Mediating and Moderating Effects of Cognitive Flexibility in the Relationship Between Social Media Addiction and Phubbing

Abstract

Presently, social media is widely used worldwide among different populations. Therefore, phubbing rapidly became a popular phenomenon in our daily life. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism and interaction between social media use and phubbing. Therefore, this research examines the mediating and moderating role of cognitive flexibility in the association between social media addiction and phubbing. Participants were 385 university students (280 females) studying at a state university in eastern Turkey and completed the self-reported measures of cognitive flexibility, social media addiction, and phubbing. The results showed that cognitive flexibility mediated and moderated the effect of social media addiction on phubbing. These findings may contribute to the discussion around the psychological consequences of using social media alongside increasing awareness about factors affecting and explaining the association between social media use and phubbing, which have important implications for research and practice.