Understanding the Effects of Social Media on Empathic Concern among Ethiopian Undergraduate University Students: A Moderated Multiple Mediation Model

Understanding the Effects of Social Media on Empathic Concern among Ethiopian Undergraduate University Students: A Moderated Multiple Mediation Model | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Understanding the Effects of Social Media on Empathic Concern among Ethiopian Undergraduate University Students: A Moderated Multiple Mediation Model Metasebya Gonta Gotoro, Wang Meiping, Million Desalegn Tassew, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8033757/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The current study investigated the effect of social media usage on empathic concern in Ethiopian adolescents and investigated the mediating effects of self-esteem and peer connection and the moderating effect of parental communication. Data were gathered from 763 adolescents at Wolaita Sodo University via structured questionnaires and were analysed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, regression, and Hayes's PROCESS macro for mediation, moderation, and moderated multiple mediation analysis. The findings revealed that greater usage of social media was strongly related to decreased emphatic concern (B = -0.083, β = -0.126, p < .001) and that peer connection and self-esteem partially mediated this relationship, suggesting that social media overuse can decrease empathy by reducing adolescents' level of self-esteem and social connectedness. Additionally, parent communication significantly moderated the direct and indirect paths from social media use to empathic concern; the negative impact of social media use was strongest when parent communication was low and inverted when it was high. The moderated multiple mediation analysis also revealed that the indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern via self-esteem and peer connection were dependent on parental communication, emphasizing the dynamic interaction between peer, individual, and family systems. The results generalize ecological, social learning, and media effects theories by showing how family communication, digital use, and psychological resources affect empathic development. The study focuses on encouraging healthy balanced social media use, self-esteem, and peer relationships, as well as effective supportive parental communication, to increase empathic concern among Ethiopian adolescents. social media use empathic concern self-esteem peer connection parental communication adolescents moderated mediation Figures Figure 1 Introduction Modern technology has transformed the world, transforming communications and interactions through internet platforms and bringing the world together (Hilbert, 2020 ; Stark & Castells, 1997 ). The evolution of social media has enabled individuals to produce, publish, post, comment, and engage with information in real time (Chayko, 2014 ). In recent decades, this technology advancement has significantly transformed individuals' behavior and relationships (Romeo, 2024 ; Kleinberg, 2008 ). Consequently, the growing prevalence of social media has become an issue in terms of its influence on people, especially adolescents and young individuals, who have grown up as digital natives think, feel, and behave (Rosen et al., 2013 ). Social media is integrated into everyday life, impacting communication, relationships, and identity construction for adolescents (Odgers & Jensen, 2020 ; Reid & Boyer, 2013 ). Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and WhatsApp serve as important platforms for leisure and social self-representation, where adolescents socialize and seek validation (Best et al., 2014 ; Beyens et al., 2020 ). Online social communities provide adolescents with opportunities to establish social networks and relationships (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017 ). Social media also serves an important function in the psychosocial development of empathy and other prosocial behaviors, such as cooperation and emotional support (Prinstein et al., 2020 ; Spies Shapiro & Margolin, 2014 ). By allowing expression, social belonging, and engagement in assigned social issues, social media can strengthen empathy and civic engagement for adolescents (Davis, 2012 ). Unmoderated use of social media can lead to the development of dangerous behaviours such as cyberbullying, social comparison, and emotional detachment, as well as the erosion of face-to-face social interaction and unsustained emotional social competencies (Vb, 2025 ). Empathic concern involves the ability to emphasize and internalize the feelings of others. It is fundamentally important to adolescent psychosocial development and is the precursor to the development of prosocial behaviors and emotional maturity, as well as the formation of meaningful relationships (Heller et al., 2006 ). For adolescents socially integrating and developing, the empathic concern of adolescents works strongly for social emotional balance (Prot et al., 2014 ). There are psychosocial ramifications for empathic concern and social media use that go beyond psychosocial single empathy (Guan et al., 2019 ). Social media can provide emotional assistance and support pertaining to the phenomena of social anxiety, depression, and loneliness, as well as high intimacy and happiness ratings that correlate with empathic functioning (Ostic et al., 2021 ). The relationship between online social engagement and empathy increasingly appears to be culture- and platform dependent. Conflicting outcomes have also been reported in the international literature. The global patterns of the relationships between social connection and empathy and the use of electronic media were revealed by a cross-national study in 2009/10 (in Scotland, Poland, Hungary, Germany, England, Israel, Italy, Canada, and the Netherlands), involving 53,973 students in nine countries (Boniel-Nissim et al., 2015 ). Some studies have suggested that social media could foster empathy in adolescents (Vossen et al., 2017 ); however, studies that examine social media usage in excess have revealed a negative correlation with empathic concern and emotional well-being (Dalvi-Esfahani et al., 2020 ). Pakistan’s study also revealed culturally contexted dynamics, which indicated that social media usage has the ability to stir up or stifle empathy, depending on patterns of usage and context factors (Shahid et al., 2024 ). Although there are conflicting findings in cross-national studies about the relationship between social media use and empathy, such findings are entirely disparate when applied to Ethiopian adolescents because of their distinctive cultural, social, and technological environments. Social networking platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram have become essential tools for communication and cultural integration. Notably, they provide young people in Ethiopia with new mechanisms for interacting, sharing personal narratives, and engaging in activism. Furthermore, the social and emotional development of these adolescents hinges on broader social introspection and the emotional maturation value that social media presents. For adolescents utilizing social media, research on Jimma city's private secondary schools suggests that digital platforms provide several social and emotional development opportunities. According to social media usage research, 86.3% actively engage on social networking platforms, and their engagement has social emotional development consequences, either positive or negative (Mekonen et al., 2024 ). In their systematic review of social media and empathy, (Piccerillo & Digennaro, 2025 ) conclude that there is a positive correlation, although the relationship may be less profound in specific contexts and individual determinations. The overuse of smartphones and social media has been associated with negative emotional states among 1,232 university students in southern Ethiopia (Mengistu et al., 2023 ). In another study conducted among secondary school students, social media was reported to enhance communication among peers but was also reported to provide distractions, emotional burnout, associated social comparison, and friction in communication (Mulisa & Getahun, 2018 )). The evidence suggests that social media, depending on the manner of use, has the capacity to facilitate or inhibit empathy and a host of other prosocial behaviours. Many Ethiopian adolescents use these platforms to promote social activism, support community networks, value and defend empathy and compassion as constituent elements of the Ethiopian cultural fabric, and advocate for gender and human rights (Piccerillo & Digennaro, 2025 ). Discouraging annoyances and the provocation of empathy include bullying, social comparison, hating speech and polarizing communication (Vossen et al., 2017 ). Ethiopian adolescents may remain emotionally and socially disengaged from digital social media and empathy because weak parental and community digital literacy frameworks lead to emotional complexities in social media (Mekonen et al., 2024 ). In addition to the use of digital media, the presence of social and psychological factors, such as self-esteem, relationships with peers, and parental communication, contributes to the development of empathic concern. For example, mental distress and weak psychological resilience, which are associated with low self-esteem, are factors associated with Ethiopian university students (Melaku et al., 2021 ). A systematic meta-analysis with 70 studies and 390 effect sizes revealed small-to-moderate positive relationships between the quality of relationships and empathy and revealed that peer relationships are more strongly related than parent‒child relationships are (Boele et al., 2019 ); specifically, peer relationships were found to be significantly more strongly correlated with empathy than parent‒child relationships were. The conclusion indicates a two-way correlation between social contact and self-esteem, with effect sizes of approximately β = .08 in each direction throughout the lifespan (Harris & Orth, 2020 ). In addition, peer influence was also revealed to have a mediating effect on empathy and prosocial behavior (Li et al., 2025 ) and, therefore, the significance of friendly social networks in the field of building concern and understanding for others' feelings. While there have been a variety of examinations of the impact of social media on empathy in the Ethiopian setting, the complex operations of mediators such as self-esteem and peer relations and moderators such as parental communication are largely untouched. The current research aims to fill this gap by investigating the degree to which these factors influence the development of empathic concern in Ethiopian teenagers. To address this concern, the present research employs a moderated multiple mediation approach when examining how social media use affects empathic concern through self-esteem and peer relations as mediators, with parental communication acting as a moderator. The findings are likely to provide useful suggestions for teachers, parents, and policy practitioners who are interested in enhancing empathy and online wellness among teenagers in Ethiopia. Social Media Use and Empathic Concern In this section, we outline the research that has been conducted on the relationship between the use of social media and empathic concern within different cultures to better frame this study. As social media rapidly becomes a critical part of daily life, it raises important issues regarding the development and expression of empathic concern, especially considering the documented decline in empathy in younger people and the increased use of technology in communication (Carrier et al., 2015 ). This is important because within the biopsychosocial framework, empathy enables individuals to internalize and engage with the emotional worlds of others (Dalvi-Esfahani et al., 2020 ). Within the framework of the Batson model of altruistic and prosocial behaviour, empathy plays a critical role in the motivation for socially positive orientations and behaviours (Ishtiyaq et al., 2024 ). As outlined, there is concern that the repeated consumption of personalized online profiles, as well as the fundamentally “nonhuman” nature of online communication, may inhibit the full expression of empathic concern (Armstrong-Carter & Telzer, 2021 ). Social networking sites encourage users to develop and express empathy through emotional sharing, social interaction, and perspective-taking activities. A longitudinal study that included 942 Dutch adolescents aged 10–14 years reported that increased social media use during the study period predicted growth in both cognitive and affective empathy (Valkenburg et al., 2016 ; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007 ). Research in Indonesia revealed that increased activity on social networking sites was associated with increased cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and sympathy (Meuthia et al., 2023 ). In a study conducted in China, emotional intelligence and peer relationships were protective factors against problematic mobile social media use. Emotional intelligence has been shown to foster peer relations, which in turn reduce problematic social media use through lessening experiential avoidance (Chen et al., 2025 ). In line with this, another study showed that although social media use could correlate with empathy in some way, peer relationships alongside emotional intelligence and skills could be important key determining factors for assessing the extent to which social media use is regarded as problematic (Luo & Jiang, 2021 ). Alternatively, some studies indicate that social media usage that is both excessive and passive tends to decrease empathic concern, which is sensitive to the emotions of others. For example, multiple studies indicate that empathic concern has decreased. Within the United States, a study that included approximately 702 participants revealed that passive social media engagement was positively correlated with a 33% increase in depression symptomology (Escobar-Viera et al., 2018 ). The negative consequences, however, extend far beyond depression. A meta-analysis revealed a 40% decrease in empathy among college students from 1979 through 2009, with the steepest drops occurring after 2000 (Konrath et al., 2011 ). This result implies that social media breeds superficial "weak" ties and increases self-centrality, which can result in such a shortfall (Twenge, 2013 ). Although the bulk of the literature is correlational, works that span multiple years and gather large participant sizes (over 13,000 participants) consistently show increased digital communication correlated with a reduction in emotional connection (Newell, 2017 ). Moreover, studies have shown that excessive usage or problematic usage of social media is correlated with low empathy and high narcissism, especially in the case of passive usage or emotionally aloof usage (James et al., 2017 ). In addition, a longitudinal study conducted with 74 university students demonstrated that problematic usage of the internet could predict the growth in narcissism in the case of visual social media users (Reed et al., 2018 ). Thus, it becomes evident that the online features of social media, which tend to lack nonverbal cues and affective nuances, can hamper the development of empathic skills (Twenge, 2019 ). Similarly, a meta-analysis hypothesized that the decline in empathy in adolescence could be related to the growing dominance of internet-mediated communication, specifically social networking and instant messaging (Fox & Moreland, 2015 ). In Ethiopia, the use of social media by adolescents allows for peer bonding and social activism, while social media use can also lead to emotional disengagement and psychological problems (Mekonen et al., 2024 ). One of the major problems in Ethiopian culture is the absence of empathy-related social media research. Around the world, empathy has been studied, and social media has been documented to have both positive and negative effects. However, the lack of culture and social context is what makes Ethiopia unique (Mulisa & Getahun, 2018 ; Piccerillo & Digennaro, 2025 ). This lack of understanding of the social context is what drives the current study, which explores social media use and empathic concern while focusing on social, emotional, and psychological mediating and moderating effects. As outlined in the literature, social media can either enhance or diminish empathic concern, depending on how individuals use social media, the nature of their relationships, the social contexts of parental communication, peer relationships, and support. In particular, empathy and compassion are enhanced when individuals engage in active, constructive, and prosocial activities, whereas passive use and avoidance negatively impact empathic sensitivity. Self-Esteem and Peer Connection as Mediators Adolescents’ social behavior continues to be influenced by social media, and self-esteem and peer connections might mediate the interaction of social media usage and empathic concern. Mediating self-esteem plays an important role in the social and psychological development of adolescents. In a study with 7,290 participants, self-esteem was found to partially mediate peer-related social anxiety, depression and other internalizing problems (Bosacki et al., 2007 ) The social media context has produced mixed findings regarding the impact of social media on self-esteem. While the majority of adolescents are psychologically unaffected by social media, a small proportion suffer from negative body image, social comparisons and self-esteem issues (Colak et al., 2023 ). Higher self-esteem and social competence in a positive social context enhance one’s ability to see and respond to the emotions of others (Huang et al., 2019 ). Numerous researchers have reported the impact of self-esteem on empathy and other psychological impacts, in addition to being a psychological bridge in a disconnected self. Self-esteem can both directly predict empathy and mediate other intrapersonal traits. According to (Tran et al., 2022 ), among Vietnamese university students, self-esteem mediates the relationship between self-compassion and empathy, implying that self-esteem can also enhance empathic concern, albeit in an indirect manner. With respect to the negative impact of self-esteem, feelings of self-doubt or social anxiety can stagnate or reduce emotional responsiveness (Orth & Robins, 2014 ). These findings demonstrate self-esteem's ability to predict empathy directly and serve as a mediator of other intrapersonal traits. In addition to self-esteem, peer connection also forms a prime social structure in the development of empathic concern. Positive experiences with peers create contexts of perspective-taking, the sharing of feelings, and collective behaviors that feature prominently in empathy. In studies conducted by (Vossen & Valkenburg, 2016 ) and (Zeng et al., 2021 ), attachment to peers was found to not only increase sympathy but also counteract the detrimental influence of excessive exposure to social media. Similarly, another study in China revealed that empathy functions to mediate the relationship between influence by peers and prosocial behavior and that adolescents who have much healthier networks of peers are more likely to attain sympathy due to social learning and reinforcement (Li et al., 2024 ). Peer affiliation also engages with self-esteem dynamically. Peer interaction mediates the relationship between self-esteem and life satisfaction in adolescents, and high self-esteem and high-quality peer interaction strengthen each other (Szcześniak et al., 2022 ). Adolescents who have high self-esteem have trusting relationships with peers, which also enhances their empathic ability (Huang et al., 2019 ). When combined, self-esteem and peer connection are interwoven mediators in the relationship between social media use and empathic concern. Peer relationships offer a social setting for practicing empathy, whereas self-esteem improves intrapersonal emotional stability. Teenagers are more likely to develop long-lasting empathy and prosocial behavior when interventions simultaneously increase self-esteem and positive peer environments. Research examining these mediators concurrently within the social media empathy framework is still scarce, especially in non-Western contexts, despite mounting evidence. Parental communication as a moderator Self-esteem and peer connection are mediators because they help explain how social media impacts empathy. Parental communication, on the other hand, is a moderator because it influences how much or in which direction social media use affects empathic concern. Moreover, the effects of these mediating factors may vary depending on parental guidance, highlighting the potential moderating role of parental communication. Engaging with children involves parents communicating with them, emotionally guiding them, offering constructive critiques, being verbal or nonverbal, and showing affinity and support toward children (Munz, 2015 ). The impact of the communicative effect on children’s development, particularly empathy and social and emotional development, is invaluable (Nasir & Johari, 2024 ; Wang et al., 2023 ). Parents help children recognize and responsively react to other people’s feelings through consistent and constructive guidance, emotional coaching, and open discussions about the feelings of children and other people (Harahap et al., 2023 ). With respect to empathic concern, other individual factors and socioemotional factors related to empathy and parental communication can be moderated, and communication can strengthen, lessen, or change the direction of the relationship (Heller et al., 2006 ). For example, when parents practice supportive, open, and emotionally stimulating communication, adolescents with elevated self-esteem may experience increased empathic concern; in contrast, adolescents with elevated self-esteem may experience decreased empathic concern in the context of unsupportive, inconsistent parental communication (Henry et al., 1996 ). As described above, positive peer relationships tend to strengthen empathy in favourable contexts, particularly when parents offer guidance about prosocial behavior and emotions (Padilla-Walker & Coyne, 2011 ). In addition, a meta-analysis noted a slight, positive relationship between the parent‒child relationship and empathy, affirming that good parent‒child relationships and communication facilitate empathic growth (Boele et al., 2019 ). Moreover, large-scale studies continue to support the role of parental communication in moderating the effects of media, including (Boniel-Nissim et al., 2015 ), who analysed 53,973 students across nine countries and reported that supportive parent‒adolescent communication within the family and parental control moderated the negative effects of electronic media on life satisfaction; thus, parental involvement and communication emerged as protective factors. In other studies, authoritative parenting moderated the relationship between social media use and self-esteem (Adams & Cooper, 2025 ), and parent‒adolescent communication mitigated the negative impact of cyber victimization on self-esteem (Özdemir, 2014 ). All these studies indicate that parental communication helps determine the net effect of individual and social factors on empathic development. Despite this evidence, research directly examining how parental communication moderates the relationships among social media use, self-esteem, peer connection, and empathic concern remains limited. Existing studies present mixed effects of social media on empathy, with some reporting that higher empathic concern predicts lower social media addiction (Dalvi-Esfahani et al., 2020 ). These gaps underscore the need for more comprehensive studies that integrate individual, social, and parental factors to understand how adolescents’ digital engagement shapes their empathic development. In sum, parental communication is a key moderating factor that can amplify the positive effects of self-esteem and peer connection on empathic concern. Interventions that promote open, supportive parent‒child communication and foster emotional literacy may optimize adolescents’ ability to translate intrapersonal and social resources into prosocial and empathic behaviors. The current study In light of the expanding wealth of evidence that reveals that social media usage influences empathy, previous research has largely been conducted in Western settings, with very minimal concern about how these processes function in African societies, particularly in Ethiopia. This new research strives to fill this gap in research by examining social media usage and empathic concern among adolescent Ethiopians with due concern for individual and contextual characteristics. This research borrows from the Ecological Systems Theory of Bronfenbrenner (Crawford, 2020 ), Social Learning Theory (Deaton, 2015 ), the Media Effects Model (Valkenburg et al., 2016 ), and Empathy Development Theory (M. H. Davis, 1983 ), with empathic concern being understood to result from interactive processes between digital behaviors, psychological well-being, interaction with peers, and communication with parents. Specifically, the research postulates that empathic concern is mediated by self-esteem and peer connection such that social media use affects these mediators and thereby empathic concern. Passive and overindulgent social media involvement could decrease the self-esteem of adolescents and damage their real relationships with peers, hence diminishing empathic concern. In contrast, social interaction that is proactive and affirming could enhance social relationships and evoke empathic emotions. In addition, communication with mothers is predicted to moderate these processes such that communication that is open and encouraging lowers the potential negative influence of social media consumption while stimulating desired development outcomes. By incorporating both mediating and moderating processes within one framework, this research broadens the knowledge about how individual, peer, and family systems all play a role in empathic concern in the digital engagement context. This model was proposed to translate culture-appropriate knowledge to guide intervention strategies to improve empathy and socioemotional functioning among adolescents in Ethiopia. Hypothesized Moderated Parallel Mediation Model In light of the moderating influence of parental communication and the mediating roles of peer connection and self-esteem, the current study investigates the direct and indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern, drawing on the reviewed literature and theoretical frameworks. According to the conceptual model, teens' use of social media has an impact on their empathy both directly and indirectly through changes in peer connections and self-esteem; the degree of these effects is influenced by the degree of parental communication. Accordingly, the following hypotheses are proposed: H1 (Direct effect): Social media use is significantly associated with adolescents’ empathic concerns. H2a (Mediation): Self-esteem mediates the relationship between social media use and empathic concern. H2b (Mediation): Peer connections mediate the relationship between social media use and empathic concern. H3 (Moderation): Parental communication moderates the effects of social media use on self-esteem and peer connection such that relationships are stronger among adolescents with greater parental communication. H4 (Moderated Multiple Mediation): The indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern through self-esteem and peer connection are conditional on parental communication, such that the mediated relationships are stronger at higher levels of parental communication. Methods Participants This study was conducted to investigate the effect of social media use on adolescent emphatic concern, with a focus on the mediating effects of self-esteem and peer connection and the moderating effect of parental communication. The study included 763 adolescents in three age categories, 18–21 (76.5%), 22–25 (21.5%), and 26–29 (2%), and the majority of the participants were 18–21 years of age. The target population for this study was all regular undergraduate students from the Gandaba, Ottona, and Dawuro-Tarcha campuses of Wolaita Sodo University. Among the participants in the study, 470 (61.6%) were male, and 293 (38.4%) were female. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to ensure proportional representation across sex, college/school, and year. After stratification, systematic random sampling was used to select participants from the student frame list. The sample included both male and female students, students from different colleges, and all year levels, including first-year to fifth-year students, and a variety of academic disciplines. Procedures The researcher arranged data collection at appropriate times to avoid disruptions during students' classes. Fifteen trained data collectors assigned specific roles and explained the purpose of the study and the scope of voluntary participation to the students. Data collectors administered the questionnaires after the participants provided informed consent, and the completed questionnaires were collected. Data organization for analysis commenced after all ethical stipulations, including confidentiality and voluntary participation, were maintained in full. Ethical clearance was obtained from Wolaita Sodo University as a means to secure compliance with institutional review standards. To establish the instruments' clarity and reliability, a pilot study was conducted with 76 students from Hawassa University. Assessments of reliability, which are based on Cronbach's alpha statistics and the pilot study results, indicate that the instruments have adequate reliability. The pilot study permitted the researcher to fix problems identified before the main data collection commenced. Measures The study utilized a structured self-report questionnaire to assess the key variables of the study, which included social media usage, emphatic concern, self-esteem, peer connection, and parental communication. These measures were adapted from prior works and validated in a pilot study. Social media usage Social media use was measured through a 17-item scale adapted from prior works containing motivations for social media usage (Alhadabi & Karpinski, 2020 ; Esgi, 2016 ; Kang & Liu, 2019 ) in the context of social interactions, information seeking, entertainment, and identity. For the 17-item social media use scale, the responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = always to 5 = never), and a mean score was calculated for the overall scale, whereby higher scores suggested greater engagement on social media. The 17-item social media use measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .804). Self-esteem Self-esteem was assessed via the 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 2011 ), which is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), with negatively worded items reverse-scored before the overall mean is computed, where higher scores indicate greater self-esteem. The 10-item self-esteem measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .83). Emphatic concern Empathic concern was measured via the 7-item empathic concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1983 ). The items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Do not describe me at all to 5 = Very much describe me well), with negatively worded items reverse-scored and higher mean scores indicating greater empathic concern. The 10-item emphatic concern measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .85). Peer connection The Peer Connection/Friendship Quality Scale was adapted from child or adolescent relationship measures such as the Friendship Quality Questionnaire (Parker & Asher, 1993 ). Peer connection was assessed via a 7-item friendship interaction scale rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = everyday). Negatively worded items were reverse-scored, and higher average scores reflected stronger peer connections. The 7-item peer connection measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .81). Parental communication The parental Communication/Parent‒Child Interaction Scale assesses the quality of communication with mothers and fathers separately. It is adapted from instruments measuring parent–child communication and relationship quality, such as the parent‒adolescent communication scale (Barnes & Olson, 1985 ). Parental communication was measured separately via a 20-item scale for mothers and fathers. The items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), with negatively worded items reverse-scored. Higher scores indicate more open and effective parent‒child communication. The 20-item parental communication measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .86). Methods of Analysis The data were also analysed with SPSS version 26 and with the PROCESS macro version 4.2 (Hayes, 2022). To reduce multicollinearity, the continuous measures were normalized before analysis. Thereafter, Pearson correlations and descriptive statistics were calculated for each of the variables. Then, simple regression analysis was used to evaluate the direct effect of social media use on empathetic concern. Assessment of parallel multiple mediation of self-esteem (M1) and peer connection (M2) was carried out under PROCESS Model 6 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples, where significance in mediation was determined where the 95% confidence intervals excluded zero. Furthermore, moderation by parental communication (W) on the routes from social media use M1 and M2 was also investigated under PROCESS Model 1, examining conditional effects at the 16th, 50th, and 84th percentiles. Finally, moderated multiple mediation was explored with PROCESS Model 59 to establish whether the indirect effects of social media use on empathetic concern via M1 and M2 changed with the level of parental communication, with significance determined with bootstrapped confidence intervals. Findings Common Method Bias Conclusion These results also indicated that the first unrotated factor explained only 15.85% of the total variance, significantly below the threshold value of at least 40% suggested by (Podsakoff et al., 2003). This finding indicates that common method bias is not a real concern in the current research and that those associations found between variables are unlikely to be inflated by the method of measurement. Descriptive Statistics and Correlations Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations for all the study variables (N = 763). Among the respondents, the mean value for sex was 1.38 (SD = 0.49). The participants reported a mean social media use of 2.60 (SD = 0.73), self-esteem of 3.48 (SD = 0.57), emphatic concern of 3.05 (SD = 0.48), peer connection of 2.90 (SD = 1.02), and parental communication of 3.16 (SD = 0.43). The correlations indicate that social media use is negatively associated with sex (r = –0.249, p < .01), emphatic concern (r = –0.126, p < .01), peer connection (r = –0.081, p < .05), and parental communication (r = –0.077, p < .05). Self-esteem is positively associated with emphatic concern (r = 0.326, p < .01). Sex was also positively correlated with emphatic concern (r = 0.105, p < .01) and parental communication (r = 0.156, p < .01). Peer connection and parental communication were positively correlated (r = 0.246, p < .01). These preliminary results suggest that higher self-esteem, stronger parental communication, and gender are positively associated with emphatic concern, whereas greater social media use is negatively associated with emphatic concern among participants. Table 1 Means (M), standard deviations (SD), and correlations among variables. Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Gender 1.38 0.49 — 2. Social Media Use 2.60 0.73 –0.249** — 3. Self-Esteem 3.48 0.57 –0.023 0.053 — 4. Emphatic Concern 3.05 0.48 0.105** –0.126** 0.326** — 5. Peer Connection 2.90 1.02 0.044 –0.081* –0.066 –0.072* — 6. Parental Communication 3.16 0.43 0.156** –0.077* 0.040 0.067 0.246** — N = 763. For the gender values, 1 = male and 2 = female. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 Regression Analysis Table 2 presents the relationship between average social media usage and emphatic concern was analysed via linear regression. The regression model was statistically significant, F (1, 761) = 12.223, p < .001, showing that the predictor variable social media use was a significant predictor of emphatic concern. The model was able to explain a small amount of the variance in empathic concern, R² = .016, meaning that social media usage accounted for approximately 1.6% of the variance in emphatic concern. The negative, standardized beta coefficient for social media use was -0.126, t (761) = -3.496, p < .001, indicating that the greater the level of social media usage is, the less empathic concern there is. From the negative, unstandardized coefficient of -0.083 for social media use, we see that for each unit of social media use, emphatic concern, all else equal, decreased by 0.083 units. The social concern value predicted when social media use is zero is 3.266. The findings demonstrate a weak yet significant negative correlation between social media usage and empathic concern, indicating that more time spent on social media is linked to less empathic concern. Table 2 Regression Analysis of the Relationship between Social Media Usage (SMU) and Emphatic Concern (EC) Predictor B SE Beta t p (Constant) 3.266* 0.064 51.208 < .001 Social Media Use -0.083* 0.024 -0.126 -3.496 < .001 N = 763 . Coefficient (B), SE = standard error, Beta (Standardized Coefficient) * p < 0.05 Mediation Analysis Table 3 a mediation analysis was performed by using Model 6 of the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2022), to determine the influence of social media use on empathic concern via self-esteem and peer connection. The outcome of the analysis shows that social media use negatively influences empathic concern. The results of the analysis revealed the following empathic concern (B = -0.0974, p < .0001). Self-esteem significantly mediated this relationship (B = 0.0114, BootSE = 0.0073, BootLLCI = -0.0024, BootULCI = 0.0268), whereas peer connection also had a marginal indirect effect (B = 0.0032, BootSE = 0.0027, BootLLCI = -0.0006, BootULCI = 0.0095). It appears that social media use lowers empathic concern, primarily by reducing self-esteem, with peer connection amplifying the effect. Table 3 Mediation Analysis of the Effects of Social Media Use on Empathic Concern through Self-Esteem and Peer Connection B SE t p value LLCI ULCI Direct effect of Social Media Use on Empathic Concern -0.0974* 0.0223 -4.3595 < .0001 -0.1412 -0.0535 Indirect effect through Self-Esteem 0.0114 0.0073 - - -0.0024 0.0268 Indirect effect through Peer Connection 0.0032 0.0027 - - -0.0006 0.0095 Total indirect effect 0.0148* 0.0077 - - 0.0004 0.0307 Total effect of Social Media Use on Empathic Concern -0.0826* 0.0236 -3.4961 0.0005 -0.1290 -0.0362 N = 763, coefficient (B), standard error (SE), LLCI = lower limit of the 95% confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit of the 95% confidence interval * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. Moderation Analysis Table 4 a moderated regression analysis was performed to assess how social media use and parental communication jointly influence empathic concern. The results indicated that both social media use (B = -0.9864, SE = 0.2108, t = -4.6785, p < .0001) and parental communication (B = -0.8069, SE = 0.2051, t = -3.9348, p < .0001) independently predicted empathic concern. Additionally, the interaction between social media use and parental communication was significant (B = 0.3105, SE = 0.0717, t = 4.3273, p < .0001), reflecting that parental communication moderates how social media use affects empathic concern. More specifically, social media use has a stronger negative influence on empathic concern when parental communication is low (B = -0.1381, p < .0001), and this influence completely reverses when parental communication is high (B = 0.1287, p = 0.0165). Table 4 Moderated Regression Analysis of Social Media Use (SMU) on Empathic Concern (EC) with Parental Communication (PRC) as a Moderator. Predictor/Condition B SE t p LLCI ULCI Constant 5.6221 * 0.6102 9.2136 < .0001 4.4243 6.8200 Social Media Use –0.9864 * 0.2108 –4.6785 < .0001 –1.4003 –0.5725 Parental Communication –0.8069 * 0.2051 –3.9348 0.0001 –1.2095 –0.4043 Interaction (SMU × PRC) 0.3105 * 0.0717 4.3273 < .0001 0.1696 0.4513 R² Change (Interaction) 0.0236 — F = 18.7253 < .0001 — Conditional Effects of Social Media Use at Levels of Parental Communication Low (2.7323) –0.1381 * 0.0270 –5.1116 < .0001 –0.1911 –0.0851 Average (3.1619) –0.0047 (ns) 0.0291 –0.1610 0.8722 –0.0619 0.0525] High (3.5916) 0.1287 * 0.0535 2.4038 0.0165 0.0236 0.2338] N = 763, coefficients (B). Standard error (SE), lower limit (LLCI), and upper limit (ULCI) of the 95% confidence interval. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. Moderated Multiple Mediation Effects of Social Media Use on Empathic Concern Table 5 a moderated multiple mediation analysis was performed to evaluate the impacts of social media use on empathic concern, with peer connection and self-esteem as mediators and parental communication as the moderator. First, parental communication moderated the indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern through peer connection (B = 0.370, p = .015) and self-esteem (B = 0.032, p = .002). With peer connection and self-esteem as mediators and parental communication as a moderator, the primary inference was that the effect was stronger with low parental communication; that is, with less parental communication, social media use significantly impacts empathic concern through peer connection and self-esteem. Table 5 Moderated Multiple Mediation Analysis of the Effects of Social Media Use on Empathic Concern Predictor Outcome B) SE t p LLCI ULCI Social Media Use PC –1.169 * 0.446 –2.624 0.009 –2.044 –0.294 Social Media Use S‒E 0.399 (ns) 0.254 1.569 0.117 –0.100 0.898 Social Media Use EC –1.858 * 0.202 –9.188 < .001 –2.255 –1.461 Peer Connection EC –1.157 * 0.118 –9.791 < .001 –1.389 –0.925 Self Esteem EC 1.095 * 0.238 4.594 < .001 0.627 1.562 Parental Communication EC –1.849 * 0.381 –4.855 < .001 –2.597 –1.102 SMU × PRC EC 0.588 * 0.068 8.612 < .001 0.454 0.722 PC × PRC EC 0.361 * 0.039 9.348 < .001 0.285 0.436 S‒E × PRC EC –0.225 0.075 –3.005 0.003 –0.371 –0.078 N = 763 , SMU= social media use, PC= peer connection, S‒E= self-esteem, PRC= parental communication, coefficient (B), SE = standard error, LLCI = lower limit of the 95% confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit of the 95% confidence interval * p < 0.05 Discussion The present research examines the direct and indirect impacts of social media use on empathic concern while considering the moderating role of parental communication and the mediating influence of social connections with peers and self-esteem. The social model hypothesizes that the empathic concern of adolescents will be influenced directly and indirectly through social media owing to changes in self-esteem and peer connections and that the effects of social media will be moderated by parental communication. H1: Direct effect of social media use on empathic concern The first hypothesis, which proposed a direct negative effect of social media usage on empathic concern, was empirically supported by the data. The findings revealed a strong negative correlation between increased social media usage and empathic concern, which supports the findings of global research that excessive social media exposure could reduce face-to-face communication, which is important in the development of empathy (Beyens et al., 2020; Twenge, 2013; Konrath et al., 2011). In Ethiopian adolescents, this loss of empathy is compounded by issues such as emotional exhaustion and social comparison, which have been identified in previous studies in Ethiopia (Mekonen et al., 2024). Conversely, a longitudinal Dutch study of 942 adolescents revealed that social media use actually increased both cognitive and affective empathy over one year (Vossen & Valkenburg, 2016). A meta-analysis of five studies confirmed a small to medium and statistically significant positive correlation between the use of social networking sites and affective empathy, although the correlation with cognitive empathy was borderline (Guan et al., 2019). Despite its detrimental impact, the modest amount of variance explained (R² = .016) implies that other contextual and psychosocial factors play a more important role in the development of empathic concern. In this context, this outcome could shed light on the significance of contextual or cultural factors inherent to Ethiopia, or it could suggest that beyond some threshold level, exposure to social media becomes negatively related to higher levels of empathy. These findings necessitate an investigation into the equilibrium between in-virtual and in-person social interaction in the development of empathy. H2a: Self-Esteem as a mediator Hypothesis 2a proposed self-esteem as a mediating factor between empathic concern and social media use. The findings of this study validated self-esteem as a variable that mediates this relationship. Studies have shown that adolescents with high self-esteem tend to have high emotional stability and empathic abilities, which improve in positive social interactions (Huang et al., 2019). In contrast, adolescents with low self-esteem as a result of negative social comparison via social media tend to experience a decline in empathic concern. These findings correlate with those of (Colak et al., 2023), who suggested that exposure to idealized portrayals on social media platforms, particularly Instagram, can diminish self-worth in adolescents and result in diminished empathic concern. The results of the mediation analysis confirmed this hypothesis in that self-esteem acted as a psychological link to explain how exposure to social media resulted in changes in empathic concern. These findings highlight the value of building self-esteem among teenagers to act as a buffer to the emotional harm of digital interaction and give them the ability to empathize with others. H2b: Peer Connection as a mediator Similarly, Hypothesis 2b, which suggested that peer connection mediates the relationship between empathic concern and social media usage, was positively confirmed. The findings revealed that peer connection has a facilitative function in empathic development such that those adolescents who had close and strong networks of peers had high levels of empathic concern. This finding adds to that of (Vossen & Valkenburg, 2016; Zeng et al., 2021), who suggested that attachment to peers increases the development of empathy via the processes of group behaviors and the sharing of emotions. Furthermore, opportunities for perspective-taking and prosocial behaviors increase empathic concern (Li et al., 2025). Additional findings suggest that associating with peers functions as a shield against the harmful effects of oversharing on social media. Conversely, adolescents lacking close peer ties were more likely to suffer from emotional burnout and feelings of isolation that can be aggravated by technology. While the indirect impact of peer bonding was weaker, the effect on empathic concern was positive. These findings further illustrate the importance of positive relationships with empathy and empathic concern, as identified in previous studies (Szcześniak et al., 2022; Luo & Jiang, 2021). Perhaps the most important implication from these results is that peer bonding is a vital social safety net concerning social media and empathy and that the need for positive peer relationships is important in the social development of children and adolescents. H3: Parental Communication as a moderator Hypothesis 3 presumed that parent‒child communication mediates the relationships among social media use, self-esteem, and relationships with peers. The findings confirmed that parent‒child communication indeed functions as a key moderator in this relationship, where the level of communication quality directly impacts the extent to which social media use benefits adolescents’ self-esteem and their relationships with peers. This underscores the importance of prior research on the negative impacts of positive parental influence and social media use on youth well-being (Padilla‐Walker & Coyne, 2011). Research on Ethiopian adolescents with gaps in their parents' digital literacy highlights the importance of positive communication in social and emotional development. Henry et al (1996) argue that parental communication is the most important necessary condition for adolescents to manage their cyber experiences (e.g., cyberbullying, social comparison). The moderating role of communication via social media in adjusting to negative impacts on overall life satisfaction resonates with the thesis of (Boniel-Nissim et al., 2015). Research documenting adolescents’ and parents’ communications has revealed that negative social media use and life satisfaction have social impacts. In situations where parental communication is poorly structured or missing, the relationship between social media use and empathy becomes evident. Regardless of social media, emotional involvement and social media use empathy illustrate that poorly structured parental communication is necessary to offset emotional and social risks. H4: Moderated Multiple Mediation The final hypothesis, H4, focused on the indirect effects of social media on empathic concern through self-esteem and peer connection and the role of parental communication on social media. This hypothesis was confirmed, as the indirect effects of social media on empathic concern were greater when parental communication was high. This highlights the importance of a supportive family environment to optimize the positive impacts of self-esteem and peer connection on sympathy. In Ethiopian settings, where family ties considerably impact the emotional and social aspects of development, parents’ involvement appears vital for countering the possible adverse effects of social media and facilitating the development of sympathy. In conclusion, there is a multifaceted interplay between social media use, self-esteem, peer attachment, parent communication, and the empathic concern an individual is likely to exhibit. Ultimately, the excessive use of social media could lower an adolescent's empathic concern by lessening self-esteem and attachment to peers and is counterbalanced by the parent communication variant. These findings parallel the work of Bronfenbrenner (1979) and the ecological theories of adolescent development(Crawford, 2020), which advocate for the interdependence of the individual, peer, and family systems with socioemotional outcomes. From a developmental perspective, the findings serve to illustrate the importance of complementary social comprend strategies to enhance empathic concern in youth in the form of adjusting social media use, self-esteem promotion, peer attachment, and parent communication. Theoretical and Practical Implications The current findings build on and substantiate four primary theoretical lenses, which illustrate the complex interplay between peers, parental communication, self-esteem and social media in shaping adolescents' empathic concern. The findings highlight the ecological aspects of empathy development. In Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory(Crawford, 2020), the social environment frameworks and the ecological empathy development aspects integrate collaboration and communication diversity. While social media falls within the microsystem, the communication of participants’ parents and their relationships with peers are integral parts of the mesosystem. Real-world social systems and the digital environment interacting in empathy development contradict the idea of isolation and are enhanced by the communication of parents. Hence, parent communication validates that empathy shapes continuous integration across various functional levels of ecological systems. The results confirm the consistency of social learning theory Bandura 1977 as cited in (Deaton, 2015) principles in modelling, reinforcement and the observational acquisition of empathic behavior. Empathy modelling may be corroded by exposure to negative digital content (cyberbullying); however, the modelling elicited by parent relationships and interactions facilitates empathy development. These findings confirm Bandura’s principles of learning acquisition through direct experience and mediated observation by highlighting the dyadic role of social media. The influence of social media on empathic concern through communication with peers and self-esteem has also been demonstrated as an extension of the media effects model (Valkenburg et al., 2016), whereas the inclusion of parental communication as a moderator strengthens this model by suggesting that the impact of media is dependent and varies among individual, contextual, and relational factors. Other results associated with empathy development theory (Davis, 1983; Heller et al., 2006), articulate the development of empathy as a result of social (e.g., peer connection, parental guidance) and psychological (e.g., self-esteem) intrapersonal factors. Thus, empathy is not an independent or passive process but is cultivated through emotional regulation, perspective taking, and social contact. The study offers practical and meaningful ideas for fostering empathy among adolescents in the digital age. First, one key protective factor is parental dialogue. Parents must provide moral direction and emotional support alongside unreserved, constructive conversations with their children. Family-based strategies that provide parents with empathy and resilience-building tools and effective communication strategies can assist parents in supporting teens in the constructive use of digital technologies. These strategies align with the literature concerning the protective value of parent‒child communication on the adverse psychosocial impacts of social media. Research on social media and psychosocial outcomes for adolescents highlights the protective value of parent‒child communication. To prevent social media use from replacing real-world social interactions, adolescents must be encouraged to partake in both online and offline relationships to support their psychological wellbeing. Media literacy programs can support young adolescents in constructing strong emotional content, critiquing online narratives, and resisting unhealthy social comparisons. Parents can help teens use social media in a constructive manner and transform the platform from a place of harmful interaction to one that promotes healthy social relationships. Furthermore, self-esteem-boosting activities, such as strengths-based skill-building, counselling, and mentoring, can promote emotional control, perspective-taking, and empathy. It is true that empathy is positively correlated with self-esteem; therefore, heightened self-esteem provides adolescents with the ability to perform empathic actions, thereby restricting self-centred or desensitized interactions on the internet. Moreover, social-emotional development programs, cooperative learning, and mentoring encourage peer relationships, which are vital to the development of empathy in adolescents, as they promote understanding and cooperative interactions. Finally, the authors suggest multilevel interventions that simultaneously incorporate familial (parental communication), relational (peer connection), and individual (self-esteem) levels. Policies and educational programs that are context sensitive and incorporate culturally adapted digital resource materials for Ethiopian adolescents, as well as family-based communicative curricula, should be included in these comprehensive interventions. Additional interventions of this scope and cultural sensitivity will positively impact adolescents’ empathy, emotional health, and social skills, especially in non-Western countries, where familial and digital patterns differ from those in Western and Western-developed countries. Limitations and Future Directions The present study provides valuable insights; however, it has several limitations that must be considered. First, because of the cross-sectional nature of these studies, it is not possible to make causal claims about the interrelationships among social media use, self-esteem, peer relations, parental relations, and empathic concern. While it is possible to identify correlations, the direction of these relationships is unclear. Longitudinal or experimental studies are needed to accurately identify the temporal and causal relationships, particularly with respect to the mediation and moderated mediation pathways investigated in the current study. Such studies would also enable researchers to investigate the long-term effects of social media use on empathic concern. Second, researchers rely on self-report instruments, and the possible biases of common method variance, social desirability, and memory recall can affect the data. If respondents overstate their social media use or underestimate their self-esteem or attributes such as positive parental relations, the findings will be less accurate. Future studies would benefit the field in terms of measurement improvement and bias reduction, and the use of multiple informants, behavioral samples, and activity data will be needed. Third, the research was confined to adolescents enrolled at Wolaita Sodo University in Ethiopia, which may have restricted generalizability to other socioeconomic or cultural contexts. Different parenting styles, cultural values, and social media usage patterns may have different effects on the emergence of empathic concern in various contexts. Therefore, to investigate how these contextual factors influence the relationship between social media use and empathy in diverse cultural contexts, cross-cultural or comparative studies are needed. Fourth, the effect sizes that were observed were small. Other psychological, social, and contextual factors, such as personality, emotional regulation, digital literacy, or content type, may also be important. For example, the direct effect of social media use explained only approximately 1.6% of the variance in empathic concern. These results imply that although the effects observed are significant, they should be interpreted cautiously because they are not deterministic. Other factors that might mediate or moderate these relationships should be investigated in future studies. Fifth, this study did not evaluate a number of potentially significant moderators or covariates. Digital literacy, the timing of social media use, and the type of social media content (such as prosocial versus aggressive content) were not investigated, but they might have an impact on how social media influences empathy. Age, gender, and socioeconomic differences can influence the impact of communication and social media on empathy development, and future research should identify these variables to gain a clearer understanding of the intricate factors shaping empathy. Finally, parental communication and peer relationships continue to need more work to refine their dimensionality. The measure of peer connection used in this study may not encompass relational quality dimensions such as closeness, conflict, and support, which may significantly affect empathic concern. In the same way, parental communication autonomy and conflict may differ, and these dimensions may affect empathy development in disparate ways. Understanding how interpersonal processes combine with digital influence frameworks to shape empathy will require more research on these and other dimensions. Such comprehensive longitudinal models will inform how adolescents’ socioemotional development in the context of social media and family dynamics is influenced in tandem, particularly in non-Western countries. Conclusion The results of this study highlight the extent of the impact of social media on empathic concern and empathic concern on the social and emotional development of Ethiopian adolescents. The relationships between self-esteem and peer connection, as predictor variables of the impact of social media on empathic concern, positively affect social and emotional development. The negative social and emotional development factor through social media undermines empathic concern. The negative effects of peer connection and self-esteem occur through high-quality parental communication. The flexibility of negative effects implies the effects of parental communication on social and emotional development. The implications of the results highlight the need for supportive communication parental initiatives. The need for parental communication initiatives is due to the greater number of social media advocate interventions. Pro-social initiatives are required through social media reduction. Interventions to address social media concerns are relevant in promoting self-esteem, peer contact and parental communication. Declarations Use of AI and AI-assisted technologies. The author(s) utilized the grammar checking tool Grammarly. After use of the tool, the author(s) revised and adjusted the content as required and assumed full accountability for the material in the final approved manuscript. Human Ethics and Consent to Participate declarations This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical research standards and institutional guidelines. Ethical clearance obtained from Wolaita Sodo University’s Review Board. All participants were informed about the study, and voluntarily written informed consent was obtained prior to data collection. All procedures complied with the Declaration of Helsinki. Conflict of interest The author(s) declare that there are no potential conflicts of interest. Funding The author(s) stated that there was no financial support for the research, writing, or publication of this article. Data availability statement The data are available upon request from the authors. Authors contribution Mr. Metasebya Gonta Gotoro contributed to the conceptualization, study design, data collection, statistical analysis, and initial drafting of the manuscript. Prof. Wang Meiping supervised the research, provided conceptual and methodological guidance, and contributed to the critical revision and refinement of the manuscript. Mr. Million Desalegn Tassew assisted with literature review, data organization, and co-writing, and contributed to manuscript editing and review. Dr. Mulugeta Shegaze Shimbre contributed to language editing, formatting, and proofreading of the final manuscript. Acknowledgements We thank the students from Wolaita Sodo University who participated in this study. Their responses and engagement concerning how social media affects empathic concern made a determinate contribution to the quality of the study. We are also grateful to Wolaita Sodo University and Shandong Normal University for their support in facilitating this research and for helping us to understand university students’ experiences in the digital age at their institution. ORCID Metasebya Gonta Gotoro: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8042-0245 Wang Meiping: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2163-3398 Million Desalegn Tassew: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8789-2384 Mulugeta Shegaze Shimbre: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5633-1309 References Adams LD, Cooper P. Authoritative Parenting Moderates the Association Between Social Media Use and Self-Esteem in Young Adults. 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Valkenburg PM, Peter J, Walther JB. Media Effects: Theory and Research. Ann Rev Psychol. 2016;67(1):315–38. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033608 . Vb D. The Impact of Social Media on Adolescent Identity Formation and Mental Health: Opportunities, Risks, and Policy Implications. Sinergi Int J Psychol. 2025;2(3):151–64. https://doi.org/10.61194/psychology.v2i3.504 . Vossen HGM, Piotrowski JT, Valkenburg PM. The Longitudinal Relationship Between Media Violence and Empathy: Was It Sympathy All Along? Media Psychol. 2017;20(2):175–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2015.1121825 . Vossen HGM, Valkenburg PM. Do social media foster or curtail adolescents’ empathy? A longitudinal study. Comput Hum Behav. 2016;63:118–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.040 . Wang Q, Lin Y, Teuber Z, Li F, Su Y. Parental Burnout and Prosocial Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Empathy. Behav Sci. 2023;14(1):17. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14010017 . Zeng G, Zhang L, Fung S, Li J, Liu Y-M, Xiong Z-K, Jiang Z-Q, Zhu F-F, Chen Z-T, Luo S-D, Yu P, Huang Q. Problematic Internet Usage and Self-Esteem in Chinese Undergraduate Students: The Mediation Effects of Individual Affect and Relationship Satisfaction. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(13):6949. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136949 . Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 09 Dec, 2025 Editor invited by journal 13 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 06 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 06 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 04 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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08:20:49","extension":"html","order_by":14,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":221836,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8033757/v1/230cc1f92fb2bb4a82d29dac.html"},{"id":98046715,"identity":"dbcfdc1d-8fe9-4e74-9a7f-c8a35abde5c4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-12 08:20:48","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":26489,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHypothesized moderated parallel mediation model\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote. Parental communication moderates the effects of social media use on empathic concern and producesconditional indirect effects of self-esteem and peer connection.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8033757/v1/17501b55db70a9d638d8da5b.png"},{"id":98444567,"identity":"58ac69d2-77d8-4556-a14d-79536a124486","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-17 17:16:27","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1511538,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8033757/v1/703f9838-16a5-4374-be0b-6376050e9cd6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Understanding the Effects of Social Media on Empathic Concern among Ethiopian Undergraduate University Students: A Moderated Multiple Mediation Model","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eModern technology has transformed the world, transforming communications and interactions through internet platforms and bringing the world together (Hilbert, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Stark \u0026amp; Castells, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e). The evolution of social media has enabled individuals to produce, publish, post, comment, and engage with information in real time (Chayko, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). In recent decades, this technology advancement has significantly transformed individuals' behavior and relationships (Romeo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Kleinberg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, the growing prevalence of social media has become an issue in terms of its influence on people, especially adolescents and young individuals, who have grown up as digital natives think, feel, and behave (Rosen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSocial media is integrated into everyday life, impacting communication, relationships, and identity construction for adolescents (Odgers \u0026amp; Jensen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Reid \u0026amp; Boyer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and WhatsApp serve as important platforms for leisure and social self-representation, where adolescents socialize and seek validation (Best et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Beyens et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Online social communities provide adolescents with opportunities to establish social networks and relationships (Kuss \u0026amp; Griffiths, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSocial media also serves an important function in the psychosocial development of empathy and other prosocial behaviors, such as cooperation and emotional support (Prinstein et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Spies Shapiro \u0026amp; Margolin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). By allowing expression, social belonging, and engagement in assigned social issues, social media can strengthen empathy and civic engagement for adolescents (Davis, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). Unmoderated use of social media can lead to the development of dangerous behaviours such as cyberbullying, social comparison, and emotional detachment, as well as the erosion of face-to-face social interaction and unsustained emotional social competencies (Vb, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmpathic concern involves the ability to emphasize and internalize the feelings of others. It is fundamentally important to adolescent psychosocial development and is the precursor to the development of prosocial behaviors and emotional maturity, as well as the formation of meaningful relationships (Heller et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). For adolescents socially integrating and developing, the empathic concern of adolescents works strongly for social emotional balance (Prot et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). There are psychosocial ramifications for empathic concern and social media use that go beyond psychosocial single empathy (Guan et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Social media can provide emotional assistance and support pertaining to the phenomena of social anxiety, depression, and loneliness, as well as high intimacy and happiness ratings that correlate with empathic functioning (Ostic et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). The relationship between online social engagement and empathy increasingly appears to be culture- and platform dependent. Conflicting outcomes have also been reported in the international literature.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe global patterns of the relationships between social connection and empathy and the use of electronic media were revealed by a cross-national study in 2009/10 (in Scotland, Poland, Hungary, Germany, England, Israel, Italy, Canada, and the Netherlands), involving 53,973 students in nine countries (Boniel-Nissim et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Some studies have suggested that social media could foster empathy in adolescents (Vossen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e); however, studies that examine social media usage in excess have revealed a negative correlation with empathic concern and emotional well-being (Dalvi-Esfahani et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Pakistan\u0026rsquo;s study also revealed culturally contexted dynamics, which indicated that social media usage has the ability to stir up or stifle empathy, depending on patterns of usage and context factors (Shahid et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough there are conflicting findings in cross-national studies about the relationship between social media use and empathy, such findings are entirely disparate when applied to Ethiopian adolescents because of their distinctive cultural, social, and technological environments. Social networking platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram have become essential tools for communication and cultural integration. Notably, they provide young people in Ethiopia with new mechanisms for interacting, sharing personal narratives, and engaging in activism. Furthermore, the social and emotional development of these adolescents hinges on broader social introspection and the emotional maturation value that social media presents. For adolescents utilizing social media, research on Jimma city's private secondary schools suggests that digital platforms provide several social and emotional development opportunities. According to social media usage research, 86.3% actively engage on social networking platforms, and their engagement has social emotional development consequences, either positive or negative (Mekonen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). In their systematic review of social media and empathy, (Piccerillo \u0026amp; Digennaro, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e) conclude that there is a positive correlation, although the relationship may be less profound in specific contexts and individual determinations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe overuse of smartphones and social media has been associated with negative emotional states among 1,232 university students in southern Ethiopia (Mengistu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). In another study conducted among secondary school students, social media was reported to enhance communication among peers but was also reported to provide distractions, emotional burnout, associated social comparison, and friction in communication (Mulisa \u0026amp; Getahun, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e)). The evidence suggests that social media, depending on the manner of use, has the capacity to facilitate or inhibit empathy and a host of other prosocial behaviours.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany Ethiopian adolescents use these platforms to promote social activism, support community networks, value and defend empathy and compassion as constituent elements of the Ethiopian cultural fabric, and advocate for gender and human rights (Piccerillo \u0026amp; Digennaro, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Discouraging annoyances and the provocation of empathy include bullying, social comparison, hating speech and polarizing communication (Vossen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Ethiopian adolescents may remain emotionally and socially disengaged from digital social media and empathy because weak parental and community digital literacy frameworks lead to emotional complexities in social media (Mekonen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to the use of digital media, the presence of social and psychological factors, such as self-esteem, relationships with peers, and parental communication, contributes to the development of empathic concern. For example, mental distress and weak psychological resilience, which are associated with low self-esteem, are factors associated with Ethiopian university students (Melaku et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). A systematic meta-analysis with 70 studies and 390 effect sizes revealed small-to-moderate positive relationships between the quality of relationships and empathy and revealed that peer relationships are more strongly related than parent‒child relationships are (Boele et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e); specifically, peer relationships were found to be significantly more strongly correlated with empathy than parent‒child relationships were. The conclusion indicates a two-way correlation between social contact and self-esteem, with effect sizes of approximately β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.08 in each direction throughout the lifespan (Harris \u0026amp; Orth, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, peer influence was also revealed to have a mediating effect on empathy and prosocial behavior (Li et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e) and, therefore, the significance of friendly social networks in the field of building concern and understanding for others' feelings.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile there have been a variety of examinations of the impact of social media on empathy in the Ethiopian setting, the complex operations of mediators such as self-esteem and peer relations and moderators such as parental communication are largely untouched. The current research aims to fill this gap by investigating the degree to which these factors influence the development of empathic concern in Ethiopian teenagers. To address this concern, the present research employs a moderated multiple mediation approach when examining how social media use affects empathic concern through self-esteem and peer relations as mediators, with parental communication acting as a moderator. The findings are likely to provide useful suggestions for teachers, parents, and policy practitioners who are interested in enhancing empathy and online wellness among teenagers in Ethiopia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSocial Media Use and Empathic Concern\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this section, we outline the research that has been conducted on the relationship between the use of social media and empathic concern within different cultures to better frame this study. As social media rapidly becomes a critical part of daily life, it raises important issues regarding the development and expression of empathic concern, especially considering the documented decline in empathy in younger people and the increased use of technology in communication (Carrier et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). This is important because within the biopsychosocial framework, empathy enables individuals to internalize and engage with the emotional worlds of others (Dalvi-Esfahani et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Within the framework of the Batson model of altruistic and prosocial behaviour, empathy plays a critical role in the motivation for socially positive orientations and behaviours (Ishtiyaq et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). As outlined, there is concern that the repeated consumption of personalized online profiles, as well as the fundamentally \u0026ldquo;nonhuman\u0026rdquo; nature of online communication, may inhibit the full expression of empathic concern (Armstrong-Carter \u0026amp; Telzer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSocial networking sites encourage users to develop and express empathy through emotional sharing, social interaction, and perspective-taking activities. A longitudinal study that included 942 Dutch adolescents aged 10\u0026ndash;14 years reported that increased social media use during the study period predicted growth in both cognitive and affective empathy (Valkenburg et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Valkenburg \u0026amp; Peter, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Research in Indonesia revealed that increased activity on social networking sites was associated with increased cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and sympathy (Meuthia et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a study conducted in China, emotional intelligence and peer relationships were protective factors against problematic mobile social media use. Emotional intelligence has been shown to foster peer relations, which in turn reduce problematic social media use through lessening experiential avoidance (Chen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). In line with this, another study showed that although social media use could correlate with empathy in some way, peer relationships alongside emotional intelligence and skills could be important key determining factors for assessing the extent to which social media use is regarded as problematic (Luo \u0026amp; Jiang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlternatively, some studies indicate that social media usage that is both excessive and passive tends to decrease empathic concern, which is sensitive to the emotions of others. For example, multiple studies indicate that empathic concern has decreased. Within the United States, a study that included approximately 702 participants revealed that passive social media engagement was positively correlated with a 33% increase in depression symptomology (Escobar-Viera et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). The negative consequences, however, extend far beyond depression. A meta-analysis revealed a 40% decrease in empathy among college students from 1979 through 2009, with the steepest drops occurring after 2000 (Konrath et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). This result implies that social media breeds superficial \"weak\" ties and increases self-centrality, which can result in such a shortfall (Twenge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Although the bulk of the literature is correlational, works that span multiple years and gather large participant sizes (over 13,000 participants) consistently show increased digital communication correlated with a reduction in emotional connection (Newell, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoreover, studies have shown that excessive usage or problematic usage of social media is correlated with low empathy and high narcissism, especially in the case of passive usage or emotionally aloof usage (James et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, a longitudinal study conducted with 74 university students demonstrated that problematic usage of the internet could predict the growth in narcissism in the case of visual social media users (Reed et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Thus, it becomes evident that the online features of social media, which tend to lack nonverbal cues and affective nuances, can hamper the development of empathic skills (Twenge, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Similarly, a meta-analysis hypothesized that the decline in empathy in adolescence could be related to the growing dominance of internet-mediated communication, specifically social networking and instant messaging (Fox \u0026amp; Moreland, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Ethiopia, the use of social media by adolescents allows for peer bonding and social activism, while social media use can also lead to emotional disengagement and psychological problems (Mekonen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). One of the major problems in Ethiopian culture is the absence of empathy-related social media research. Around the world, empathy has been studied, and social media has been documented to have both positive and negative effects. However, the lack of culture and social context is what makes Ethiopia unique (Mulisa \u0026amp; Getahun, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Piccerillo \u0026amp; Digennaro, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). This lack of understanding of the social context is what drives the current study, which explores social media use and empathic concern while focusing on social, emotional, and psychological mediating and moderating effects.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs outlined in the literature, social media can either enhance or diminish empathic concern, depending on how individuals use social media, the nature of their relationships, the social contexts of parental communication, peer relationships, and support. In particular, empathy and compassion are enhanced when individuals engage in active, constructive, and prosocial activities, whereas passive use and avoidance negatively impact empathic sensitivity.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSelf-Esteem and Peer Connection as Mediators\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdolescents\u0026rsquo; social behavior continues to be influenced by social media, and self-esteem and peer connections might mediate the interaction of social media usage and empathic concern. Mediating self-esteem plays an important role in the social and psychological development of adolescents. In a study with 7,290 participants, self-esteem was found to partially mediate peer-related social anxiety, depression and other internalizing problems (Bosacki et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe social media context has produced mixed findings regarding the impact of social media on self-esteem. While the majority of adolescents are psychologically unaffected by social media, a small proportion suffer from negative body image, social comparisons and self-esteem issues (Colak et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Higher self-esteem and social competence in a positive social context enhance one\u0026rsquo;s ability to see and respond to the emotions of others (Huang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Numerous researchers have reported the impact of self-esteem on empathy and other psychological impacts, in addition to being a psychological bridge in a disconnected self.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-esteem can both directly predict empathy and mediate other intrapersonal traits. According to (Tran et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), among Vietnamese university students, self-esteem mediates the relationship between self-compassion and empathy, implying that self-esteem can also enhance empathic concern, albeit in an indirect manner. With respect to the negative impact of self-esteem, feelings of self-doubt or social anxiety can stagnate or reduce emotional responsiveness (Orth \u0026amp; Robins, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). These findings demonstrate self-esteem's ability to predict empathy directly and serve as a mediator of other intrapersonal traits.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to self-esteem, peer connection also forms a prime social structure in the development of empathic concern. Positive experiences with peers create contexts of perspective-taking, the sharing of feelings, and collective behaviors that feature prominently in empathy. In studies conducted by (Vossen \u0026amp; Valkenburg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e) and (Zeng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e), attachment to peers was found to not only increase sympathy but also counteract the detrimental influence of excessive exposure to social media. Similarly, another study in China revealed that empathy functions to mediate the relationship between influence by peers and prosocial behavior and that adolescents who have much healthier networks of peers are more likely to attain sympathy due to social learning and reinforcement (Li et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeer affiliation also engages with self-esteem dynamically. Peer interaction mediates the relationship between self-esteem and life satisfaction in adolescents, and high self-esteem and high-quality peer interaction strengthen each other (Szcześniak et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Adolescents who have high self-esteem have trusting relationships with peers, which also enhances their empathic ability (Huang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen combined, self-esteem and peer connection are interwoven mediators in the relationship between social media use and empathic concern. Peer relationships offer a social setting for practicing empathy, whereas self-esteem improves intrapersonal emotional stability. Teenagers are more likely to develop long-lasting empathy and prosocial behavior when interventions simultaneously increase self-esteem and positive peer environments. Research examining these mediators concurrently within the social media empathy framework is still scarce, especially in non-Western contexts, despite mounting evidence.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eParental communication as a moderator\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSelf-esteem and peer connection are mediators because they help explain how social media impacts empathy. Parental communication, on the other hand, is a moderator because it influences how much or in which direction social media use affects empathic concern. Moreover, the effects of these mediating factors may vary depending on parental guidance, highlighting the potential moderating role of parental communication. Engaging with children involves parents communicating with them, emotionally guiding them, offering constructive critiques, being verbal or nonverbal, and showing affinity and support toward children (Munz, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). The impact of the communicative effect on children\u0026rsquo;s development, particularly empathy and social and emotional development, is invaluable (Nasir \u0026amp; Johari, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; Wang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Parents help children recognize and responsively react to other people\u0026rsquo;s feelings through consistent and constructive guidance, emotional coaching, and open discussions about the feelings of children and other people (Harahap et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith respect to empathic concern, other individual factors and socioemotional factors related to empathy and parental communication can be moderated, and communication can strengthen, lessen, or change the direction of the relationship (Heller et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). For example, when parents practice supportive, open, and emotionally stimulating communication, adolescents with elevated self-esteem may experience increased empathic concern; in contrast, adolescents with elevated self-esteem may experience decreased empathic concern in the context of unsupportive, inconsistent parental communication (Henry et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1996\u003c/span\u003e). As described above, positive peer relationships tend to strengthen empathy in favourable contexts, particularly when parents offer guidance about prosocial behavior and emotions (Padilla-Walker \u0026amp; Coyne, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition, a meta-analysis noted a slight, positive relationship between the parent‒child relationship and empathy, affirming that good parent‒child relationships and communication facilitate empathic growth (Boele et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). Moreover, large-scale studies continue to support the role of parental communication in moderating the effects of media, including (Boniel-Nissim et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), who analysed 53,973 students across nine countries and reported that supportive parent‒adolescent communication within the family and parental control moderated the negative effects of electronic media on life satisfaction; thus, parental involvement and communication emerged as protective factors.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn other studies, authoritative parenting moderated the relationship between social media use and self-esteem (Adams \u0026amp; Cooper, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e), and parent‒adolescent communication mitigated the negative impact of cyber victimization on self-esteem (\u0026Ouml;zdemir, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). All these studies indicate that parental communication helps determine the net effect of individual and social factors on empathic development.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite this evidence, research directly examining how parental communication moderates the relationships among social media use, self-esteem, peer connection, and empathic concern remains limited. Existing studies present mixed effects of social media on empathy, with some reporting that higher empathic concern predicts lower social media addiction (Dalvi-Esfahani et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). These gaps underscore the need for more comprehensive studies that integrate individual, social, and parental factors to understand how adolescents\u0026rsquo; digital engagement shapes their empathic development.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn sum, parental communication is a key moderating factor that can amplify the positive effects of self-esteem and peer connection on empathic concern. Interventions that promote open, supportive parent‒child communication and foster emotional literacy may optimize adolescents\u0026rsquo; ability to translate intrapersonal and social resources into prosocial and empathic behaviors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe current study\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn light of the expanding wealth of evidence that reveals that social media usage influences empathy, previous research has largely been conducted in Western settings, with very minimal concern about how these processes function in African societies, particularly in Ethiopia. This new research strives to fill this gap in research by examining social media usage and empathic concern among adolescent Ethiopians with due concern for individual and contextual characteristics. This research borrows from the Ecological Systems Theory of Bronfenbrenner (Crawford, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), Social Learning Theory (Deaton, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), the Media Effects Model (Valkenburg et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e), and Empathy Development Theory (M. H. Davis, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1983\u003c/span\u003e), with empathic concern being understood to result from interactive processes between digital behaviors, psychological well-being, interaction with peers, and communication with parents.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecifically, the research postulates that empathic concern is mediated by self-esteem and peer connection such that social media use affects these mediators and thereby empathic concern. Passive and overindulgent social media involvement could decrease the self-esteem of adolescents and damage their real relationships with peers, hence diminishing empathic concern. In contrast, social interaction that is proactive and affirming could enhance social relationships and evoke empathic emotions. In addition, communication with mothers is predicted to moderate these processes such that communication that is open and encouraging lowers the potential negative influence of social media consumption while stimulating desired development outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy incorporating both mediating and moderating processes within one framework, this research broadens the knowledge about how individual, peer, and family systems all play a role in empathic concern in the digital engagement context. This model was proposed to translate culture-appropriate knowledge to guide intervention strategies to improve empathy and socioemotional functioning among adolescents in Ethiopia.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHypothesized Moderated Parallel Mediation Model\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn light of the moderating influence of parental communication and the mediating roles of peer connection and self-esteem, the current study investigates the direct and indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern, drawing on the reviewed literature and theoretical frameworks. According to the conceptual model, teens' use of social media has an impact on their empathy both directly and indirectly through changes in peer connections and self-esteem; the degree of these effects is influenced by the degree of parental communication.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccordingly, the following hypotheses are proposed:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003col\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eH1 (Direct effect): Social media use is significantly associated with adolescents\u0026rsquo; empathic concerns.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eH2a (Mediation): Self-esteem mediates the relationship between social media use and empathic concern.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eH2b (Mediation): Peer connections mediate the relationship between social media use and empathic concern.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eH3 (Moderation): Parental communication moderates the effects of social media use on self-esteem and peer connection such that relationships are stronger among adolescents with greater parental communication.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eH4 (Moderated Multiple Mediation): The indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern through self-esteem and peer connection are conditional on parental communication, such that the mediated relationships are stronger at higher levels of parental communication.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eParticipants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted to investigate the effect of social media use on adolescent emphatic concern, with a focus on the mediating effects of self-esteem and peer connection and the moderating effect of parental communication. The study included 763 adolescents in three age categories, 18\u0026ndash;21 (76.5%), 22\u0026ndash;25 (21.5%), and 26\u0026ndash;29 (2%), and the majority of the participants were 18\u0026ndash;21 years of age. The target population for this study was all regular undergraduate students from the Gandaba, Ottona, and Dawuro-Tarcha campuses of Wolaita Sodo University. Among the participants in the study, 470 (61.6%) were male, and 293 (38.4%) were female. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to ensure proportional representation across sex, college/school, and year. After stratification, systematic random sampling was used to select participants from the student frame list. The sample included both male and female students, students from different colleges, and all year levels, including first-year to fifth-year students, and a variety of academic disciplines.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProcedures\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe researcher arranged data collection at appropriate times to avoid disruptions during students' classes. Fifteen trained data collectors assigned specific roles and explained the purpose of the study and the scope of voluntary participation to the students. Data collectors administered the questionnaires after the participants provided informed consent, and the completed questionnaires were collected. Data organization for analysis commenced after all ethical stipulations, including confidentiality and voluntary participation, were maintained in full. Ethical clearance was obtained from Wolaita Sodo University as a means to secure compliance with institutional review standards. To establish the instruments' clarity and reliability, a pilot study was conducted with 76 students from Hawassa University. Assessments of reliability, which are based on Cronbach's alpha statistics and the pilot study results, indicate that the instruments have adequate reliability. The pilot study permitted the researcher to fix problems identified before the main data collection commenced.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMeasures\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study utilized a structured self-report questionnaire to assess the key variables of the study, which included social media usage, emphatic concern, self-esteem, peer connection, and parental communication. These measures were adapted from prior works and validated in a pilot study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSocial media usage\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSocial media use was measured through a 17-item scale adapted from prior works containing motivations for social media usage (Alhadabi \u0026amp; Karpinski, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Esgi, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Kang \u0026amp; Liu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e) in the context of social interactions, information seeking, entertainment, and identity. For the 17-item social media use scale, the responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = always to 5 = never), and a mean score was calculated for the overall scale, whereby higher scores suggested greater engagement on social media. The 17-item social media use measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .804).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSelf-esteem\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-esteem was assessed via the 10-item Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e), which is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), with negatively worded items reverse-scored before the overall mean is computed, where higher scores indicate greater self-esteem. The 10-item self-esteem measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .83).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eEmphatic concern\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmpathic concern was measured via the 7-item empathic concern subscale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1983\u003c/span\u003e). The items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Do not describe me at all to 5 = Very much describe me well), with negatively worded items reverse-scored and higher mean scores indicating greater empathic concern. The 10-item emphatic concern measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .85).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePeer connection\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe\u003c/b\u003e Peer Connection/Friendship Quality Scale was adapted from child or adolescent relationship measures such as the Friendship Quality Questionnaire (Parker \u0026amp; Asher, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e). Peer connection was assessed via a 7-item friendship interaction scale rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = everyday). Negatively worded items were reverse-scored, and higher average scores reflected stronger peer connections. The 7-item peer connection measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .81).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eParental communication\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe parental Communication/Parent‒Child Interaction Scale assesses the quality of communication with mothers and fathers separately. It is adapted from instruments measuring parent–child communication and relationship quality, such as the parent‒adolescent communication scale (Barnes \u0026amp; Olson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1985\u003c/span\u003e). Parental communication was measured separately via a 20-item scale for mothers and fathers. The items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), with negatively worded items reverse-scored. Higher scores indicate more open and effective parent‒child communication. The 20-item parental communication measure showed acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α = .86).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods of Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data were also analysed with SPSS version 26 and with the PROCESS macro version 4.2 (Hayes, 2022). To reduce multicollinearity, the continuous measures were normalized before analysis. Thereafter, Pearson correlations and descriptive statistics were calculated for each of the variables. Then, simple regression analysis was used to evaluate the direct effect of social media use on empathetic concern. Assessment of parallel multiple mediation of self-esteem (M1) and peer connection (M2) was carried out under PROCESS Model 6 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples, where significance in mediation was determined where the 95% confidence intervals excluded zero. Furthermore, moderation by parental communication (W) on the routes from social media use M1 and M2 was also investigated under PROCESS Model 1, examining conditional effects at the 16th, 50th, and 84th percentiles. Finally, moderated multiple mediation was explored with PROCESS Model 59 to establish whether the indirect effects of social media use on empathetic concern via M1 and M2 changed with the level of parental communication, with significance determined with bootstrapped confidence intervals.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Findings","content":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCommon Method Bias Conclusion\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese results also indicated that the first unrotated factor explained only 15.85% of the total variance, significantly below the threshold value of at least 40% suggested by (Podsakoff et al., 2003). This finding indicates that common method bias is not a real concern in the current research and that those associations found between variables are unlikely to be inflated by the method of measurement.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDescriptive Statistics and Correlations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 1 presents the descriptive statistics and Pearson correlations for all the study variables (N = 763). Among the respondents, the mean value for sex was 1.38 (SD = 0.49). The participants reported a mean social media use of 2.60 (SD = 0.73), self-esteem of 3.48 (SD = 0.57), emphatic concern of 3.05 (SD = 0.48), peer connection of 2.90 (SD = 1.02), and parental communication of 3.16 (SD = 0.43).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe correlations indicate that social media use\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003enegatively associated with sex\u003c/strong\u003e (r = \u0026ndash;0.249, p \u0026lt; .01), emphatic concern (r = \u0026ndash;0.126, p \u0026lt; .01), peer connection (r = \u0026ndash;0.081, p \u0026lt; .05), and parental communication (r = \u0026ndash;0.077, p \u0026lt; .05). Self-esteem\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003epositively associated with emphatic concern\u003c/strong\u003e (r = 0.326, p \u0026lt; .01). Sex\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;also positively correlated with emphatic concern (r = 0.105, p \u0026lt; .01) and parental communication (r = 0.156, p \u0026lt; .01). Peer connection and parental communication\u0026nbsp;were\u0026nbsp;positively correlated (r = 0.246, p \u0026lt; .01).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese preliminary results suggest that \u003cstrong\u003ehigher self-esteem, stronger parental communication, and gender\u003c/strong\u003e are positively associated with emphatic concern, whereas \u003cstrong\u003egreater social media use\u003c/strong\u003e is\u0026nbsp;negatively associated with emphatic concern among participants.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMeans (M), standard deviations (SD),\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eand\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;correlations among variables.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"670\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 189px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVariable\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eM\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSD\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 65px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 61px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 22px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e6\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 189px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1. Gender\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.38\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 65px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 61px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 22px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 189px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2. Social Media Use\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.60\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.249**\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 65px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 61px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 22px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 189px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3. Self-Esteem\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.57\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.023\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.053\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 65px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 61px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 22px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 189px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4. Emphatic Concern\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.48\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.105**\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.126**\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 65px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.326**\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 61px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 22px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 189px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e5. Peer Connection\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.90\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.044\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.081*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 65px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.066\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.072*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 61px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 22px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 189px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6. Parental Communication\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 45px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.16\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 47px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.43\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 73px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.156**\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.077*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 65px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.040\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 67px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.067\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 61px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.246**\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 22px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eN = 763. For\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;gender values, 1 = male\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;2 = female.\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e* p \u0026lt; 0.05, ** p \u0026lt; 0.01\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRegression Analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 2 presents the relationship between average social media usage and emphatic concern was analysed via linear regression. The regression model was statistically significant, F (1, 761) = 12.223, p \u0026lt; .001, showing that the predictor variable social media use was a significant predictor of emphatic concern.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe model was able to explain a small amount of the variance in empathic concern, R\u0026sup2; = .016, meaning that social media usage accounted for approximately 1.6% of the variance in emphatic concern. The negative, standardized beta coefficient for social media use was -0.126, t (761) = -3.496, p \u0026lt; .001, indicating that the greater the level of social media usage is, the less empathic concern there is.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the negative, unstandardized coefficient of -0.083 for social media use, we see that for each unit of social media use, emphatic concern, all else equal, decreased by 0.083 units. The social concern value predicted when social media use is zero is 3.266.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe findings demonstrate a weak yet significant negative correlation between social media usage and empathic concern, indicating that more time spent on social media is linked to less empathic concern.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 2\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRegression\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;Analysis of the Relationship between Social Media Usage (SMU) and Emphatic Concern (EC)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"669\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePredictor\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eB\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBeta\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003et\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(Constant)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.266*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.064\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e51.208\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSocial Media Use\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.083*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.126\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-3.496\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN =\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e763\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003eCoefficient (B), SE = standard error, Beta (Standardized Coefficient) * p \u0026lt; 0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMediation Analysis\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 3 a mediation analysis was performed by using Model 6 of the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2022), to determine the influence of social media use on empathic concern via self-esteem and peer connection. The outcome of the analysis shows that social media use negatively influences empathic concern. The\u0026nbsp;results\u0026nbsp;of the analysis\u0026nbsp;revealed\u0026nbsp;the following empathic concern (B = -0.0974, p \u0026lt; .0001). Self-esteem significantly\u0026nbsp;mediated\u0026nbsp;this relationship (B = 0.0114, BootSE = 0.0073, BootLLCI = -0.0024, BootULCI = 0.0268),\u0026nbsp;whereas\u0026nbsp;peer connection also had a marginal indirect effect (B = 0.0032, BootSE = 0.0027, BootLLCI = -0.0006, BootULCI = 0.0095). It appears that social media use lowers empathic concern, primarily by reducing self-esteem, with peer connection amplifying the effect.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTable 3\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMediation Analysis of\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003ethe Effects of\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eSocial Media Use on Empathic Concern through Self-Esteem and Peer Connection\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"670\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 209px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 88px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eB\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003et\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 62px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep value\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 146px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;LLCI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;ULCI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 209px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDirect effect of Social Media Use on Empathic Concern\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 88px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.0974*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0223\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-4.3595\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 62px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .0001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 146px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.1412 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; -0.0535\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 209px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIndirect effect through Self-Esteem\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 88px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0114\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0073\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 62px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 146px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.0024 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; 0.0268\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 209px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIndirect effect through Peer Connection\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 88px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0032\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0027\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 62px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 146px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.0006 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; 0.0095\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 209px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal indirect effect\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 88px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0148*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0077\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 62px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 146px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0004 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;0.0307\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 209px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal effect of Social Media Use on Empathic Concern\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 88px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.0826*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 82px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0236\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 69px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-3.4961\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 62px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0005\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 146px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e-0.1290 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; -0.0362\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN =\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e763,\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003ecoefficient (B), standard error (SE), LLCI = lower limit of the 95% confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit of the 95% confidence interval * p \u0026lt; 0.05, ** p \u0026lt; 0.01.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModeration Analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 4 a moderated regression analysis was performed to assess how social media use and parental communication jointly influence empathic concern.\u0026nbsp;The results indicated that both\u0026nbsp;social\u0026nbsp;media\u0026nbsp;use (B = -0.9864, SE = 0.2108, t = -4.6785, p \u0026lt; .0001) and\u0026nbsp;parental\u0026nbsp;communication (B = -0.8069, SE = 0.2051, t = -3.9348, p \u0026lt; .0001) independently predicted\u0026nbsp;empathic\u0026nbsp;concern. Additionally, the interaction between\u0026nbsp;social media use and parental communication was significant (B = 0.3105, SE = 0.0717, t = 4.3273, p \u0026lt; .0001), reflecting that parental communication moderates how social media use affects empathic concern. More specifically, social media use has a stronger negative influence on empathic concern when parental communication is low (B = -0.1381, p \u0026lt; .0001), and this influence completely reverses when parental communication is high (B = 0.1287, p = 0.0165).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 4\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eModerated Regression Analysis of Social Media Use (SMU) on Empathic Concern (EC) with Parental Communication (PRC) as a Moderator.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"674\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePredictor/Condition\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eB\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003et\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;LLCI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;ULCI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConstant\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e5.6221\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.6102\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.2136\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .0001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;4.4243 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;6.8200\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSocial Media Use\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;0.9864\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2108\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;4.6785\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .0001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;1.4003 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026ndash;0.5725\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParental Communication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;0.8069\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.2051\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;3.9348\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;1.2095 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026ndash;0.4043\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInteraction (SMU \u0026times; PRC)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.3105\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0717\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.3273\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .0001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;0.1696 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; 0.4513\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u0026sup2; Change (Interaction)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0236\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e = 18.7253\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .0001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConditional Effects of Social Media Use at Levels of Parental Communication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; Low (2.7323)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;0.1381\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0270\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;5.1116\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .0001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026ndash;0.1911 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026ndash;0.0851\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; Average (3.1619)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.0047 (ns)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0291\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.1610\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.8722\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.0619 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; 0.0525]\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 195px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp; High (3.5916)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.1287\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 75px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0535\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 87px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.4038\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0165\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 161px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.0236 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; 0.2338]\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN =\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e763,\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003ecoefficients (B). Standard error (SE), lower limit (LLCI),\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;upper limit (ULCI) of the 95% confidence interval. * p \u0026lt; 0.05, ** p \u0026lt; 0.01.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModerated Multiple Mediation\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEffects\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eof Social Media Use on Empathic Concern\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTable 5 a\u0026nbsp;moderated multiple mediation analysis was performed to evaluate\u0026nbsp;the impacts of\u0026nbsp;social media use on empathic concern,\u0026nbsp;with peer connection and self-esteem as mediators and parental communication as the moderator. First, parental communication moderated the indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern through peer connection (B = 0.370, p = .015) and self-esteem (B = 0.032, p = .002).\u0026nbsp;With peer\u0026nbsp;connection and self-esteem as mediators and parental communication as\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;moderator, the primary inference was that the effect was stronger with low parental communication;\u0026nbsp;that is, with\u0026nbsp;less\u0026nbsp;parental communication, social media use\u0026nbsp;significantly\u0026nbsp;impacts empathic concern through peer connection and self-esteem.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 5\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eModerated Multiple Mediation Analysis of\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ethe Effects of\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSocial Media Use on Empathic Concern\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"3\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"675\"\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePredictor\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOutcome\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eB)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003et\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ep\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLLCI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eULCI\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSocial Media Use\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;1.169\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.446\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;2.624\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;2.044\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.294\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSocial Media Use\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eS‒E\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.399 (ns)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.254\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.569\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.117\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.100\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.898\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSocial Media Use\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;1.858\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.202\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;9.188\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;2.255\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;1.461\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePeer Connection\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;1.157\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.118\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;9.791\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;1.389\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.925\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSelf Esteem\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1.095\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.238\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.594\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;0.627\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e1.562\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParental Communication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;1.849\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.381\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;4.855\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u0026ndash;2.597\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;1.102\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSMU \u0026times; PRC\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.588\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.068\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.612\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.454\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.722\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePC \u0026times; PRC\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e0.361\u003c/strong\u003e*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.039\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.348\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; .001\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.285\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.436\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 150px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS‒E \u0026times; PRC\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 77px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEC\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 89px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026ndash;0.225\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 59px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.075\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 76px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;3.005\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 64px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 68px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.371\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd style=\"width: 74px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash;0.078\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eN =\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e763\u003cem\u003e,\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003eSMU= social media use, PC= peer connection, S‒E= self-esteem, PRC= parental communication, coefficient (B), SE = standard error, LLCI = lower limit of the 95% confidence interval, ULCI = upper limit of the 95% confidence interval * p \u0026lt; 0.05\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe present research examines the direct and indirect impacts of social media use on empathic concern while considering the moderating role of\u0026nbsp;parental\u0026nbsp;communication and the mediating influence of social connections with peers and self-esteem. The social model hypothesizes that\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;empathic concern of adolescents will be influenced directly and indirectly through social media owing\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;changes in self-esteem and peer connections and\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;the effects of social media will be moderated by parental communication.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eH1: Direct\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eeffect\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003esocial media use on empathic concern\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first hypothesis, which proposed a direct negative effect of social media usage on empathic concern, was empirically supported by the data. The findings revealed a strong negative correlation between increased social media usage and empathic concern, which supports the findings of global research that excessive social media exposure could reduce face-to-face communication, which is important in the development of empathy\u0026nbsp;(Beyens et al., 2020; Twenge, 2013; Konrath et al., 2011). In Ethiopian adolescents, this loss of empathy\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;compounded by issues such as emotional exhaustion and social comparison, which\u0026nbsp;have been identified in previous studies in Ethiopia\u0026nbsp;(Mekonen et al., 2024).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConversely, a longitudinal Dutch study of 942 adolescents revealed that social media use actually increased both cognitive and affective empathy over one year (Vossen \u0026amp; Valkenburg, 2016). A meta-analysis of five studies confirmed a small to medium and statistically significant positive correlation between the use of social networking sites and affective empathy, although the correlation with cognitive empathy was borderline (Guan et al., 2019).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite its detrimental impact, the modest amount of variance explained (R\u0026sup2; = .016) implies that other contextual and psychosocial factors play a more important role in the development of empathic concern. In this context, this outcome could shed light on the significance of contextual or cultural factors inherent to Ethiopia, or it could suggest that beyond some threshold level, exposure to social media becomes negatively related to higher levels of empathy. These findings necessitate an investigation into the equilibrium between in-virtual and in-person social interaction in the development of empathy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eH2a: Self-Esteem as a\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003emediator\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHypothesis 2a proposed self-esteem as a mediating factor between empathic concern and social media use. The findings of this study validated self-esteem as a variable that mediates this relationship. Studies have shown that adolescents with high self-esteem tend to have high emotional stability and empathic abilities, which improve in positive social interactions (Huang et al., 2019).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn contrast, adolescents with low self-esteem as a result of negative social comparison via social media tend to experience a decline in empathic concern. These findings correlate with those of (Colak et al., 2023), who suggested that exposure to idealized portrayals on social media platforms, particularly Instagram, can diminish self-worth in adolescents and result in diminished empathic concern.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results of the mediation analysis confirmed this hypothesis in that self-esteem acted as a psychological link to explain how exposure to social media resulted in changes in empathic concern. These findings highlight the value of building self-esteem among teenagers to act as a buffer to the emotional harm of digital interaction and give them the ability to empathize with others.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eH2b: Peer Connection as a mediator\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSimilarly, Hypothesis 2b, which suggested that peer connection mediates the relationship between empathic concern and social media usage, was positively confirmed. The findings revealed that peer connection has a facilitative function in empathic development such that those adolescents who had close and strong networks of peers had high levels of empathic concern. This finding adds to that of (Vossen \u0026amp; Valkenburg, 2016; Zeng et al., 2021), who suggested that attachment to peers increases the development of empathy via the processes of group behaviors and the sharing of emotions. Furthermore, opportunities for perspective-taking and prosocial behaviors increase empathic concern (Li et al., 2025).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdditional findings suggest that associating with peers functions as a shield against the harmful effects of oversharing on social media. Conversely, adolescents lacking close peer ties were more likely to suffer from emotional burnout and feelings of isolation that can be aggravated by technology. While the indirect impact of peer bonding was weaker, the effect on empathic concern was positive. These findings further illustrate the importance of positive relationships with empathy and empathic concern, as identified in previous studies (Szcześniak et al., 2022; Luo \u0026amp; Jiang, 2021). Perhaps the most important implication from these results is that peer bonding is a vital social safety net concerning social media and empathy and that the need for positive peer relationships\u0026nbsp;is important in the social development of children and adolescents.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eH3: Parental Communication as a moderator\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHypothesis 3 presumed that parent‒child communication mediates the relationships among social media use, self-esteem, and relationships with peers. The findings confirmed that parent‒child communication indeed functions as a key moderator in this relationship, where the level of communication quality directly impacts the extent to which social media use benefits adolescents\u0026rsquo; self-esteem and their relationships with peers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis underscores the importance of prior research on the negative impacts of positive parental influence and social media use on youth well-being (Padilla‐Walker \u0026amp; Coyne, 2011). Research on Ethiopian adolescents with gaps in their parents\u0026apos; digital literacy highlights the importance of positive communication in social and emotional development.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHenry et al (1996) argue that parental communication is the most important necessary condition for adolescents to manage their cyber experiences (e.g., cyberbullying, social comparison). The moderating role of communication via social media in adjusting to negative impacts on overall life satisfaction resonates with the thesis of (Boniel-Nissim et al., 2015). Research documenting adolescents\u0026rsquo; and parents\u0026rsquo; communications has revealed that negative social media use and life satisfaction have social impacts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn situations where parental communication is poorly structured or missing, the relationship between social media use and empathy becomes evident. Regardless of social media, emotional involvement and social media use empathy illustrate that poorly structured parental communication is necessary to offset emotional and social risks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eH4: Moderated Multiple Mediation\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe final hypothesis, H4, focused on the indirect effects of social media on empathic concern through self-esteem and peer connection and the role of parental communication on social media. This hypothesis was confirmed, as the indirect effects of social media on empathic concern were greater when parental communication was high. This highlights the importance of a supportive family environment to optimize the positive impacts of self-esteem and peer connection on sympathy. In Ethiopian settings, where family ties considerably impact the emotional and social aspects of development, parents\u0026rsquo; involvement appears vital for countering the possible adverse effects of social media and facilitating the development of sympathy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, there is a multifaceted interplay between social media use, self-esteem, peer attachment, parent communication, and the empathic concern an individual is likely to exhibit. Ultimately, the excessive use of social media could lower an adolescent\u0026apos;s empathic concern by lessening self-esteem and attachment to peers and is counterbalanced by the parent communication variant. These findings parallel the work of Bronfenbrenner (1979) and the ecological theories of adolescent development(Crawford, 2020), which advocate for the interdependence of the individual, peer, and family systems with socioemotional outcomes. From a developmental perspective, the findings serve to illustrate the importance of complementary social comprend strategies to enhance empathic concern in youth in the form of adjusting social media use, self-esteem promotion, peer attachment, and parent communication.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTheoretical and Practical Implications\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe current findings build on and substantiate four primary theoretical lenses, which illustrate the complex interplay between peers, parental communication, self-esteem and social media in shaping adolescents\u0026apos; empathic concern.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe findings highlight the ecological aspects of empathy development. In Bronfenbrenner\u0026rsquo;s (1979) ecological systems theory(Crawford, 2020), the social environment frameworks and the ecological empathy development aspects integrate collaboration and communication diversity. While social media falls within the microsystem, the communication of participants\u0026rsquo; parents and their relationships with peers are integral parts of the mesosystem. Real-world social systems and the digital environment interacting in empathy development contradict the idea of isolation and are enhanced by the communication of parents. Hence, parent communication validates that empathy shapes continuous integration across various functional levels of ecological systems.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe results confirm the consistency of social learning theory Bandura 1977 as cited in (Deaton, 2015) principles in modelling, reinforcement and the observational acquisition of empathic behavior. Empathy modelling may be corroded by exposure to negative digital content (cyberbullying); however, the modelling elicited by parent relationships and interactions facilitates empathy development. These findings confirm Bandura\u0026rsquo;s principles of learning acquisition through direct experience and mediated observation by highlighting the dyadic role of social media.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe influence of social media on empathic concern through communication with peers and self-esteem has also been demonstrated as an extension of the media effects model (Valkenburg et al., 2016), whereas the inclusion of parental communication as a moderator strengthens this model by suggesting that the impact of media is dependent and varies among individual, contextual, and relational factors. Other results associated with empathy development theory (Davis, 1983; Heller et al., 2006), articulate the development of empathy as a result of social (e.g., peer connection, parental guidance) and psychological (e.g., self-esteem) intrapersonal factors. Thus, empathy is not an independent or passive process but is cultivated through emotional regulation, perspective taking, and social contact.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study offers practical and meaningful ideas for fostering empathy among adolescents in the digital age. First, one key protective factor is parental dialogue. Parents must provide moral direction and emotional support alongside unreserved, constructive conversations with their children. Family-based strategies that provide parents with empathy and resilience-building tools and effective communication strategies can assist parents in supporting teens in the constructive use of digital technologies. These strategies align with the literature concerning the protective value of parent‒child communication on the adverse psychosocial impacts of social media.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResearch on social media and psychosocial outcomes for adolescents highlights the protective value of parent‒child communication. To prevent social media use from replacing real-world social interactions, adolescents must be encouraged to partake in both online and offline relationships to support their psychological wellbeing. Media literacy programs can support young adolescents in constructing strong emotional content, critiquing online narratives, and resisting unhealthy social comparisons. Parents can help teens use social media in a constructive manner and transform the platform from a place of harmful interaction to one that promotes healthy social relationships.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFurthermore, self-esteem-boosting activities, such as strengths-based skill-building, counselling, and mentoring, can promote emotional control, perspective-taking, and empathy. It is true that empathy is positively correlated with self-esteem; therefore, heightened self-esteem provides adolescents with the ability to perform empathic actions, thereby restricting self-centred or desensitized interactions on the internet. Moreover, social-emotional development programs, cooperative learning, and mentoring encourage peer relationships, which are vital to the development of empathy in adolescents, as they promote understanding and cooperative interactions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, the authors suggest multilevel interventions that simultaneously incorporate familial (parental communication), relational (peer connection), and individual (self-esteem) levels. Policies and educational programs that are context sensitive and incorporate culturally adapted digital resource materials for Ethiopian adolescents, as well as family-based communicative curricula, should be included in these comprehensive interventions. Additional interventions of this scope and cultural sensitivity will positively impact adolescents\u0026rsquo; empathy, emotional health, and social skills, especially in non-Western countries, where familial and digital patterns differ from those in Western and Western-developed countries.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLimitations and Future Directions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe present study provides valuable insights; however, it has several limitations that must be considered. First, because of the cross-sectional nature of these studies, it is not possible to make causal claims about the interrelationships among social media use, self-esteem, peer relations, parental relations, and empathic concern. While it is possible to identify correlations, the direction of these relationships is unclear. Longitudinal or experimental studies are needed to accurately identify the temporal and causal relationships, particularly with respect to the mediation and moderated mediation pathways investigated in the current study. Such studies would also enable researchers to investigate the long-term effects of social media use on empathic concern.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSecond, researchers rely on self-report instruments, and the possible biases of common method variance, social desirability, and memory recall can affect the data. If respondents overstate their social media use or underestimate their self-esteem or attributes such as positive parental relations, the findings will be less accurate. Future studies would benefit the field in terms of measurement improvement and bias reduction, and the use of multiple informants, behavioral samples, and activity data will be needed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThird, the research was confined to adolescents enrolled at Wolaita Sodo University in Ethiopia, which may have restricted generalizability to other socioeconomic or cultural contexts. Different parenting styles, cultural values, and social media usage patterns may have different effects on the emergence of empathic concern in various contexts. Therefore, to investigate how these contextual factors influence the relationship between social media use and empathy in diverse cultural contexts, cross-cultural or comparative studies are needed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFourth, the effect sizes that were observed were small. Other psychological, social, and contextual factors, such as personality, emotional regulation, digital literacy, or content type, may also be important. For example, the direct effect of social media use explained only approximately 1.6% of the variance in empathic concern. These results imply that although the effects observed are significant, they should be interpreted cautiously because they are not deterministic. Other factors that might mediate or moderate these relationships should be investigated in future studies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFifth, this study did not evaluate a number of potentially significant moderators or covariates. Digital literacy, the timing of social media use, and the type of social media content (such as prosocial versus aggressive content) were not investigated, but they might have an impact on how social media influences empathy. Age, gender, and socioeconomic differences can influence the impact of communication and social media on empathy development, and future research should identify these variables to gain a clearer understanding of the intricate factors shaping empathy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, parental communication and peer relationships continue to need more work to refine their dimensionality. The measure of peer connection used in this study may not encompass relational quality dimensions such as closeness, conflict, and support, which may significantly affect empathic concern. In the same way, parental communication autonomy and conflict may differ, and these dimensions may affect empathy development in disparate ways. Understanding how interpersonal processes combine with digital influence frameworks to shape empathy will require more research on these and other dimensions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuch comprehensive longitudinal models will inform how adolescents\u0026rsquo; socioemotional development in the context of social media and family dynamics is influenced in tandem, particularly in non-Western countries.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe results of this study highlight the extent of the impact of social media on empathic concern and empathic concern on the social and emotional development of Ethiopian adolescents. The relationships between self-esteem and peer connection, as predictor variables of the impact of social media on empathic concern, positively affect social and emotional development. The negative social and emotional development factor through social media undermines empathic concern. The negative effects of peer connection and self-esteem occur through high-quality parental communication. The flexibility of negative effects implies the effects of parental communication on social and emotional development. The implications of the results highlight the need for supportive communication parental initiatives. The need for parental communication initiatives is due to the greater number of social media advocate interventions. Pro-social initiatives are required through social media reduction. Interventions to address social media concerns are relevant in promoting self-esteem, peer contact and parental communication.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUse of AI and AI-assisted technologies.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author(s) utilized the grammar checking tool Grammarly. After use of the tool, the author(s) revised and adjusted the content as required and assumed full accountability for the material in the final approved manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHuman Ethics and Consent to Participate declarations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in accordance with the ethical research standards and institutional guidelines. Ethical clearance obtained from Wolaita Sodo University\u0026rsquo;s Review Board. All participants were informed about the study, and voluntarily written informed consent was obtained prior to data collection. All procedures complied with the Declaration of Helsinki. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of interest\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author(s) declare that there are no potential conflicts of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author(s) stated that there was no financial support for the research, writing, or publication of this article.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eavailability statement\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data are available upon request from the authors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors contribution\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMr. Metasebya Gonta Gotoro contributed to the conceptualization, study design, data collection, statistical analysis, and initial drafting of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProf. Wang Meiping supervised the research, provided conceptual and methodological guidance, and contributed to the critical revision and refinement of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMr. Million Desalegn Tassew assisted with literature review, data organization, and co-writing, and contributed to manuscript editing and review.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Mulugeta Shegaze Shimbre contributed to language editing, formatting, and proofreading of the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe thank the students from Wolaita Sodo University who participated in this study. Their responses and engagement concerning how social media affects empathic concern made a determinate contribution to the quality of the study. We are also grateful to Wolaita Sodo University and Shandong Normal University for their support in facilitating this research and for helping us to understand university students\u0026rsquo; experiences in the digital age at their institution.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eORCID\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMetasebya Gonta Gotoro: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8042-0245\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWang Meiping: \u0026nbsp;https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2163-3398\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMillion Desalegn Tassew: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8789-2384\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMulugeta Shegaze Shimbre: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5633-1309\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdams LD, Cooper P. 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Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(13):6949. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136949\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.3390/ijerph18136949\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"social media use, empathic concern, self-esteem, peer connection, parental communication, adolescents, moderated mediation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8033757/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8033757/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe current study investigated the effect of social media usage on empathic concern in Ethiopian adolescents and investigated the mediating effects of self-esteem and peer connection and the moderating effect of parental communication. Data were gathered from 763 adolescents at Wolaita Sodo University via structured questionnaires and were analysed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, regression, and Hayes's PROCESS macro for mediation, moderation, and moderated multiple mediation analysis. The findings revealed that greater usage of social media was strongly related to decreased emphatic concern (B = -0.083, β = -0.126, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001) and that peer connection and self-esteem partially mediated this relationship, suggesting that social media overuse can decrease empathy by reducing adolescents' level of self-esteem and social connectedness. Additionally, parent communication significantly moderated the direct and indirect paths from social media use to empathic concern; the negative impact of social media use was strongest when parent communication was low and inverted when it was high. The moderated multiple mediation analysis also revealed that the indirect effects of social media use on empathic concern via self-esteem and peer connection were dependent on parental communication, emphasizing the dynamic interaction between peer, individual, and family systems. The results generalize ecological, social learning, and media effects theories by showing how family communication, digital use, and psychological resources affect empathic development. The study focuses on encouraging healthy balanced social media use, self-esteem, and peer relationships, as well as effective supportive parental communication, to increase empathic concern among Ethiopian adolescents.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Understanding the Effects of Social Media on Empathic Concern among Ethiopian Undergraduate University Students: A Moderated Multiple Mediation Model","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-12 08:20:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8033757/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"333723312001207758079015264993067986056","date":"2025-12-13T04:57:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-09T12:02:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-13T05:44:35+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-06T09:11:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-06T09:09:37+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Psychology","date":"2025-11-05T03:31:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e4811944-5fc3-4de6-98a2-4c4f1da3ab7b","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 12th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-12T08:20:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-12 08:20:42","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8033757","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8033757","identity":"rs-8033757","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}