Stress-coping mechanisms and problematic social media use: A network analysis and differences across men and women

Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU) affects up to 40% of users globally and disproportionately impacts women. While conceptual ambiguity remains in relation to PMSU, evidence suggests social media is frequently engaged as a coping strategy to mitigate stress. Adopting a behavioral addiction framework and operationalizing PSMU via the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), we examine how six core components of addiction relate to specific coping strategies over time and across gender. Method : Longitudinal network analyses across two timepoints (12 months apart) explored item-level associations between PSMU symptoms (BSMAS) and coping responses (Brief COPE) among a sample of 462 English speaking adults, further exploring differences between men and women. Gendered network models revealed distinct temporal patterns between coping strategies and PSMU. Among women, adaptive coping at baseline was linked to later PSMU indicators, whereas among men, avoidance-based coping (venting, denial) showed stronger cross-wave connectivity. These findings highlight gendered differences in how coping behaviors relate to problematic social media use over time. Implications : Findings support a refined, component-level model of PSMU that captures gendered differences. Results are consistent with directional hypotheses from behavioral addiction theory. We recommend enhancing informational and emotion regulation support for women, and promoting offline social connection for men, to mitigate emerging patterns of problematic use.