Sofalizing and its relationship with social media addiction and psychosocial factors: A new phenomenon among emerging adults

ABSTRACT

Sofalizing is a term that emerged from the combination of the words ‘sofa’ and ‘socializing’, and can be defined as interacting with others online from home rather than going out and actually meeting individuals. In the present study, the relationships between psychosocial factors (including social anxiety and social connectedness) and sofalizing were examined. Additionally, the possible mediating role of social media addiction between social anxiety and connectedness with sofalizing was also investigated. The participants comprised 666 university students (69% female, M_age = 20.35 years, SD = 2.28, age range = 17 to 40 years) recruited via convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, correlation analysis, t-tests, and structural equation modeling. Results showed that social anxiety, but not social connectedness, was indirectly significantly associated with sofalizing via social media addiction. Social media addiction also had a moderate effect on sofalizing. The present study is the first to empirically explore the concept of ‘sofalizing’ and its potential contributing factors, and suggests that sofalizing warrants further examination of its impact on mental health and wellbeing.

KEYWORDS:

• Sofalizing
• social media addiction
• social anxiety
• social connectedness
• internet
• internet addiction