Impact of Parenting Styles on Social Media Addiction among Young Adults
Author : Anjali Nenwani and Meet Madan
Abstract :
This study investigates the influence of parenting styles on social media addiction among young adults. A quantitative research design was employed, involving a sample of 200 participants aged between 18–30 years, selected through convenience sampling. Standardized tools were used to assess the participants’ perception of their parents’ parenting styles and their level of social media addiction. The results revealed that individuals raised under authoritarian parenting exhibited higher levels of social media addiction, with a particularly notable trend among males. Conversely, those from authoritative parenting backgrounds showed lower levels of addiction, indicating the protective nature of this parenting style. Participants raised by permissive parents demonstrated significant dependency on social media, despite the freedom and emotional warmth they experienced. Gender differences were also observed, with females reporting higher social media usage overall. These findings highlight the critical role of parenting approaches in shaping digital behavior and suggest that promoting balanced, responsive, and structured parenting may help mitigate the risks of social media addiction among young adults.
Keywords :
Parenting style, social media addiction, digital behavior, technology use, behavioral addiction.
