The moderating role of gender in the mediating effect of anxiety between social meda fatigue and pre-sleep arousal in adults

The study aimed to investigate the mediating role of anxiety in the relationship between social media fatigue and pre-sleep arousal, and to examine the moderating role of gender in the effect of social media fatigue on anxiety. The sample consisted of 580 voluntary social media users aged between 18 and 65. Data were collected through an online survey, and the research was conducted using a correlational design. The analyses were performed using SPSS 27 and PROCESS macro (Model 7). Findings indicated that anxiety partially mediated the relationship between social media fatigue and pre-sleep arousal. Social media fatigue significantly predicted anxiety; however, gender did not moderate this effect. While the indirect effect via anxiety was significant for both men and women, the magnitude of this effect did not differ across genders. Significant and positive associations were found among the key variables, with anxiety emerging as the strongest predictor of pre-sleep arousal. The results were interpreted in light of existing literature and recommendations were made for both practitioners and future research.