Social Media Addiction in Adolescents and the Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Ghosting.

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to examine the effect of social media addiction and emotional intelligence on ghosting among adolescents.

METHODS

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between June and September 2025 using an online survey method. The study was conducted with 425 adolescents aged 10-19 years living in Batman, Türkiye. R programming language 4.1.3, G*Power 3.1, and SPSS-22 programmes were used in the analysis of the study.

RESULTS

It has been determined that the model is meaningful and usable in hierarchical regression analysis (F(2,422)=30.392, p=0.001). The level of social media addiction and emotional intelligence levels together explain 12.2% of the total variance in ghosting levels (R2=0.122). It was determined that an increase in participants' social media addiction levels (t=4.895, p<0.001) and a decrease in their emotional intelligence levels (t=-4.021, p<0.001) were significantly associated with higher levels of ghosting. SHAP values show the extent to which each variable influences the model's predictions and the magnitude of this influence. According SHAP values, social media addiction is identified as the most important variable in predicting the ghosting variable.

CONCLUSION

Participants' increased social media addiction and decreased emotional intelligence were found to be associated with higher levels of ghosting. Longitudinal studies on ghosting among adolescents are recommended. Furthermore, the implementation of educational and intervention programs aimed at regulating social media use and enhancing emotional intelligence skills in adolescents is suggested.