Abstract

Social media addiction is an emerging concern, especially among high school students, as it influences various aspects of their lives, including mental health, academic performance, and social relationships. This study explores the impact of social media addiction on students’ personalities and investigates the moderating role of empathy and personality traits, such as extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Using a sample of 500 high school students, the study analyzes the relationship between empathy, social media addiction, and changes in personality traits. Results suggest that empathy acts as a buffer, reducing the negative effects of social media addiction. Furthermore, different personality traits were found to modify this relationship, with neuroticism exacerbating the negative consequences while traits like agreeableness and conscientiousness appear to mitigate the impact. These findings highlight the importance of tailored interventions to help high school students manage social media use effectively