Social Media Addiction and Loneliness Among Individuals Undergoing Substance Use Rehabilitation: The Role of Demographics

Background: Social media addiction and loneliness are important psychosocial concerns among individuals undergoing rehabilitation for substance use disorders. This study examined the levels of social media addiction and loneliness and their relationship among residents of Malaysian rehabilitation centers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals undergoing rehabilitation at three PUSPEN centers in Kelantan and Terengganu, Malaysia. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and 8-item UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-8) were administered. Associations were examined using Spearman's correlation and multiple linear regression. Results: The mean age of participants was 26.53 ± 6.59 years. The mean BSMAS score was 16.12 ± 4.94, with mild social media addiction being the most common category (41.9%), followed by low (27.1%), moderate (18.6%), and high (12.4%) levels. The mean UCLA-8 loneliness score was 16.91 ± 5.63, with 44.2% reporting moderate loneliness, 41.9% low loneliness, and 14.0% high loneliness. Continuous BSMAS scores were weakly and positively correlated with UCLA-8 scores (rs = 0.211, p = 0.016). In the adjusted regression model, female gender was significantly associated with higher loneliness scores (B = 3.861, p = 0.015), whereas social media addiction was no longer significant (B = 0.151, p = 0.134). Conclusions: While mild social media addiction and moderate loneliness are common among individuals in substance rehabilitation, feeling lonely is more closely linked to baseline demographic characteristics than to pre-admission digital habits. Because accounting for gender substantially reduces the apparent connection between digital addiction and isolation, institutional policies should move beyond simple device restrictions to address residents' underlying psychosocial needs.