The interplay between ADHD symptoms and time perspective in addictive social media use: A study on adolescent Facebook users

Literature suggests that ADHD symptoms and time perspective (TP) are factors in promoting the addictive use of social media among adult users, which in turn can impair various areas of individual personal life including work, academic productivity, and mental health. The present study investigates the interplay between ADHD symptoms and TP in promoting addictive Facebook use in a sample of adolescent Facebook users (N = 283, 49.8% female, mean age = 15.28, SD = 1.33). Participants completed the Italian versions of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire – ADHD subscale, the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), and the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. Results of regression analyses showed that ADHD symptoms positively predicted addictive Facebook use, past negative and present fatalistic orientation, and negatively predicted future orientation. Further, past negative and present fatalistic TP orientations acted as mediators of the relationship between ADHD symptoms and addictive Facebook use: ADHD symptoms favor an increase in problematic use of social media, and this effect appears to be linked to a worsening in the perception of past and present experiences. Knowledge of this mechanism could be useful for psychologists and psychiatrists in the stages of assessment, and psychological or psychotherapeutic intervention.