The present study examined whether loneliness and self-esteem mediated the relationship between social appearance anxiety and social media addiction. Participants included 378 young adults (75.7% female) aged 18–36 years (mean age = 22.72 years, SD = 4.97), who completed measures of loneliness, self-esteem, social appearance anxiety and social media addiction. The results indicated that social appearance anxiety not only had a direct effect on increased social media addiction but also had an indirect effect on it through increased levels of loneliness and decreased levels of self-esteem. These results are relevant, considering the scarcity of intervention efforts aimed at addressing social appearance anxiety. Future intervention strategies aimed at reducing social appearance anxiety and its associated consequences may simultaneously benefit from addressing loneliness and self-esteem.
