With the increasing prevalence of the Internet and smartphone access, the use of social media has become routine, thereby affecting interpersonal relationships. In 1973, Katz et al. proposed uses and gratifications theory, arguing that people use media to meet their psychological needs, media are only one of many influence contexts, and each user is different. In contrast to passive receivers, active media users exhibit different levels of absorption and acquisition. Individuals may use social media to meet certain psychological needs and obtain emotional and social support; however, excessive or passive use may lead to social anxiety and comparison and even decreased well-being. Uses and gratifications theory does not adequately explain social media use and does not consider the crucial intermediary element of social media platforms. Individuals’ perceptions regarding social media use and its functions and their usage patterns and motives are key factors in the psychological experiences of social media use. An increasing number of studies on the positive and negative effects of social media use have focused on users. The state of individuals’ life determines whether they benefit from social media use. By enrolling national university students as participants, this study explored the general psychological experiences of young adults using social media phenomenologically. Phenomenology emphasizes that realities are solely phenomena; thus, immediate personal experiences should be studied and considered the only concrete data (Kruger, 1988; Moustakas, 1994).

This study recruited 14 participants, including 6 men and 8 women with an average age of 23.9 years (SD = 2.97). Seven participants were graduate students, and seven were undergraduate students. Each participant studied at one of three universities. Their majors included arts, psychology, and education. The three social media platforms that they used the most were Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Each participant underwent an individual interview for approximately 90 minutes. The design of the interview was maintained as open as possible to enable the participants to discuss their subjective inner experiences freely. According to the research aim and on the basis of the literature, three major themes were discussed: use and satisfaction theory; the effect of social media use, which examined the subjective experiences of users; and the relationship between real life and social media use.

After five stages of the phenomenological analysis of interview data, three major thematic experiences and seven units of meaning pertaining to the use of social media were extracted. The first thematic experience focused on the relationship between the ease of access to social media and the loss of self-control by individuals while using it. In the first thematic experience, two units of meaning were identified: (1) although the participants used social media to pass time, they lacked self-control and used social media excessively, causing negative emotions, such as the feelings of loss, frustration, and regret, and (2) the participants constantly interacted with information on social media, forming a dependent relationship. When they could not use social media, they exhibited separation anxiety. The second thematic experience was the shift in the amount of time spent “offline” and “online,” that is, face-to-face interpersonal interaction gradually decreased and was replaced by convenient, simple, and rapid online communication. In the second thematic experience, two units of meaning were identified: (1) the participants perceived the alternative experiences of others on social media as a reference for comparison, which indirectly reduced participants’ enjoyment and sense of personal accomplishment when browsing social media, and (2) although the participants believed that face-to-face interaction aroused deeper emotions, they consciously reduced face-to-face contact because of fear or embarrassment related to those emotions. The third thematic experience involved interpersonal connections that “seemed to exist” or “seemed to not exist,” that is, connections between two individuals following each other on social media that were fragmented, empty, or uncertain in reality. In the third thematic experience, three units of meaning were identified: (1) mutual following on social media was a symbol of an interpersonal bond; (2) after active sharing on social media, passively waiting for other individuals’ responses was necessary to connect interpersonally; and (3) social media interactions in all directions fostered interpersonal connectivity, but these interactions were fragmented and chaotic.

This study determined that accessibility to social media affected individuals’ ability to manage time and restrict social media use. This restriction caused separation anxiety or negative emotions, such as the feelings of loss, depression, and regret. This finding demonstrates that the role of social media has changed since 1973. Media were previously used to meet personal psychological needs. However, social media use may exert unexpected effects, such as negative emotions and separation anxiety, indicating a lack of control. Spending a large amount of time on social media can cause depression and anxiety (Barry et al., 2017; Lin et al., 2016). This study proposed that self-regulation is key to social media use outcomes. Information shared by others on social media can be directly accessed, which considerably improves the efficiency of communication and broadens the knowledge of users. This is a potential advantage of online interaction; decreased satisfaction from personal experiences and discovery are a disadvantage. Although face-to-face interaction can enhance the depth of relationships, social media provides opportunities for interruption, deletion, or re-engineering, making interaction more comfortable. Human emotional needs should be considered both in terms of in-person interactions and relationships on social media. Personal relationships should be viewed as complex and are affected by multiple or interactive factors. Changes in psychological experiences caused by social media use occur more rapidly than human evolution and have subverted traditional ideas. In 2020, the world’s population spent an equivalent of 1.25 billion years online, and one-third of that time was spent on social media (Kemp, 2020). In other words, we spend most of our time on social media managing online relationships. We may wait for responses more than for people. New interpersonal relationship patterns are emerging and challenging previously held values.

On the basis of the study findings, two recommendations are proposed. The first is to adjust perspectives. Emerging relationships are mostly established and maintained on social media, and as long as individuals respond to each other, a sense of connection is formed. Emphasis on individuals maintaining positive relationships is no longer relevant. Although the intimacy experienced during face-to-face interaction remains crucial, these interactions are gradually decreasing. The second recommendation concerns research directions. To allow more self-aware social media use, future research should focus on self-observation and reflection on social media use. Moreover, future studies should develop programs related to the positive use of social media to strengthen individuals’ ability to control social media use and understand social media, prevent uncontrolled social media use, and improve the relationship between in-person and virtual interaction.