The nexus between social media use for wellbeing and use disorder: A clustering analysis and personas

Abstract

This study employs clustering techniques to identify distinct social media user personas based on psychological traits and digital behaviors within UK and Arab samples. A total of 563 participants, 255 participants from the UK and 308 from the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were analyzed using k-means clustering on seven key variables: Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Social Media Usage Frequency, Social Media Usage Competency, Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), Social Media Contribution to Social Wellbeing (SM Contribution to SWB), and Social Media Disorder (SMD). Three distinct clusters were identified in each sample: Engaged Digital Optimists, Anxious Social Connectors, and Selective Minimalists in the UK, and Digital Strategists, Digital Overdependent, and Hesitant Users in the Arab sample. The results highlight the inter-relations among personality traits, social media engagement patterns and digital wellbeing. Although the profiles in the Arab and UK samples were largely aligned, the differences highlighted cultural nuances in social media behaviors. These findings offer valuable insights for designing targeted interventions to promote positive social media use and enhance digital literacy.