The Role of Social Media Addiction in Marital Burnout: The Mediating Roles of Communication Conflicts and Emotional Loneliness

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the role of social media addiction in marital burnout through the mediating roles of communication conflicts and emotional loneliness. The expansion of social media has created new opportunities for communication, entertainment, and information exchange; however, excessive and uncontrolled use may have harmful consequences for marital relationships. In many couples, spending excessive time online may reduce psychological presence in the relationship, increase social comparison, intensify sensitivity to a partner’s online interactions, and decrease face-to-face communication. Such patterns can contribute to repeated misunderstandings, emotional distance, and dissatisfaction. Social media addiction may also weaken intimacy by diverting attention from the partner, reducing responsiveness to emotional needs, and increasing secrecy or mistrust in the relationship. Marital burnout refers to a state of emotional exhaustion, relational disappointment, reduced affection, and negative attitudes toward the marital relationship. Communication conflicts and emotional loneliness may serve as important mediating mechanisms in the association between social media addiction and marital burnout. In other words, excessive social media use may first increase communication problems and emotional isolation within the relationship, and these factors may subsequently intensify marital burnout. This study used a descriptive-correlational design based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of married men and women, and participants were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using standardized measures of social media addiction, communication conflicts, emotional loneliness, and marital burnout. The findings showed that social media addiction had a significant direct effect on marital burnout. In addition, communication conflicts and emotional loneliness significantly mediated this relationship. The proposed model demonstrated acceptable fit indices. These results indicate that problematic social media use should be considered an important relational risk factor in contemporary marital life. Based on the findings, educational and counseling interventions focused on digital self-regulation, healthy boundaries for social media use, improvement of couple communication, and reduction of emotional loneliness may help prevent marital burnout and strengthen marital quality.