How Mattering and Anti-Mattering Experiences Across Offline and Online Environments Contribute to People's Digital Life Balance and Social Media Addiction

In today's world, internet use has been evaluated as a factor that tremendously affects people's lives. More recently, evidence has been presented on the role that social-level factors play in determining the dysfunctional use of new technologies, such as the need for social recognition. This study examines the concept of ‘mattering’ and its counterpart ‘anti-mattering’ to understand how offline and online social experiences, along with need satisfaction, influence digital life balance and social media addiction. Three hundred participants (78.3% women; Mage = 24.92 years, SD = 7.49) participated in the data collection. This cross-sectional explorative study revealed that people Satisfied Online (i.e., subjects who satisfy their need to be important only online) are more likely to develop social media addiction and an imbalance between offline and online life than those who are Fully Satisfied, Fully Unsatisfied, and Satisfied Offline based on correlation and ANOVA analyses. In conclusion, the results of this study support the idea that the human need for social connection and social recognition are critical in shaping our relationship with emerging communication technologies, both toward functional and dysfunctional use.