculty Ali Dayi of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey [email protected] 3 Izmir, Turkey Mehmet Colak [email protected] 13 Vol.:(0123456789) 576 Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 individual and is associated with a range of factors related 2017). There are numerous studies suggesting that prob- to mental health (Kaya and Tastan 2020; Cuhadaroglu lematic social media use adversely affects domains such as Cetin and Akdemir 2012). Self-esteem, which refers to the academic functionality, social relations, mental well-being, approach of an individual to himself, is of critical impor- life satisfaction, and self-esteem in young people (Bozkurt tance for the youth period (Cuhadaroglu 1986). et al. 2016; Hawi and Samaha 2017; Błachnio et al. 2019). Individuals between the ages of 15–24 are considered Most of the research results demonstrate that there is a nega- “young” by the World Health Organization (WHO 2004). tive correlation between problematic social media use and The youth period is an important stage during which an self-esteem and that the level of social media use is high individual seeks answers to developmental questions such among young people with low self-esteem (Wilson et al. as what he is like and how he feels about himself, deter- 2010; Pantic 2014; Lee and Cheung 2014). According to mines self-images according to internal and environmental the researchers, while the use of social media is beneficial in factors by using self-perception as a tool, and ultimately, terms of establishing meaningful social connections, the use self-esteem is shaped (Cuhadaroglu 1986). There are numer- of problematic social media that has become uncontrolled ous studies investigating self-esteem and factors impacting causes behavioral changes and many negative effects, espe- self-esteem in young individuals. Given the results of the cially social isolation in people (Song et al. 2014; Clark et al. studies on the subject, it is noticed that many factors such as 2018). Problematic use of social media causes individuals sociodemographic characteristics, family, and peer relations, to fall into traps such as social comparison and negatively perceived social support, academic success, and physical affect their self-esteem (Chen and Lee 2013). and/or mental illness have been found to be associated with Self-sense and self-esteem are concepts discussed by self-esteem (Camadan and Kirac 2020; Dale et al. 2019; cognitive theorists. The fundamental principle of the cogni- Ummet 2015). Another key element that is thought to affect tive approach is based on the hypothesis that the cognition self-esteem in young people is social media (Talawar and (thought) and emotions of the individual have an impact on Kumar 2020). their behavior (Beck et al. 1987). Cognitive distortions are Social media has been described as a structure consist- thought errors that occur in inaccurate and dysfunctional ing of various technological activities within the context of information processing. Dysfunctional beliefs in the cogni- social interaction and content creation, and in this structure, tive structure shape the individual's thinking and are used the individual can introduce himself to others, either as he quite intensively by individuals with low self-esteem (Black- is or with the identity, he wants to be and interact with them burn et al. 1995). Fennell (1997) explained depression and (Stendberg 2014). Although the use of social media makes anxiety disorder with low self-esteem and dysfunctional an individual's life easier in terms of information acquisi- beliefs. According to Fennell (1998), individuals with low tion and information sharing, it can easily turn into addic- self-esteem have negative core beliefs about self (e.g., “I tion when it is used frequently and/or uncontrollably (Khan am boring, I am stupid”) and dysfunctional thought errors 2018). Although problematic social media use is not defined (e.g., “Unless I am the life and soul of the party, no-one will as a disorder in DSM-5, problematic social media use is want to know me I must work extremely hard all the time, considered as a behavioral addiction in the literature (Grif- or I will”) is available). Research results on the subject sup- fiths and Szabo 2014; Kuss and Griffiths 2011). Problematic port the relationship between cognitive distortions and low social media use; “Overuse, inability to satisfy the desire self-esteem (Hicdurmaz and Oz 2011; Waite et al. 2012; to use, neglect of activities due to excessive use, damage Tagay et al. 2018). In recent years, many theorists have been to social relations by excessive use, using as a means of explaining problematic internet use or social media use with escaping from negative emotions and life stress, experi- a cognitive behavioral approach (Davis 2001; Caplan 2002). encing problems in reducing and stopping use, being nerv- According to Davis (2001), there is a relationship ous and nervous when use is not possible. It is defined as between problematic internet use and maladaptive cogni- being nervous, lying about the duration and amount of use” tions. An individual who thinks he is not enough and has (Kwon et al. 2013; Van den Eijnden et al. 2016). Nowadays, cognitive distortions related to self-discontent cannot estab- social media has become an important means of communi- lish satisfactory relationships in the offline world and feels cation and the frequency of problematic social media use valuable in the online world. Maladaptive cognitions about is increasing, particularly among young individuals (Kuss self are one of the factors associated with problematic social and Griffiths 2011; Simsek et al. 2019). Studies show that media use (i.e. “I am a failure when I am offline”) (Davis the frequency of problematic social media use is between 2001; Caplan 2010). According to the researchers, individu- 1.6% and 34% (Griffiths and Kuss 2015). In a large sam- als with low self-esteem see themselves as less competent in ple study conducted with young people whose age group interpersonal relationships and prefer online social interac- is between 18–25, it was determined that 33.1% of univer- tion more. This paves the way for problematic internet use sity students have problematic social media use (Tang et al. (Caplan 2003). Suler (1999) explains the development of 13 Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 577 problematic internet use and maladaptive cognitions with calculated with G*Power (3.1.9.4) against the entered nomi- the “needs-satisfying” process. Individuals who cannot nal significance level (α = 0.5) and power value (1−β = 0.8 meet their specific needs in real life are satisfied in the vir- and 1−β = 0.9). Since a large effect size is expected on the tual environment, and as the “needs-satisfying” process is G*Power screen, a value of 0.5 was entered in the “Correla- repeated, the perception that the online world is better than tion H1” section and a value of 0.3 to see the result with a the real world is formed. Maladaptive cognitions are related medium effect size. On the other hand, “Correlation H0” to specific needs. Similarly, problematic social media use was written as 0 since it was tested whether the correlation may develop in individuals who meet their social needs in value was 0 (whether the relationship was significant or not). the online world (Caplan 2003, 2007). As a result of the evaluation, the required minimum sample Research on the subject shows that problematic social size (n) was found to be 112. The inclusion criteria for the media use is associated with maladaptive cognitions. In most study were being 18 years of age or above, and volunteering studies in the literature, it is seen that cognitive distortions to participate in the study. are evaluated as an independent variable in the relationship between problematic social media use and determined as a factor that predicts problematic social media use (Sahan Measures and Eraslan Capan 2017; Bilgin and Dogrusever 2018; Mai et al. 2012; Yildiz 2019; Kuzucu et al. 2020; Ozpar- The Rosenberg Self‑Esteem Scale (RSES) lak and Karakaya 2022). Cognitive distortions are also seen in problematic internet use, and individuals prefer online RSES was developed by Rosenberg (1965). The Turkish social interaction to get risk-free positive reactions (Senor- validity and reliability study was conducted by Cuhadaroglu manci et al. 2010). There are studies in the literature show- (1986). Consisting of 63 items, the scale has 12 subtests. In ing that the relationship between problematic social media the study, only the self-esteem subtest was used. According use and cognitive distortions is bidirectional, and that the to the self-assessment system of the scale, the subjects score use of problematic social media negatively affects cognitive between 0 and 6. Self-esteem is rated high (0–1 points), distortions (Berber Celik and Odaci 2013; Kalkan 2012). moderate (2–4 points), and low (5–6 points) in comparisons In the literature, there are studies in which the mediation made with numerical measurements. A high total score on effect of cognitive distortions in the relationship between the scale indicates a high level of self-esteem, whereas a low problematic social media use and some psychological prob- total score indicates a low level of self-esteem. In the studies lems and/or diseases (loneliness, depression, etc.) has been of adapting the scale to Turkish, the validity coefficient of tested and significant findings have been obtained (Demir the scale was found to be 0.71 and the reliability coefficient and Buga 2019; Yigman et al. 2021; Le 2021). It is known to be 0.75. that cognitive distortions affect a person's self-perception and therefore self-esteem (Fennell 1998; Hicdurmaz and Oz Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD‑9) 2011; Waite et al. 2012; Tagay et al. 2018). In the light of all this information, in this study, it was aimed to examine Developed by Van den Eijnden et al. (2016) to measure the the relationship between problematic social media use and addiction level of young people to social media, SMD con- self-esteem in young people and to test the mediating effect sists of two separate forms, a nine-item short version, and a of cognitive distortions in the relationship between both 27-item long version. When preparing the items, the criteria independent variables. in the Pathological Gambling sub-title in DSM-IV and Inter- net Gambling Disorders in DSM-5 were taken as the basis and a total of nine criteria (preoccupation, tolerance, with- Methods drawal, persistence, escape, problems, deception, displace- ment, and conflict) were used. An item pool was generated. Participants There is one item for each criterion in the nine-item short version. The scale has an 8-point rating between “0 = never”- A total of 239 students, who were selected via simple ran- and “7 = more than 40 times a day” and scores between 0 and dom sampling among students studying at a private uni- 63 are obtained from the scale. In the Turkish validity and versity in Istanbul in the 2020–2021 academic year, were reliability studies of the scale, the Cronbach's alpha internal included in the study. The scales, which were converted into consistency coefficient was found to be 0.75, and the Gutt- an online questionnaire, were sent to 265 students via e-mail. man two-half test reliability coefficient was found to be 0.64. 252 of the students filled out the questionnaires. Three of The corrected item-total correlation coefficients ranged from the participants were not included in the study because data 0.29 to 0.73. The Turkish validity and reliability study of the entry was missing. The required minimum sample sizes were scale was conducted by Saricam and Adam Karduz (2018). 13 578 Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 Cognitive Distortion Scale (CDS) of the participants are examined, it was found that 12 (5%) of the participants spent less than 1 h, and 60 (25.1%) spent The scale developed by Briere (2000) questions the dysfunc- 1–2 h on social media, while 102 (42.7%) of them spent tional cognitive thoughts of individuals. The Turkish validity 3–4 h on social media, and 65 (27.2%) spent more than 4 h and reliability studies of the scale were conducted by Agir and on social media. Yavuzer (2018). The CDS is a 40-item 5-point Likert-type The mean scores of RSES, SMD-9, and CDS adminis- self-report scale. The CDS has 5 subscales: “self-perception”, tered to the participants are presented in Table 1. “self-blame”, “helplessness”, “hopelessness”, “perceiving life Some significant results were obtained in the correlation as dangerous”. Each item is rated as “never = 1, rarely = 2, analyses conducted to analyze the relationship between the sometimes = 3, often = 4, very often = 5”. The maximum score variables. As a result of the analysis, a negative weak signifi- that can be obtained from the scale is 200, and the minimum cant correlation (p < 0.05) was found between RSES scores score is 40. A high score on the scale indicates a high level of and the duration of daily social media use, while a mod- cognitive distortion, whereas a low score indicates a low level erately significant negative correlation was found between of cognitive distortion. In the Turkish validity and reliabil- RSES and SMD-9 scores (p < 0.001). Moreover, a strong ity studies of the scale, Cronbach's alpha internal consistency and significant negative correlation was found between the coefficient was found to be 0.90. RSES and “self-blame”, “helplessness”, “hopelessness”, and “perceiving life as dangerous” subscale scores of CDS, Procedure while a negative, very strong, and significant correlation was found between RSES and CDS' “self-perception” subscale Following the approval of the Ethics Committee and the and “total CDS” scores (p < 0.001). On the other hand, a necessary permissions, the scales, which had been converted positive and moderately significant correlation was found into an online questionnaire by the researchers, were sent between SMD-9 scores and all subscales and “total CDS” to the students via e-mail. Initially, an information form scores of the CDS (p < 0.001) (Table 1). about the research was sent to the students and participation No significant correlation was found between students' approvals were obtained. Simultaneously, all scales were age and RSES scores (p > 0.05) (Table 1). administered via an online survey, in a single session, and it The mediating role of cognitive distortions (CDS) in the took roughly 20 min. Ethics committee approval of the study relationship between self-esteem (RSES) and problematic was obtained on December 8, 2020, from Beykent Univer- social media use levels (SMD-9) was examined based on the sity Publication Ethics Committee for Social and Human three conditions suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986). First Sciences. condition: there should be a significant condition between SMD-9 and CDS, both independent variables, and RSES. As Data analysis the second condition, the mediating variable, CDS is cor- related with SMD-9 and RSES. Third condition: when the All data were analyzed via the Statistical Package for Social mediating variable is controlled, there should be a decrease Science (SPSS) Windows version 22.0 software. Before sta- in the strength of the correlation between the two variables. tistical analysis, the distribution of data was evaluated with A decrease in the strength of the correlation is considered the “Shapiro–Wilk test and Histogram”. The relationships of to be an indicator of partial mediation, while the loss of continuous variables were analyzed using the “Pearson cor- significance of the correlation is considered an indicator relation test”, and the relationships of the variables that did of full mediation. Upon meeting the necessary criteria, the not fit the normal distribution were analyzed via the “Spear- mediation effect of all subscales and total scores of CDS man correlation test”. The mediating effect of independent was tested in the relationship between SMD-9 and RSES variables was tested by Baron and Kenny's (1986) “causal levels in the established model. Based on the results of the steps approach” method. The statistical significance of the regression analysis, SMD-9 has a direct and significant effect mediation effect was evaluated with the “bootstrap method” on the RSES scores (B = −0.25; t = −6.78; p < 0.001). It is suggested by Preacher and Hayes (2008). A p value of < 0.05 noticed that SMD-9 significantly and directly was predicted was considered statistically significant. mediating variables of “self-perception (B = 0.25; t = 6.079; p < 0.001)”, “self-blame (B = 0.27; t = 6.77; p < 0.001)”, “helplessness (B = 0.33; t = 8.02; p < 0.001)”, “hopelessness Results (B = 0.40; t = 7.44; p < 0.001)”, “perceiving life as danger- ous (B = 0.28; t = 6.71; p < 0.001) sub-dimensions and total Of the participants, 197 (82.4%) were female and 42 CDS scores (B = 1.54; t = 8.20; p < 0.001). When all sub- (17.6%) were male, and the mean age of the students was scales of CDS and CDS total score variables were added 20.62 ± 1.92 years. When the daily social media usage times to the model to assess its mediating role, it has been found 13 Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 579 that in the subscale variables of “self-perception”, “self- −0.81** 0.47** 0.84** 0.87** 0.96** 0.91** 0.87** blame”, “hopelessness” and “perceiving life as dangerous” −0.08 0.16* 10 of CDS, the effect of SMD-9 on RSES is still significant, – but the level of significance is decreased, and in the “CDS total” score variables, the effect of SMD-9 on RSES lost its −0.66** *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001; Pearson Correlation Test, Spearman Correlation Test; M: Mean (SD: Standard Deviation); RSES: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; SMD-9: Social Media 0.40** 0.64** 0.73** 0.74** 0.73** −0.11 0.15* significance. Based on the results of the analysis, regarding the relationship between SMD-9 and RSES, it was found 9 – that “self-perception (B = −0.84; t = −3.10; p < 0.05)”, “self-blame (B = −0.08; t = −2.77; p < 0.001)”, “hopeless- −0.70** 0.43** 0.67** 0.67** 0.86** −0.09 0.16* ness (B = −0.07; t = −2.32; p < 0.05)” and “perceiving life as dangerous (B = −0.10; t = −3.14; p < 0.05)” variables played 8 – a partial mediation role while “helplessness (B = −0.05; t = −1.74; p > 0.05)” and “CDS total (B = −0.01; t = −0.59; −0.72** 0.46** 0.66** 0.69** −0.03 0.19* p > 0.05)” variables had a full mediating role (Fig. 1). Whether the effects of mediating variables were signifi- 7 – cant or not was analyzed via the bootstrap method. Bootstrap −0.72** is a nonparametric method based on resampling many times 0.40** 0.77** −0.03 (1000 or 5000) by displacement method, starting from the 0.10 6 – research sample. The indirect mediation effect is calculated for each new sample. The significance of the mediating −0.78** effect is determined by calculating the most known con- 0.03** −0.08 fidence interval and whether there is zero in this interval. 0.12 5 – The absence of zero in the confidence interval indicates that the indirect effect is different from zero. As suggested by −0.40** Preacher and Hayes (2008), the effects of mediating vari- 0.46** −0.04 ables on a 5000-person bootstrap sample were analyzed. 4 – According to the results, it was found that partial mediating effects of “self-perception (B = −0.17; 95% BCa CI [−0.240, −0.14* Table 1  Mean scores of RSES, SMD-9, CDS and correlation coefficients between variables −0.113])", "self-blame (B = −0.17; 95% BCa CI [−0.233, 0.02 – −0.118])”, “hopelessness (B = −0.18; 95% BCa CI [−0.240, 3 −0.131])”, “perceiving life as dangerous (B = −0.15; 95% BCa CI [−0.207, −0.106])” and “helplessness (B = −0.20; 0.11 – 95% BCa CI [−0.260, −0.149])”, variables were significant 2 while the full mediating effects of the “CDS total (B = −0.24; 95% BCa CI [−0.309, −0.185])" variables were significant. 1 – 93.31 (31.26) Discussion 20.62 (1.92) 29.54 (6.09) 11.89 (9.50) 17.52 (6.56) 18.27 (6.56) 18.95 (6.80) 18.33 (8.77) 20.23 (6.69) M (SD) According to the results of our study, no significant correla- Disorder Scale; CDS: Cognitive Distortion Scale tion was found between the self-esteem levels and of the participants’ ages. On the other hand, a negative significant 2. The duration of daily social media use correlation was found between the levels of self-esteem and the daily use of social media by young people, their prob- 9. CDS-perceiving life as dangerous lematic social media use, and cognitive distortions levels. As a result of the mediation analysis, it has been found that the problematic social media use levels of young people 5. CDS-self-perception negatively predict their self-esteem and cognitive distortion 8. CDS-hopelessness 7. CDS-helplessness 6. CDS-self-blame levels. Regarding the relationship between self-esteem and 10. Total CDS problematic social media use levels, it has been determined that the sub-dimensions of "self-perception", "self-blame", 4. SMD-9 3.RSES "hopelessness" and "perceiving life as dangerous" of cogni- 1. Age tive distortions play a partial mediating role, whereas the 13 580 Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 Fig. 1  Mediating roles of CDS in the relationship between SMD-9 and RSES. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001; RSES: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; SMD-9: Social Media Disorder Scale; CDS: Cognitive Distor- tion Scale *p < 0.05, **p < 0.001; RSES: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; SMD-9: Social Media Disorder Scale; CDS: Cognitive Distortion Scale sub-dimensions of "helplessness" and " total CDS" play a university students (n = 364) with a mean age of 21.1 years, a fully mediating role. negative relationship was found between students' problem- Studies have documented that sociodemographic vari- atic social media use levels and self-esteem levels (Hawi and ables such as age are correlated with self-esteem in young Samaha 2017). When our findings are evaluated in the light people (Ribeiro et al. 2020; Nematollahi et al. 2017). How- of studies on the subject, it suggests that problematic social ever, in our study, no significant difference was found in media use and self-esteem are related in young individuals. the self-esteem levels of the participants, in terms of the In our study, it was revealed that young people's prob- age. The fact that the students including the study were in lematic social media use levels predicted cognitive dis- a similar age group and the sample size was small might tortions negatively, and in the relationship between prob- account for this result. lematic social media use and self-esteem levels, cognitive In our study, it was determined that there was a nega- distortions were the partial mediating of "self-perception", tive significant correlation between the daily use of social "self-blame", "hopelessness" and "perceiving life as dan- media, problematic social media use, and self-esteem levels gerous" sub-dimensions, while "helplessness" and "total of young people and that problematic social media use levels CDS" sub-dimensions played a fully mediating role. The negatively predicted their self-esteem levels. In a cross-sec- "self-perception dimension" of cognitive distortions repre- tional study by Jan et al. (2017) with 150 university students, sents individuals' negative and low self-perception and dis- it has been revealed that the time spent on social media and satisfaction with oneself, while the "self-blame dimension" the level of self-esteem of the participants are correlated and represents excessive responsibility and guilt about the con- that their daily use of social media negatively predicts their sequences of events, and the "helplessness sub-dimension" self-esteem levels. In a meta-analysis study conducted by represents the meaninglessness of efforts to produce change Liu and Baumeister (2016), 33 studies conducted between regarding the course and outcome of events, "hopelessness 2008 and 2016 on the subject were reviewed, and a nega- sub-dimension" represents pessimistic negative perceptions tive correlation was found between the level of social media and assessments about the future, and "perceiving life as use and self-esteem in the results of the analysis. In a study dangerous sub-dimension" represents beliefs that negative conducted by Malik and Khan (2015) with 200 university experiences will occur and that they may be harmed by other students, it was determined that Facebook addiction pre- people (Briere 2000). dicted low self-esteem. In a study conducted by Banyai The "self-perception" dimension of cognitive distortions et al. (2017), it was determined that 4.5% of the participants represents the self-related part of the cognitive triad in Beck (n = 271) were in the severe risk group in terms of prob- et al.'s (1987) theory. Self-perception of the individual with lematic social media use, and those in the risk group had the outside world it can be expressed as a whole of beliefs the lowest self-esteem. In another study conducted with formed towards self-understanding through interaction 13 Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 581 (Adams 1995; Taylor et al. 2006). While the individual's media to obtain information, follow the news and have infor- self-perception is formed, he is affected by his environ- mation, apart from socializing and having fun (Ministry of ment and his feelings and thoughts are shaped accordingly Youth and Sports 2013). In researches on the subject, social (Rosenberg 1989; Hay et al. 2000). Self-perception and self- media is used as television, newspaper, etc. in terms of esteem are closely related concepts. Self-esteem is the state speed, time and satisfaction. it has emerged that it is more of appreciation arising from the approval of the self-con- commonly preferred than many types of media (Dimmick cept reached by the individual as a result of self-evaluation et al. 2004). Excessive and uncontrolled use of social media and expresses whether he or she finds himself valuable or may cause them to be exposed to more and uncontrolled how valuable he is a concept (Wall 1986; Baumeister et al. information. More frequent use of cognitive distortions such 2003). According to researchers, self-esteem can increase or as hopelessness, perceiving life as dangerous and helpless- decrease with changing self-perception with different social ness may negatively affect the ego power of young people conditions (Coopersmith 1967; Rosenberg 1979). and cause a decrease in their self-esteem. In studies investigating the relationship between social media and self-esteem, the concept of "social comparison" Limitations is a subject frequently discussed by researchers. Social comparison encompasses cognitive and social activities Our study has some limitations. In studies evaluating self- that include the will to acquire information about others esteem and related factors in young individuals, it has been through close relationships, and the evaluation of oneself determined that many individual and social factors such as through other people (Taylor and Nobel 1989). According income level, parent and peer relations, school success, and to theorists, the social comparison may occur in the form of physical and mental illnesses are associated with self-esteem two-direction comparisons, upward and downward compari- (Camadan and Kirac 2020; Dale et al. 2019; Ummet 2015). sons. If the individual evaluates the information he receives In our study, sociodemographic factors and other factors while comparing with the other, by being interested in the other than age were not examined. It is thought that these positive aspect, he will make an upward comparison, if factors, which are considered as confounding variables, he evaluates it with interest in the negative aspect, there should be considered in future studies on the subject. The will be a downward comparison and the person will feel fact that the self-esteem and problematic social media use worse in the process of comparing with others (Buunk et al. levels of the participants were only evaluated with scales, 1990). Research supports that negative social comparison and no face-to-face interviews were conducted can be con- on social media negatively affects self-esteem (Vogel et al. sidered as the primary limitation of the study. Studies show 2014; Bergagna and Tartaglia 2018). Our study results show that the cognitive processes of individuals are affected in that as the problematic social media use levels of young many mental pathologies, especially depression and anxiety people increase, their self-esteem decreases and their nega- disorders, and they use cognitive distortions more intensely tive self-perception plays a partial mediating role between (Tanriverdi and Özguc 2022; Kurumluoglugil and Tanri- both variables. Excessive and uncontrolled use of social verdi 2022). It is an important limitation that the young media suggests that individuals are exposed to more social people included in the study were not evaluated in terms of stimuli. With increased exposure, the level of social com- mental pathologies that may affect the cognitive distortions parison increases, and the part of cognitive processes with of individuals such as depression and anxiety. Our study was self-perception may be negatively affected by self-esteem. designed as cross-sectional research. To analyze the effects Our results show that "self-blame", "hopelessness", "per- of cognitive distortions on problematic social media use and ceiving life as dangerous" and "helplessness", which are the self-esteem more elaborately, there is a need for longitudi- other sub-dimensions of the cognitive distortions scale, nal studies investigating the social media use behaviors of play a mediating role in the relationship between problem- young people. atic social media use and self-esteem. When studies on the subject are examined, although there are studies examining the relationship between problematic social media use and Conclusion different cognitive distortions (Berber Celik and Odaci 2013; Kalkan 2012), no study examining the sub-dimensions of Our results suggest that there is a negative correlation cognitive distortions evaluated in our study has been found. between the problematic social media use and the self- This situation restricts the interpretation of our results esteem levels of young people and that cognitive distortions regarding the sub-dimensions of cognitive distortions other play a mediating role in the relationship between both vari- than "self-perception". ables. When assessing self-esteem, which is known to be a Researches investigating social media usage behaviors of key factor in the etiology and prognosis of various mental young people show that young people frequently use social illnesses, especially depression and anxiety disorders, it is 13 582 Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 thought that it is of great importance to consider the fre- Bozkurt H, Sahin S, Zoroglu S (2016) Internet addiction: a current quency of social media use and cognitive characteristics of review. J Contemp Med Edu 6(3):235–247. https://​doi.​org/​10.​ 16899/​ctd.​66303 young people in terms of treatment and preventive mental Briere J (2000) Cognitive distortion scales. PAR Psychological health. Assessment Resources, USA Buunk BP, Collins RL, Taylor S, Yperen NWV, Dakof GA (1990) The affective consequences of social comparison: either direc- Author contributions O.S., A.D., and M.C. conceptualised and tion has ıts ups and downs. J Pers Soc Psychol 59(6):1238– designed the study, collected the data. O.S. wrote the article. M.C. and 1249. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1037//​0022-​3514.​59.6.​1238 A.D. supervised the study and helped in the writing of the article. All Camadan F, Kirac SN (2020) Examining self-esteem and various authors have read and approved the final manuscript. demographic variables as a predictor of university students’ psychological resilience. J Higher Educ 10(2):253–263. https://​ Funding This research received no specific grant from any funding doi.​org/​10.​5961/​jhes.​2020.​387 agency in the public, commercial or non-profit sectors. Caplan SE (2002) Problematic Internet use and psychosocial well- being: development of a theorybased cognitive–behavioral Declarations measurement instrument. Comput Hum Behav 18(5):553–575. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/​S0747-​5632(02)​00004-3 Conflict interest The authors declare no conflict of interest in this re- Caplan SE (2003) Preference for online social interaction: a theory of search. problematic internet use and psychosocial well-being. Commun Res 30(6):625–648. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1177/​00936​50203​257842 Ethical approval Ethics committee approval of the study was obtained Caplan SE (2007) Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and on December 8th, 2020 from Beykent University Publication Ethics problematic internet use. Cyberpsychol Behav 10(2):234–242. Committee for Social and Human Sciences. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1089/​cpb.​2006.​9963 Caplan SE (2010) Theory and measurement of generalized prob- lematic internet use: two-step approach. Comput Hum Behav 26:1089–1097. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1016/j.​chb.​2010.​03.​012 Chen W, Lee K (2013) Sharing, liking, commenting, and distressed? 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