Problematic Social Media Use in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Role of Social Anxiety

This study compared problematic social media use (PSMU) between 76 autistic and 107 non-autistic adolescents (ages 8-17), finding similar overall PSMU levels but different patterns of relationships with age and social anxiety dimensions. Social anxiety—particularly humiliation/refusal and performance anxiety—showed distinct associations with PSMU in autistic youth compared to non-autistic peers, suggesting individual characteristics and anxiety beliefs are important factors in understanding digital media engagement in autism.