"I like it" and "I need it": Relationship between implicit associations, flow, and addictive social media use

The use of online social media (SM) is part of daily life, but may impact subjective well-being negatively, and contribute to the development of addictive tendencies. The present empirical study investigated the mechanisms that might explain this development. An online survey and an implicit association test (IAT) investigated the relationship between implicit associations with SM, SM flow and addictive social media use (SMU) in a sample of 145 users of SM. The results reveal a significant positive association between all three investigated constructs. Moreover, SM flow mediated the relationship between the implicit associations and addictive SMU significantly. Implicit associations with SM might therefore foster immersion into the online world, which contributes to SM flow's positive experience. However, SM flow might also serve as an antecedent of addictive tendencies. The study findings should be considered when assessing individuals at risk of addictive SMU, and when developing (therapeutic) intervention programs to deal with problematic social platform use.