Fig. 1.

Proposed models that investigate mediated effects in the association between problematic social media use and psychological distress/insomnia. Both models were adjusted for age and gender.

Problematic social media use was assessed using Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale; Fear of COVID-19 using Fear of COVID-19 Scale; COVID-19 misunderstanding using four items designed by the authors; psychological distress using Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21; insomnia using Insomnia Severity Index.