Exploring the link between valued living and problematic social media use: The serial mediating roles of self-control and doomscrolling

Social media plays a central role in the daily lives of young people. However, many are at risk of experiencing a range of negative consequences associated with problematic social media use (PSMU). In this context, understanding the core psychological processes that contribute to PSMU is of critical importance for the development of preventive and intervention-based strategies aimed at promoting youth mental health. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between valued living - engaging in continuous and committed action consistent with one's chosen values- and PSMU, and to explore the serial mediating roles of trait self-control and doomscrolling in this association. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional design and included 511 university students aged between 18 and 30 years (78.5% female). Data were analyzed using Hayes’s PROCESS macro (Model 6). The findings revealed that valued living significantly predicted self-control. However, no direct effect of valued living on doomscrolling or PSMU was identified. In contrast, self-control and doomscrolling fully mediated the relationship between valued living and PSMU. These results indicate that self-control functions as a key psychological mechanism through which valued living is linked to reductions in both doomscrolling and PSMU. Accordingly, the findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing PSMU and doomscrolling may be more effective when they target self-control capacity within a value-based framework, rather than focusing on valued living alone. Moreover, future studies should investigate the cognitive and emotional mechanisms through which valued living influences self-control, doomscrolling, and PSMU, using more comprehensive and causally oriented research designs.