Social Media Usage Pattern and Committing High-Risk Behaviors among Young Adults Ages 18 to 25 Years

Social media creates some opportunities and threats including the emergence of risky behaviors. Using the theory of use and gratification and the theory of social norms, as well as relying on previous research literature seeks to understand the relationship between the pattern of social media consumption and high risk behaviors among teenagers and young adults. In this cross sectional quantitative research, after assuring the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, 406 respondents aged 18 to 25 completed the online questionnaire. SPSS and AMOS used to perform analyses. As findings shown, Instagram, WhatsApp, Iranian Educational Network of the Students (SHAD), and Telegram were the most used media, which users mainly access through mobile phones at night. The incidence of high risk behavior was generally reported low among the respondents. Ease of access to social media had a significant correlation with high risk behaviors. Investigating the indirect effect of the relationships between the variables of use and satisfaction theory through social norms indicates no significant correlation. These findings can be helpful in designing and implementing intervention programs with the aim of avoiding risky behaviors caused by social media usage.