Beyond social media addiction: platform-specific associations with sincerity, self-esteem, and academic functioning

This study extends previously published analyses of the same cross-sectional dataset by examining whether psychological and academic correlates of social media engagement vary across social networking platforms. Whereas Seceleanu, Șunda, and Garabet (2026) focused on a general mechanism linking social media addiction to affect, authenticity, self-image, academic performance, and flourishing, the present secondary analysis focuses on platform-specific heterogeneity and on sincerity and self-esteem as distinct self-evaluative variables. The analytic sample comprised 940 participants aged 18–72 years (M = 31.00, SD = 11.35). Measures included the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), PAS subscales for sincerity, self-esteem, and gratitude, the Academic Performance Scale, and the Flourishing Scale. Platform use was examined for Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Discord, Twitch, and Reddit. Higher BSMAS scores were associated with use of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X/Twitter, while platform-specific patterns also emerged for sincerity and self-esteem. Indirect association models suggested that affect and sincerity were related to self-esteem and that self-esteem, in turn, was associated with academic functioning and flourishing. Because the design is cross-sectional and the platform analyses are exploratory, the findings should not be interpreted causally. The results extend the earlier mechanism-based study by showing that the psychological correlates of social media engagement may differ according to platform context and self-presentational dynamics.