PENGARUH KESEPIAN TERHADAP INTENSITAS PENGGUNAAN MEDIA SOSIAL PADA DEWASA AWAL

The development of information technology in the digital era has brought significant changes to the way individuals communicate and interact. Among various technological innovations, the internet has become the primary medium, providing a limitless space for people to connect globally. One of the most popular forms of internet use is social media. The most dominant social media users are in the 18–24 age group, categorized as emerging adulthood. This study aims to examine the influence of loneliness on the intensity of social media use among emerging adults. This research employed a quantitative method with a correlational design and involved 350 participants in early adulthood, selected through accidental sampling. The instruments used included the UCLA Loneliness Scale to measure loneliness and the Social Media Intensity Scale to measure social media usage intensity. The results showed a significant positive relationship between loneliness and social media usage intensity (β = 0.544; p < 0.05). This suggests that social media is often utilized as a compensatory medium to fulfill social interaction needs among emerging adults.