Moderated Mediating Effect on Undergraduates’ Mobile Social Media Addiction: A Three-Stage Analytical Approach

Even though recent studies indicate a correlation between peer phubbing (PP) and mobile social media addiction (MSMA), there is a shortage of knowledge regarding the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this association. The objective of the research was to examine the possible mediating functions of emotional loneliness (EL) and social anxiety (SA) in the correlation between PP and MSMA, as well as to determine whether boredom proneness (BP) influenced these mediating associations. The study consisted of a sample of 422 undergraduate students from Dhaka City, Bangladesh. The respondents were selected with the help of a structured questionnaire through a convenience sampling technique. The study employed structural equation modeling, artificial neural networks, and necessary condition analysis to evaluate and validate the research findings. The findings indicated a positive correlation between PP and MSMA. EL and SA individually and serially mediated the relationship between PP and undergraduates MSMA. Again, BP moderated the association between PP and MSMA and EL and MSMA but not the correlation between SA and MSMA. The findings highlight the significance of understanding the moderating mechanisms that impact the mediated pathways linking PP and MSMA. Finally, the necessary condition analysis revealed that various levels of these constructs contributed to undergraduates’ MSMA. The findings of this investigation expand upon current knowledge regarding the potential ramifications of phubbing while also emphasizing the importance of elucidating the underlying mechanisms involved.