Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10339-023-01155-z

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship

between problematic social media use and self‑esteem in youth
Ozlem Sireli1 · Ali Dayi2 · Mehmet Colak3

Received: 24 November 2022 / Accepted: 24 July 2023 / Published online: 21 August 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Marta Olivetti Belardinelli 2023

Abstract
Self-esteem expresses the individual's approach to himself and affects the whole life in terms of mental health. Another
important factor affecting self-esteem, which has a critical importance for the youth period, is social media. In the literature,
there are many studies examining the relationship between social media use and self-esteem of young people. In this study,
it was aimed to investigate the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem in university students and
to test the mediating role of cognitive distortions in the relationship between these two variables. The sample of the study
consisted of 239 young individuals, 197 (82.4%) female, and 42 (17.6%) males, with a mean age of 20.62 ± 1.92 years,
studying at a private university. Participants were evaluated by administering the “Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)”,
“Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD-9)”, and “Cognitive Distortions Scale (CDS)”. The scales were administered via an
online survey. Results revealed that there was a negative significant relationship between the problematic social media use
levels of the participants and their self-esteem. In the model established to evaluate the mediating role of cognitive distor-
tions in the relationship between problematic social media use and self-esteem levels, in the first step, it was found that
problematic social media use directly predicted self-esteem negatively. In the second step, it was determined that the use of
problematic social media negatively predicted the mediating variable cognitive distortions. In the third step, when cogni-
tive distortions, which are mediator variables, are added to the model in the relationship between problematic social media
use and self-esteem; it was determined that cognitive distortions played a partial mediating role in the sub-dimensions of
“self-perception”, “self-blame”, “hopelessness” and “seeing life as dangerous”, while the sub-dimensions of “helplessness”
and “total scale scores” played a full mediator role. Our findings show that there is a negative relationship between the prob-
lematic social media use of young people and their self-esteem levels, and cognitive distortions play a mediating role in the
relationship between both variables.

Keywords Self-esteem · Problematic social media use · Cognitive distortions

Introduction

Self-esteem encompasses the feelings of compassion,

Editor: Massimiliano Palmiero (University of Teramo); Reviewers:
Albandri Sultan Alotaibi (King Saud University) and a second
researcher who prefers to remain anonymous.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy
or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
respect, and confidence towards oneself as a result of self-
knowledge and realistic assessment of oneself, acceptance
of one's abilities and strengths as they are, and self-accept-
ance (Yorukoglu 1985; Cuhadaroglu 1986). It has been
documented that self-esteem influences the entire life of an

1
* Ozlem Sireli Mugla, Turkey
ozlemsireli@gmail.com 2
Department of Psychiatry, Beykent University Faculty
Ali Dayi of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey
dayiali25@yahoo.com 3
Izmir, Turkey
Mehmet Colak
memocolak@gmail.com

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
576
individual and is associated with a range of factors related
to mental health (Kaya and Tastan 2020; Cuhadaroglu
Cetin and Akdemir 2012). Self-esteem, which refers to the
approach of an individual to himself, is of critical impor-
tance for the youth period (Cuhadaroglu 1986).
Individuals between the ages of 15–24 are considered
“young” by the World Health Organization (WHO 2004).
The youth period is an important stage during which an
individual seeks answers to developmental questions such
as what he is like and how he feels about himself, deter-
mines self-images according to internal and environmental
factors by using self-perception as a tool, and ultimately,
self-esteem is shaped (Cuhadaroglu 1986). There are numer-
ous studies investigating self-esteem and factors impacting
self-esteem in young individuals. Given the results of the
studies on the subject, it is noticed that many factors such as
sociodemographic characteristics, family, and peer relations,
perceived social support, academic success, and physical
and/or mental illness have been found to be associated with
self-esteem (Camadan and Kirac 2020; Dale et al. 2019;
Ummet 2015). Another key element that is thought to affect
self-esteem in young people is social media (Talawar and
Kumar 2020).
Social media has been described as a structure consist-
ing of various technological activities within the context of
social interaction and content creation, and in this structure,
the individual can introduce himself to others, either as he
is or with the identity, he wants to be and interact with them
(Stendberg 2014). Although the use of social media makes
an individual's life easier in terms of information acquisi-
tion and information sharing, it can easily turn into addic-
tion when it is used frequently and/or uncontrollably (Khan
2018). Although problematic social media use is not defined
as a disorder in DSM-5, problematic social media use is
considered as a behavioral addiction in the literature (Grif-
fiths and Szabo 2014; Kuss and Griffiths 2011). Problematic
social media use; “Overuse, inability to satisfy the desire
to use, neglect of activities due to excessive use, damage
to social relations by excessive use, using as a means of
escaping from negative emotions and life stress, experi-
encing problems in reducing and stopping use, being nerv-
ous and nervous when use is not possible. It is defined as
being nervous, lying about the duration and amount of use”
(Kwon et al. 2013; Van den Eijnden et al. 2016). Nowadays,
social media has become an important means of communi-
cation and the frequency of problematic social media use
is increasing, particularly among young individuals (Kuss
and Griffiths 2011; Simsek et al. 2019). Studies show that
the frequency of problematic social media use is between
1.6% and 34% (Griffiths and Kuss 2015). In a large sam-
ple study conducted with young people whose age group
is between 18–25, it was determined that 33.1% of univer-
sity students have problematic social media use (Tang et al.
13
Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584
2017). There are numerous studies suggesting that prob-
lematic social media use adversely affects domains such as
academic functionality, social relations, mental well-being,
life satisfaction, and self-esteem in young people (Bozkurt
et al. 2016; Hawi and Samaha 2017; Błachnio et al. 2019).
Most of the research results demonstrate that there is a nega-
tive correlation between problematic social media use and
self-esteem and that the level of social media use is high
among young people with low self-esteem (Wilson et al.
2010; Pantic 2014; Lee and Cheung 2014). According to
the researchers, while the use of social media is beneficial in
terms of establishing meaningful social connections, the use
of problematic social media that has become uncontrolled
causes behavioral changes and many negative effects, espe-
cially social isolation in people (Song et al. 2014; Clark et al.
2018). Problematic use of social media causes individuals
to fall into traps such as social comparison and negatively
affect their self-esteem (Chen and Lee 2013).
Self-sense and self-esteem are concepts discussed by
cognitive theorists. The fundamental principle of the cogni-
tive approach is based on the hypothesis that the cognition
(thought) and emotions of the individual have an impact on
their behavior (Beck et al. 1987). Cognitive distortions are
thought errors that occur in inaccurate and dysfunctional
information processing. Dysfunctional beliefs in the cogni-
tive structure shape the individual's thinking and are used
quite intensively by individuals with low self-esteem (Black-
burn et al. 1995). Fennell (1997) explained depression and
anxiety disorder with low self-esteem and dysfunctional
beliefs. According to Fennell (1998), individuals with low
self-esteem have negative core beliefs about self (e.g., “I
am boring, I am stupid”) and dysfunctional thought errors
(e.g., “Unless I am the life and soul of the party, no-one will
want to know me I must work extremely hard all the time,
or I will”) is available). Research results on the subject sup-
port the relationship between cognitive distortions and low
self-esteem (Hicdurmaz and Oz 2011; Waite et al. 2012;
Tagay et al. 2018). In recent years, many theorists have been
explaining problematic internet use or social media use with
a cognitive behavioral approach (Davis 2001; Caplan 2002).
According to Davis (2001), there is a relationship
between problematic internet use and maladaptive cogni-
tions. An individual who thinks he is not enough and has
cognitive distortions related to self-discontent cannot estab-
lish satisfactory relationships in the offline world and feels
valuable in the online world. Maladaptive cognitions about
self are one of the factors associated with problematic social
media use (i.e. “I am a failure when I am offline”) (Davis
2001; Caplan 2010). According to the researchers, individu-
als with low self-esteem see themselves as less competent in
interpersonal relationships and prefer online social interac-
tion more. This paves the way for problematic internet use
(Caplan 2003). Suler (1999) explains the development of
Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584
problematic internet use and maladaptive cognitions with
the “needs-satisfying” process. Individuals who cannot
meet their specific needs in real life are satisfied in the vir-
tual environment, and as the “needs-satisfying” process is
repeated, the perception that the online world is better than
the real world is formed. Maladaptive cognitions are related
to specific needs. Similarly, problematic social media use
may develop in individuals who meet their social needs in
the online world (Caplan 2003, 2007).
Research on the subject shows that problematic social
media use is associated with maladaptive cognitions. In most
studies in the literature, it is seen that cognitive distortions
are evaluated as an independent variable in the relationship
between problematic social media use and determined as
a factor that predicts problematic social media use (Sahan
and Eraslan Capan 2017; Bilgin and Dogrusever 2018;
Mai et al. 2012; Yildiz 2019; Kuzucu et al. 2020; Ozpar-
lak and Karakaya 2022). Cognitive distortions are also seen
in problematic internet use, and individuals prefer online
social interaction to get risk-free positive reactions (Senor-
manci et al. 2010). There are studies in the literature show-
ing that the relationship between problematic social media
use and cognitive distortions is bidirectional, and that the
use of problematic social media negatively affects cognitive
distortions (Berber Celik and Odaci 2013; Kalkan 2012).
In the literature, there are studies in which the mediation
effect of cognitive distortions in the relationship between
problematic social media use and some psychological prob-
lems and/or diseases (loneliness, depression, etc.) has been
tested and significant findings have been obtained (Demir
and Buga 2019; Yigman et al. 2021; Le 2021). It is known
that cognitive distortions affect a person's self-perception
and therefore self-esteem (Fennell 1998; Hicdurmaz and Oz
2011; Waite et al. 2012; Tagay et al. 2018). In the light of
all this information, in this study, it was aimed to examine
the relationship between problematic social media use and
self-esteem in young people and to test the mediating effect
of cognitive distortions in the relationship between both
independent variables.
Methods
Participants
A total of 239 students, who were selected via simple ran-
dom sampling among students studying at a private uni-
versity in Istanbul in the 2020–2021 academic year, were
included in the study. The scales, which were converted into
an online questionnaire, were sent to 265 students via e-mail.
252 of the students filled out the questionnaires. Three of
the participants were not included in the study because data
entry was missing. The required minimum sample sizes were
577
calculated with G*Power (3.1.9.4) against the entered nomi-
nal significance level (α = 0.5) and power value (1−β = 0.8
and 1−β = 0.9). Since a large effect size is expected on the
G*Power screen, a value of 0.5 was entered in the “Correla-
tion H1” section and a value of 0.3 to see the result with a
medium effect size. On the other hand, “Correlation H0”
was written as 0 since it was tested whether the correlation
value was 0 (whether the relationship was significant or not).
As a result of the evaluation, the required minimum sample
size (n) was found to be 112. The inclusion criteria for the
study were being 18 years of age or above, and volunteering
to participate in the study.
Measures
The Rosenberg Self‑Esteem Scale (RSES)
RSES was developed by Rosenberg (1965). The Turkish
validity and reliability study was conducted by Cuhadaroglu
(1986). Consisting of 63 items, the scale has 12 subtests. In
the study, only the self-esteem subtest was used. According
to the self-assessment system of the scale, the subjects score
between 0 and 6. Self-esteem is rated high (0–1 points),
moderate (2–4 points), and low (5–6 points) in comparisons
made with numerical measurements. A high total score on
the scale indicates a high level of self-esteem, whereas a low
total score indicates a low level of self-esteem. In the studies
of adapting the scale to Turkish, the validity coefficient of
the scale was found to be 0.71 and the reliability coefficient
to be 0.75.
Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD‑9)
Developed by Van den Eijnden et al. (2016) to measure the
addiction level of young people to social media, SMD con-
sists of two separate forms, a nine-item short version, and a
27-item long version. When preparing the items, the criteria
in the Pathological Gambling sub-title in DSM-IV and Inter-
net Gambling Disorders in DSM-5 were taken as the basis
and a total of nine criteria (preoccupation, tolerance, with-
drawal, persistence, escape, problems, deception, displace-
ment, and conflict) were used. An item pool was generated.
There is one item for each criterion in the nine-item short
version. The scale has an 8-point rating between “0 = never”-
and “7 = more than 40 times a day” and scores between 0 and
63 are obtained from the scale. In the Turkish validity and
reliability studies of the scale, the Cronbach's alpha internal
consistency coefficient was found to be 0.75, and the Gutt-
man two-half test reliability coefficient was found to be 0.64.
The corrected item-total correlation coefficients ranged from
0.29 to 0.73. The Turkish validity and reliability study of the
scale was conducted by Saricam and Adam Karduz (2018).
13
578
Cognitive Distortion Scale (CDS)
The scale developed by Briere (2000) questions the dysfunc-
tional cognitive thoughts of individuals. The Turkish validity
and reliability studies of the scale were conducted by Agir and
Yavuzer (2018). The CDS is a 40-item 5-point Likert-type
self-report scale. The CDS has 5 subscales: “self-perception”,
“self-blame”, “helplessness”, “hopelessness”, “perceiving life
as dangerous”. Each item is rated as “never = 1, rarely = 2,
sometimes = 3, often = 4, very often = 5”. The maximum score
that can be obtained from the scale is 200, and the minimum
score is 40. A high score on the scale indicates a high level of
cognitive distortion, whereas a low score indicates a low level
of cognitive distortion. In the Turkish validity and reliabil-
ity studies of the scale, Cronbach's alpha internal consistency
coefficient was found to be 0.90.
Procedure
Following the approval of the Ethics Committee and the
necessary permissions, the scales, which had been converted
into an online questionnaire by the researchers, were sent
to the students via e-mail. Initially, an information form
about the research was sent to the students and participation
approvals were obtained. Simultaneously, all scales were
administered via an online survey, in a single session, and it
took roughly 20 min. Ethics committee approval of the study
was obtained on December 8, 2020, from Beykent Univer-
sity Publication Ethics Committee for Social and Human
Sciences.
Data analysis
All data were analyzed via the Statistical Package for Social
Science (SPSS) Windows version 22.0 software. Before sta-
tistical analysis, the distribution of data was evaluated with
the “Shapiro–Wilk test and Histogram”. The relationships of
continuous variables were analyzed using the “Pearson cor-
relation test”, and the relationships of the variables that did
not fit the normal distribution were analyzed via the “Spear-
man correlation test”. The mediating effect of independent
variables was tested by Baron and Kenny's (1986) “causal
steps approach” method. The statistical significance of the
mediation effect was evaluated with the “bootstrap method”
suggested by Preacher and Hayes (2008). A p value of < 0.05
was considered statistically significant.
Results
Of the participants, 197 (82.4%) were female and 42
(17.6%) were male, and the mean age of the students was
20.62 ± 1.92 years. When the daily social media usage times
13
Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584
of the participants are examined, it was found that 12 (5%)
of the participants spent less than 1 h, and 60 (25.1%) spent
1–2 h on social media, while 102 (42.7%) of them spent
3–4 h on social media, and 65 (27.2%) spent more than 4 h
on social media.
The mean scores of RSES, SMD-9, and CDS adminis-
tered to the participants are presented in Table 1.
Some significant results were obtained in the correlation
analyses conducted to analyze the relationship between the
variables. As a result of the analysis, a negative weak signifi-
cant correlation (p < 0.05) was found between RSES scores
and the duration of daily social media use, while a mod-
erately significant negative correlation was found between
RSES and SMD-9 scores (p < 0.001). Moreover, a strong
and significant negative correlation was found between the
RSES and “self-blame”, “helplessness”, “hopelessness”,
and “perceiving life as dangerous” subscale scores of CDS,
while a negative, very strong, and significant correlation was
found between RSES and CDS' “self-perception” subscale
and “total CDS” scores (p < 0.001). On the other hand, a
positive and moderately significant correlation was found
between SMD-9 scores and all subscales and “total CDS”
scores of the CDS (p < 0.001) (Table 1).
No significant correlation was found between students'
age and RSES scores (p > 0.05) (Table 1).
The mediating role of cognitive distortions (CDS) in the
relationship between self-esteem (RSES) and problematic
social media use levels (SMD-9) was examined based on the
three conditions suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986). First
condition: there should be a significant condition between
SMD-9 and CDS, both independent variables, and RSES. As
the second condition, the mediating variable, CDS is cor-
related with SMD-9 and RSES. Third condition: when the
mediating variable is controlled, there should be a decrease
in the strength of the correlation between the two variables.
A decrease in the strength of the correlation is considered
to be an indicator of partial mediation, while the loss of
significance of the correlation is considered an indicator
of full mediation. Upon meeting the necessary criteria, the
mediation effect of all subscales and total scores of CDS
was tested in the relationship between SMD-9 and RSES
levels in the established model. Based on the results of the
regression analysis, SMD-9 has a direct and significant effect
on the RSES scores (B = −0.25; t = −6.78; p < 0.001). It is
noticed that SMD-9 significantly and directly was predicted
mediating variables of “self-perception (B = 0.25; t = 6.079;
p < 0.001)”, “self-blame (B = 0.27; t = 6.77; p < 0.001)”,
“helplessness (B = 0.33; t = 8.02; p < 0.001)”, “hopelessness
(B = 0.40; t = 7.44; p < 0.001)”, “perceiving life as danger-
ous (B = 0.28; t = 6.71; p < 0.001) sub-dimensions and total
CDS scores (B = 1.54; t = 8.20; p < 0.001). When all sub-
scales of CDS and CDS total score variables were added
to the model to assess its mediating role, it has been found
Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584 579

that in the subscale variables of “self-perception”, “self-

−0.81**
0.47**
0.84**
0.87**
0.96**
0.91**
0.87**
blame”, “hopelessness” and “perceiving life as dangerous”

−0.08
0.16*
10
of CDS, the effect of SMD-9 on RSES is still significant,

–
but the level of significance is decreased, and in the “CDS
total” score variables, the effect of SMD-9 on RSES lost its

−0.66**

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.001; Pearson Correlation Test, Spearman Correlation Test; M: Mean (SD: Standard Deviation); RSES: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; SMD-9: Social Media
0.40**
0.64**
0.73**
0.74**
0.73**
−0.11
0.15*
significance. Based on the results of the analysis, regarding
the relationship between SMD-9 and RSES, it was found
9

–
that “self-perception (B = −0.84; t = −3.10; p < 0.05)”,
“self-blame (B = −0.08; t = −2.77; p < 0.001)”, “hopeless-
−0.70**
0.43**
0.67**
0.67**
0.86**
−0.09
0.16*

ness (B = −0.07; t = −2.32; p < 0.05)” and “perceiving life as

dangerous (B = −0.10; t = −3.14; p < 0.05)” variables played
8

–
a partial mediation role while “helplessness (B = −0.05;
t = −1.74; p > 0.05)” and “CDS total (B = −0.01; t = −0.59;
−0.72**
0.46**
0.66**
0.69**
−0.03
0.19*

p > 0.05)” variables had a full mediating role (Fig. 1).

Whether the effects of mediating variables were signifi-
7

cant or not was analyzed via the bootstrap method. Bootstrap

−0.72**

is a nonparametric method based on resampling many times

0.40**
0.77**
−0.03

(1000 or 5000) by displacement method, starting from the

0.10
6

research sample. The indirect mediation effect is calculated

for each new sample. The significance of the mediating
−0.78**

effect is determined by calculating the most known con-

0.03**
−0.08

fidence interval and whether there is zero in this interval.

0.12
5

The absence of zero in the confidence interval indicates that

the indirect effect is different from zero. As suggested by
−0.40**

Preacher and Hayes (2008), the effects of mediating vari-

0.46**
−0.04

ables on a 5000-person bootstrap sample were analyzed.

4

According to the results, it was found that partial mediating

effects of “self-perception (B = −0.17; 95% BCa CI [−0.240,
−0.14*
Table 1  Mean scores of RSES, SMD-9, CDS and correlation coefficients between variables

−0.113])", "self-blame (B = −0.17; 95% BCa CI [−0.233,

0.02

−0.118])”, “hopelessness (B = −0.18; 95% BCa CI [−0.240,

3

−0.131])”, “perceiving life as dangerous (B = −0.15; 95%

BCa CI [−0.207, −0.106])” and “helplessness (B = −0.20;
0.11
–

95% BCa CI [−0.260, −0.149])”, variables were significant

2

while the full mediating effects of the “CDS total (B = −0.24;

95% BCa CI [−0.309, −0.185])" variables were significant.
1

93.31 (31.26)

Discussion
20.62 (1.92)

29.54 (6.09)
11.89 (9.50)
17.52 (6.56)
18.27 (6.56)
18.95 (6.80)
18.33 (8.77)
20.23 (6.69)
M (SD)

According to the results of our study, no significant correla-

Disorder Scale; CDS: Cognitive Distortion Scale

tion was found between the self-esteem levels and of the

participants’ ages. On the other hand, a negative significant
2. The duration of daily social media use

correlation was found between the levels of self-esteem and

the daily use of social media by young people, their prob-
9. CDS-perceiving life as dangerous

lematic social media use, and cognitive distortions levels.

As a result of the mediation analysis, it has been found that
the problematic social media use levels of young people
5. CDS-self-perception

negatively predict their self-esteem and cognitive distortion

8. CDS-hopelessness
7. CDS-helplessness
6. CDS-self-blame

levels. Regarding the relationship between self-esteem and

10. Total CDS

problematic social media use levels, it has been determined

that the sub-dimensions of "self-perception", "self-blame",
4. SMD-9
3.RSES

"hopelessness" and "perceiving life as dangerous" of cogni-

1. Age

tive distortions play a partial mediating role, whereas the

13
580
Fig. 1  Mediating roles of CDS
in the relationship between
SMD-9 and RSES. *p < 0.05,
**p < 0.001; RSES: The
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale;
SMD-9: Social Media Disorder
Scale; CDS: Cognitive Distor-
tion Scale
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.001; RSES: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; SMD-9: Social Media Disorder Scale; CDS:
Cognitive Distortion Scale
sub-dimensions of "helplessness" and " total CDS" play a
fully mediating role.
Studies have documented that sociodemographic vari-
ables such as age are correlated with self-esteem in young
people (Ribeiro et al. 2020; Nematollahi et al. 2017). How-
ever, in our study, no significant difference was found in
the self-esteem levels of the participants, in terms of the
age. The fact that the students including the study were in
a similar age group and the sample size was small might
account for this result.
In our study, it was determined that there was a nega-
tive significant correlation between the daily use of social
media, problematic social media use, and self-esteem levels
of young people and that problematic social media use levels
negatively predicted their self-esteem levels. In a cross-sec-
tional study by Jan et al. (2017) with 150 university students,
it has been revealed that the time spent on social media and
the level of self-esteem of the participants are correlated and
that their daily use of social media negatively predicts their
self-esteem levels. In a meta-analysis study conducted by
Liu and Baumeister (2016), 33 studies conducted between
2008 and 2016 on the subject were reviewed, and a nega-
tive correlation was found between the level of social media
use and self-esteem in the results of the analysis. In a study
conducted by Malik and Khan (2015) with 200 university
students, it was determined that Facebook addiction pre-
dicted low self-esteem. In a study conducted by Banyai
et al. (2017), it was determined that 4.5% of the participants
(n = 271) were in the severe risk group in terms of prob-
lematic social media use, and those in the risk group had
the lowest self-esteem. In another study conducted with
13
Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584
university students (n = 364) with a mean age of 21.1 years, a
negative relationship was found between students' problem-
atic social media use levels and self-esteem levels (Hawi and
Samaha 2017). When our findings are evaluated in the light
of studies on the subject, it suggests that problematic social
media use and self-esteem are related in young individuals.
In our study, it was revealed that young people's prob-
lematic social media use levels predicted cognitive dis-
tortions negatively, and in the relationship between prob-
lematic social media use and self-esteem levels, cognitive
distortions were the partial mediating of "self-perception",
"self-blame", "hopelessness" and "perceiving life as dan-
gerous" sub-dimensions, while "helplessness" and "total
CDS" sub-dimensions played a fully mediating role. The
"self-perception dimension" of cognitive distortions repre-
sents individuals' negative and low self-perception and dis-
satisfaction with oneself, while the "self-blame dimension"
represents excessive responsibility and guilt about the con-
sequences of events, and the "helplessness sub-dimension"
represents the meaninglessness of efforts to produce change
regarding the course and outcome of events, "hopelessness
sub-dimension" represents pessimistic negative perceptions
and assessments about the future, and "perceiving life as
dangerous sub-dimension" represents beliefs that negative
experiences will occur and that they may be harmed by other
people (Briere 2000).
The "self-perception" dimension of cognitive distortions
represents the self-related part of the cognitive triad in Beck
et al.'s (1987) theory. Self-perception of the individual with
the outside world it can be expressed as a whole of beliefs
formed towards self-understanding through interaction
Cognitive Processing (2023) 24:575–584
(Adams 1995; Taylor et al. 2006). While the individual's
self-perception is formed, he is affected by his environ-
ment and his feelings and thoughts are shaped accordingly
(Rosenberg 1989; Hay et al. 2000). Self-perception and self-
esteem are closely related concepts. Self-esteem is the state
of appreciation arising from the approval of the self-con-
cept reached by the individual as a result of self-evaluation
and expresses whether he or she finds himself valuable or
how valuable he is a concept (Wall 1986; Baumeister et al.
2003). According to researchers, self-esteem can increase or
decrease with changing self-perception with different social
conditions (Coopersmith 1967; Rosenberg 1979).
In studies investigating the relationship between social
media and self-esteem, the concept of "social comparison"
is a subject frequently discussed by researchers. Social
comparison encompasses cognitive and social activities
that include the will to acquire information about others
through close relationships, and the evaluation of oneself
through other people (Taylor and Nobel 1989). According
to theorists, the social comparison may occur in the form of
two-direction comparisons, upward and downward compari-
sons. If the individual evaluates the information he receives
while comparing with the other, by being interested in the
positive aspect, he will make an upward comparison, if
he evaluates it with interest in the negative aspect, there
will be a downward comparison and the person will feel
worse in the process of comparing with others (Buunk et al.
1990). Research supports that negative social comparison
on social media negatively affects self-esteem (Vogel et al.
2014; Bergagna and Tartaglia 2018). Our study results show
that as the problematic social media use levels of young
people increase, their self-esteem decreases and their nega-
tive self-perception plays a partial mediating role between
both variables. Excessive and uncontrolled use of social
media suggests that individuals are exposed to more social
stimuli. With increased exposure, the level of social com-
parison increases, and the part of cognitive processes with
self-perception may be negatively affected by self-esteem.
Our results show that "self-blame", "hopelessness", "per-
ceiving life as dangerous" and "helplessness", which are the
other sub-dimensions of the cognitive distortions scale,
play a mediating role in the relationship between problem-
atic social media use and self-esteem. When studies on the
subject are examined, although there are studies examining
the relationship between problematic social media use and
different cognitive distortions (Berber Celik and Odaci 2013;
Kalkan 2012), no study examining the sub-dimensions of
cognitive distortions evaluated in our study has been found.
This situation restricts the interpretation of our results
regarding the sub-dimensions of cognitive distortions other
than "self-perception".
Researches investigating social media usage behaviors of
young people show that young people frequently use social
581
media to obtain information, follow the news and have infor-
mation, apart from socializing and having fun (Ministry of
Youth and Sports 2013). In researches on the subject, social
media is used as television, newspaper, etc. in terms of
speed, time and satisfaction. it has emerged that it is more
commonly preferred than many types of media (Dimmick
et al. 2004). Excessive and uncontrolled use of social media
may cause them to be exposed to more and uncontrolled
information. More frequent use of cognitive distortions such
as hopelessness, perceiving life as dangerous and helpless-
ness may negatively affect the ego power of young people
and cause a decrease in their self-esteem.
Limitations
Our study has some limitations. In studies evaluating self-
esteem and related factors in young individuals, it has been
determined that many individual and social factors such as
income level, parent and peer relations, school success, and
physical and mental illnesses are associated with self-esteem
(Camadan and Kirac 2020; Dale et al. 2019; Ummet 2015).
In our study, sociodemographic factors and other factors
other than age were not examined. It is thought that these
factors, which are considered as confounding variables,
should be considered in future studies on the subject. The
fact that the self-esteem and problematic social media use
levels of the participants were only evaluated with scales,
and no face-to-face interviews were conducted can be con-
sidered as the primary limitation of the study. Studies show
that the cognitive processes of individuals are affected in
many mental pathologies, especially depression and anxiety
disorders, and they use cognitive distortions more intensely
(Tanriverdi and Özguc 2022; Kurumluoglugil and Tanri-
verdi 2022). It is an important limitation that the young
people included in the study were not evaluated in terms of
mental pathologies that may affect the cognitive distortions
of individuals such as depression and anxiety. Our study was
designed as cross-sectional research. To analyze the effects
of cognitive distortions on problematic social media use and
self-esteem more elaborately, there is a need for longitudi-
nal studies investigating the social media use behaviors of
young people.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that there is a negative correlation
between the problematic social media use and the self-
esteem levels of young people and that cognitive distortions
play a mediating role in the relationship between both vari-
ables. When assessing self-esteem, which is known to be a
key factor in the etiology and prognosis of various mental
illnesses, especially depression and anxiety disorders, it is
13
582
thought that it is of great importance to consider the fre-
quency of social media use and cognitive characteristics of
young people in terms of treatment and preventive mental
health.
Author contributions O.S., A.D., and M.C. conceptualised and
designed the study, collected the data. O.S. wrote the article. M.C. and
A.D. supervised the study and helped in the writing of the article. All
authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding This research received no specific grant from any funding
agency in the public, commercial or non-profit sectors.
Declarations
Conflict interest The authors declare no conflict of interest in this re-
search.
Ethical approval Ethics committee approval of the study was obtained
on December 8th, 2020 from Beykent University Publication Ethics
Committee for Social and Human Sciences.
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