Predicting Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents Based on Social Media Addiction and Self-Esteem: The Mediating Role of Social Comparison

Fiona MacLeod; Megan White; Pascal Reinert

Authors

Fiona MacLeod Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3266-3025
Megan White Department of Evolutionary Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7800-4738
Pascal Reinert Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Author https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0826-2542

Keywords:

Adolescents, Depressive Symptoms, Social Media Addiction, Self-Esteem, Social Comparison, Mediation

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to predict depressive symptoms among Canadian adolescents based on social media addiction and self-esteem and to examine the mediating role of social comparison in these relationships.

Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 412 adolescents aged 13–18 years who were enrolled in secondary schools in Ontario, Canada, during the 2025–2026 academic year. Participants were selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics and AMOS. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine bivariate relationships, and structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypothesized mediation model. Indirect effects were evaluated using bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples and bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals.

Findings: Social media addiction positively predicted social comparison (β = .39, p < .001) and depressive symptoms (β = .18, p = .003), whereas self-esteem negatively predicted social comparison (β = -.30, p < .001) and depressive symptoms (β = -.34, p < .001). Social comparison also positively predicted depressive symptoms (β = .37, p < .001). The model explained 35% of the variance in social comparison and 52% of the variance in depressive symptoms. Bootstrapping demonstrated a significant indirect effect of social media addiction on depressive symptoms through social comparison (β = .14, 95% CI [0.11, 0.24]) and a significant indirect effect of self-esteem on depressive symptoms through social comparison (β = -.11, 95% CI [-0.18, -0.08]). Because the direct effects remained significant, social comparison partially mediated both relationships.

Conclusion: Depressive symptoms among adolescents were associated with higher social media addiction, lower self-esteem, and stronger social comparison, indicating that social comparison is an important partial mechanism through which problematic social media engagement and self-evaluative vulnerability are related to adolescent depressive symptomatology.

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