Problematic Facebook use and anxiety concerning use of social media in mothers and their offspring: An actor–partner interdependence model

Previous research has shown significant and positive associations between social anxiety of parents and theiradolescent offspring. The main aim of this study was to investigate this relationship in the social media (SM)context. We tested one hundred andfifty-two couples comprising mothers and their adolescent offspring(12–14 years old) on their levels of problematic Facebook use (PFU) and social anxiety concerning SM use. Anactor–partner interdependence model highlighted the positive relationship between the PFU scores of mothersand their offspring on the levels of SM social anxiety in the offspring. We discuss the results in the context ofintergenerational transfer of problematic technology use and social anxiety.