Does Downward Social Comparisons Affect Mobile Phone Addiction? Narcissism Matters!

This study investigated the roles of implicit and explicit narcissism in the relationship between downward social comparison and mobile phone addiction. We randomly recruited 529 college students to complete the downward social comparison scale, mobile addiction tendency scale, and implicit and explicit narcissism questionnaires. Results showed that (1) downward social comparison positively related to implicit narcissism and mobile phone addiction but negatively related to explicit narcissism. Moreover, mobile phone addiction negatively related to explicit narcissism and positively related to implicit narcissism. (2) Downward social comparison positively predicted mobile phone addiction. (3) Implicit and explicit narcissism were parallel mediators in the relationship between downward social comparison and mobile phone addiction. Together, these results suggested that narcissism mediated the relationship of downward social comparison and mobile phone addiction of college students.