Hye Yoon Park

Title: The moderating role of neuroticism in the relationships between social cognition, device-measured digital behavior, and social media addiction

Abstract

Social media addiction has emerged as a significant behavioral health concern, particularly among young adults. Although increased time spent on social networking platforms is often presumed to be a primary driver of addiction severity, empirical findings linking digital usage metrics directly to addictive behaviors remain inconsistent. This inconsistency suggests that individual psychological factors may interact with digital behavior patterns, influencing vulnerability to social media addiction.

The present study investigates the moderating role of personality traits—specifically neuroticism—in the relationships between social cognition, device-measured digital behavior, and social media addiction severity. A total of 98 participants completed the Social Networking Service Addiction Proneness Scale (UNI-SNS) to assess addiction severity. Social cognitive ability was measured using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), while personality traits were assessed with the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Objective digital behavioral data, including social application usage time and GPS variance, were collected using smartphone-based monitoring.

Initial multiple regression analyses revealed that among the Big Five personality traits, neuroticism was the only trait significantly associated with social media addiction severity. Notably, simple correlations between social app usage time and addiction severity were not statistically significant, underscoring the limitations of relying solely on usage duration as a predictor.

Subsequent moderation analyses using PROCESS Macro Model 1 demonstrated that neuroticism significantly moderated the relationships between (1) social app usage time and addiction severity, (2) RMET performance and addiction severity, and (3) GPS variance and addiction severity. Specifically, lower levels of neuroticism strengthened the association between higher app usage and greater addiction severity, while neuroticism also altered how social cognitive ability and mobility variability related to addictive behaviors.

These findings suggest that social media addiction is not simply a function of digital exposure but is critically shaped by stable personality characteristics. Incorporating personality-sensitive frameworks may improve the precision of risk assessment models and inform personalized prevention and intervention strategies for problematic social media use.

What will the audience take away from your presentation?

• An understanding of why raw digital usage metrics alone may fail to predict social media addiction severity


• Insight into how neuroticism moderates the effects of social cognition and digital behavior on addiction risk


• Practical implications for integrating personality traits into digital mental health research and screening tools


• Evidence supporting personalized, trait-informed approaches to prevention and intervention strategies