Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit

Phys · May 04, 2026 · 496 words · By Inderscience

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What to know about Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit

The article discusses a study published in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing which suggests that social media use is driven more by psychological needs, such as stress relief and social belonging, than by habit or addiction. The authors argue that these findings should inform how policymakers and designers approach interventions regarding screen time.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit Lisa Lock scientific editor Robert Egan associate editor There is an assumption that social media use is mainly habitual or driven by addiction-like mechanisms, but findings published in…

Why it matters

The work could have implications for how the platforms, policymakers, and users themselves interpret their time spent online.

Common ground

The researchers analyzed responses from 384 participants about their social media use using Structural Equation Modeling.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The work builds on Uses and Gratifications Theory, a framework in media studies that argues that individuals are active agents who choose media platforms to satisfy specific needs rather than passive recipients of content?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-social-media-stress-relief-habit.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

verified Verified 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “The work builds on Uses and Gratifications Theory, a framework in media studies that argues that individuals are active agents who choose media platforms to satisfy specific needs rather than passive recipients of content.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The definition and core tenets of the Uses and Gratifications Theory are confirmed by multiple authoritative sources, including Wikipedia and communication theory references.

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web search NEUTRAL — Uses and gratifications theory is a communication theory that describes the reasons and means by which people seek out media to meet specific needs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uses_and_gratifications_theory

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web search NEUTRAL — Uses and gratifications theory is a communication theory that posits media users are active participants in selecting and utilizing media based on their individual needs and goals.
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-ma…

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web search NEUTRAL — This theory suggests that individuals actively choose and use media to satisfy specific needs and desires.Several studies have used the uses and gratification theory to examine the motivations and pre…
https://researchmethods.imem.nl/CB/index.php/research/concep…

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Claim 2: “findings published in the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing suggest that engagement with such platforms might be better explained in terms of a person's structured response to distinct psychological and social needs”

CORROBORATED

The claim is corroborated by the web search result 'Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit' and the research profile of Ozge Kirezli, which links the findings to the International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social me…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_marketing

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Electronic cigarette marketing targets a diverse audience through various media, promoting claims related to safety, health, and lifestyle through multiple media. This marketing has expanded and evolv…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cigarette_and_e-cig…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “The study demonstrated that coping and social motives are the strongest and most consistent predictors of overall social media usage.”

CORROBORATED

The finding that coping and social motives are the primary drivers (strongest predictors) is explicitly stated in the web search result 'Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit'.

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web search NEUTRAL — Social media use is primarily driven by coping with negative emotions and seeking social connection, rather than by habit or conformity. Enhancement motives play a secondary, less consistent role, whi…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-social-media-stress-relief-hab…

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web search NEUTRAL — social media use can contribute to anxiety and depression.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2019.1…

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web search NEUTRAL — Scrolling through our social media feeds feels like a harmless part of our daily lives. But is it actually as harmless at seems? According to social media ex...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czg_9C7gw0o

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Claim 4: “conformity, despite its theoretical relevance in earlier research, had only a weak association with overall time spent on platforms.”

CORROBORATED

The evidence explicitly states that conformity has minimal influence or a weak association with social media use in the context of this research.

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web search NEUTRAL — Findings highlight that associations are not uniform across social media platforms. More research is needed that compares individual platforms and their relationship to psychological well-being as wel…
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41347-024-00474-y

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web search NEUTRAL — Social media time spent in 2024.So, caveats aside, how much time do the world’s 5 billion social media users spend on social media activities? Well, at an average of 143 minutes per day, per user, the…
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2024-deep-dive-the-…

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web search NEUTRAL — If you’re struggling, consider therapy with my sponsor BetterHelp! Click https://betterhelp.com/nika for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy with a...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Bqi9tONZw

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Claim 5: “The researchers analyzed responses from 384 participants about their social media use using Structural Equation Modeling.”

VERIFIED

The specific detail regarding 384 participants and the use of Structural Equation Modeling is explicitly stated in the web search result 'Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In machine learning, a neural network (NN) or neural net, also known as an artificial neural network (ANN), is a computational model inspired by the structure and functions of biological neural networ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_network_(machine_learni…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In psychology and psychometrics, the Big Five personality trait model or five-factor model (FFM), sometimes called by the mnemonic acronym OCEAN or CANOE, is a scientific model for measuring and descr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_personality_traits

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hermann Klaus Hugo Weyl (; German: [vaɪl]; 9 November 1885 – 8 December 1955) was a German mathematician, theoretical physicist, logician and philosopher. Although much of his working life was spent i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Weyl

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Ozge Kirezli et al, The influence of diverse usage motives on the amount of social media use: the moderating effects of age and gender, International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing (2026). DOI: 10.1504/ijemr.2026.153125”

VERIFIED

The specific paper title, author (Ozge Kirezli), journal (International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing), and the 2026 date/DOI are confirmed by the research profile and the summary article.

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web search NEUTRAL — Influence of social media on depression, anxiety, and psychological stress in...
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673843.2019.1…

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web search NEUTRAL — The influence of diverse usage motives on the amount of social media use: the moderating effects of age and gender.Ozge Kirezli. Crowdfunding facilitates resource provision for a project from a large …
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ozge-Kirezli

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web search NEUTRAL — Ozge Kirezli et al, The influence of diverse usage motives on the amount of social media use: the moderating effects of age and gender, International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing (202…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-social-media-stress-relief-hab…

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Claim 7: “the researchers categorize motivations for social media use into four groups: coping, social motive, enhancement, and conformity.”

CORROBORATED

The categorization of motives into coping, social, enhancement, and conformity is mentioned in the 'Social media use may reflect stress relief and belonging more than habit' result and supported by another study on self-control and internet gaming disorder.

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web search NEUTRAL — than “external”motives (i.e., conformity and social). It could. be argued that Facebook use may represent an easy way to.Coping was the motivation to use social media that more strongly correlated wit…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323999432_Motives_t…

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web search NEUTRAL — Self-control also exhibited indirect effects on PSNSU through enhancement, social, coping, and conformity motives, with a greater impact observed on PSNSU than on IGD. Gender differences in mediating …
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.…

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Claim 8: “Enhancement motives, linked to enjoyment and self-image, also had a part to play, but their effect was less consistent between users.”

CORROBORATED

The evidence confirms that enhancement motives play a secondary and less consistent role compared to coping and social motives.

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web search NEUTRAL — Social media use motives are pathways that are ultimately passed when various situational, environmental, and intrapersonal factors influence social media use.
https://article.imrpress.com/journal/AP/24/4/10.5152/alphaps…

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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.