Social Media Fatigue and Attentional Control among Young Adults (18-25 Years)
Abstract: Social media has become an inevitable part of daily life. Continuous engagement may be associated with cognitive, emotional, and behavioural fatigue. The study examined the association between social media fatigue and attentional control among young adults aged 18-25 years and whether social media fatigue could predict attentional control after accounting for age, gender, and social media usage. A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional design was used with 89 young adults selected through purposive and snowball sampling using an online questionnaire. The 15-item Social Media Fatigue Scale (SMFS; Zhang et al.; 2021) and the 20-item Attentional Control Scale (ACS; Derryberry and Reed; 2002) were used. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlations, hierarchical multiple regression, independent-samples t tests, and one-way ANOVA were conducted. The mean SMFS Total score was 45.98 (SD = 9.09), while the mean ACS Total score was 49.01 (SD = 8.61). A small negative relationship was found between social media fatigue and attentional control, r(87) = -.235, p = .027; Spearman ρ = -.239, p = .024. Cognitive Experiences were negatively associated with Attentional Focusing and Attentional Control, while overall social media fatigue was negatively associated with Attentional Shifting. Daily social-media usage was positively related to social media fatigue but was not significantly related to attentional control. Hierarchical regression did not show a significant predictive effect of social media fatigue after accounting for the covariates, β = -.212, p = .056. The findings showed a small negative association between social media fatigue and attentional control, but did not establish a predictive or causal effect.
Keywords: social media fatigue, attentional control, young adults, digital well-being, SMFS, ACS, cognitive experiences, India
How to Cite?: Shyam Krishnan, "Social Media Fatigue and Attentional Control among Young Adults (18-25 Years)", Volume 15 Issue 10, October 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 475-477, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR261007191240, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR261007191240