Influence of social media addiction on romantic jealousy among university students from the Peruvian Amazon

Influencia de la adicción a redes sociales en los celos de pareja en estudiantes universitarios de la Selva Peruana

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the influence of excessive social media use on romantic jealousy among university students from the Peruvian Amazon. Materials and Methods: This was a non-experimental, quantitative study with a cross-sectional, correlational, and predictive design. A total of 702 participants were included, with a gender distribution of 55.7% female and 44.3% male, aged between 18 and 40 years. Of the total sample, 37.7% (n = 265) were enrolled in a private university and 62.3% (n = 437) in a public university, both located in the city of Tarapoto. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM) with Weighted Least Squares Mean and Variance Adjusted (WLSM) estimation, which enabled the evaluation of the relationship between social media addiction and romantic jealousy. Results: The model demonstrated a good fit (CFI = 0.989, RMSEA = 0.081). Excessive social media use was found to be a significant predictor of romantic jealousy (B = 0.398, p < 0.001). Moreover, among the dimensions of social media addiction, obsession with these platforms showed the strongest association with jealousy (r = 0.371, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Social media addiction may negatively impact couple dynamics by increasing feelings of romantic jealousy. Promoting the responsible use of social media is recommended to help prevent the development of jealousy in the romantic relationships of university students. Keywords: Internet Addiction Disorder; Social Networking; Jealousy; Students, Peru (Source: MeSH, NLM).