Maladaptive daydreaming is linked to social media addiction and hypersexuality

Individuals who spend excessive amounts of time lost in vivid, immersive fantasies also tend to report higher rates of problematic social media use and hypersexual behavior. A recent study suggests that narcissistic personality traits, which involve a deep need to regulate self-esteem, may act as a psychological bridge connecting these behavioral addictions. The research was published in Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice.

Most people daydream to pass the time, process recent events, or regulate their emotions. The mind naturally wanders. Some individuals, however, develop a rigid reliance on fantasy. They spend hours each day absorbed in complex, lifelike imagined worlds.

These individuals often experience vivid sensory details during their fantasies while maintaining a dual awareness that keeps them partially anchored to reality. When this behavior begins to interfere with work, school, or relationships, psychologists refer to it as maladaptive daydreaming.

While not yet an official psychiatric diagnosis, maladaptive daydreaming shares characteristics with behavioral addictions, obsessive-compulsive traits, and dissociative disorders. Psychologists Alessia Renzi and Rachele Mariani of Sapienza University of Rome, along with Filippo Maria Nimbi of eCampus Telematics University, wanted to understand how this intense daydreaming relates to other compulsive behaviors.

The research team focused on two specific issues: problematic social media use and hypersexuality. Problematic social media use involves a loss of control over digital habits, leading to conflicts and emotional dependence. Hypersexuality is characterized by persistent, unsuccessful attempts to manage intense sexual impulses and behaviors, often using sexual fantasies to cope with difficult feelings.

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The researchers also looked at pathological narcissism as a potential connecting factor. In clinical psychology, narcissism is not simply about vanity or self-absorption. It involves an inflated self-concept that acts as a shield, masking deep-seated feelings of inferiority, shame, or fragility.

Narcissism generally presents in two forms. Grandiose narcissists exhibit a sense of entitlement and rely on fantasy to sustain an elevated self-image. Vulnerable narcissists are highly sensitive to criticism and retreat into imagination to manage pervasive shame. The researchers suspected that people with high levels of narcissism might use compulsive daydreaming, endless social media scrolling, and hypersexual behavior as quick ways to gain emotional relief and regulate their fragile self-esteem.

To test these associations, the researchers recruited 559 adults for an online survey. The participants had an average age of 27, and 68 percent were women. Most respondents lived in European countries, including Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Spain.

Participants completed a series of standardized psychological questionnaires. One survey measured the frequency and intensity of their maladaptive daydreaming, asking about their urge to daydream and how much it impaired their daily life. Nearly 29 percent of the study participants scored above the suggested clinical threshold for maladaptive daydreaming.

Another questionnaire evaluated social media addiction by asking about symptoms like withdrawal, mood changes, and conflicts arising from internet use. A third questionnaire screened for hypersexual behavior. This test focused on recurrent sexual fantasies, the urge to engage in sexual behavior as a coping mechanism, and the distress these experiences cause.

The researchers noted that questions asking if participants used sexual fantasies to avoid difficult problems perfectly mirror the psychological functions of maladaptive daydreaming. A final survey measured both grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic traits.

The researchers found that higher levels of maladaptive daydreaming were moderately associated with both social media addiction and hypersexual behavior. People who reported more intense daydreaming symptoms were also more likely to report higher levels of pathological narcissism.

Using statistical models, the team examined whether narcissism acts as a mediator. A mediator is a variable that helps explain the relationship between two other conditions. For example, if variable A affects variable B, a mediator is the stepping stone in the middle that explains how or why that effect happens.

The analysis showed that narcissism partially accounted for the connection between social media addiction and maladaptive daydreaming. It also partially explained the link between hypersexuality and maladaptive daydreaming. In both cases, the presence of narcissistic traits seemed to reinforce the relationship between the behavioral addiction and the urge to retreat into fantasy.

Together, these variables accounted for roughly 20 to 24 percent of the variance in maladaptive daydreaming scores. This indicates that while self-esteem regulation plays a large role, other psychological factors are also at play.

These results point to a shared underlying mechanism. Individuals who struggle to maintain a stable sense of self-worth may turn to various compensatory behaviors to manage their frustration and negative emotions. Social media offers indirect feedback, a curated presentation, and a way to capture attention.

Sexual fantasies provide a sense of control and sensation. Maladaptive daydreaming offers an escape into a customized reality where the individual can experience power, validation, or comfort. The researchers also observed specific patterns depending on the type of narcissism.

Grandiose narcissistic traits were more strongly linked to hypersexuality. The authors suggest that grandiose narcissists might use sexual thoughts and behaviors to assert dominance or fulfill a heightened sense of entitlement. Vulnerable narcissistic traits were more closely associated with problematic social media use.

This aligns with the idea that highly sensitive individuals might prefer asynchronous digital communication, where they can control their image and avoid direct, face-to-face rejection. Younger participants tended to report more severe symptoms across all these categories. This observation aligns with the idea that young adults often face greater challenges with emotional regulation.

Because the study relied on a survey conducted at a single point in time, the results cannot prove that one behavior causes another. The findings only show that these traits tend to appear together. Future research tracking individuals over months or years would be required to understand exactly how these habits develop and influence one another.

The data collection method also presents some limitations. The survey was distributed online and relied on self-reported answers. This approach can sometimes be inaccurate if participants misjudge their own behavior or try to present themselves in a favorable light.

The study sample included a vast majority of women, meaning the results might not fully capture how these dynamics operate in men. The survey was also conducted in English, which was not the native language for many of the European participants. This language barrier could have introduced minor misunderstandings in how questions were interpreted.

Despite these limitations, the results suggest that treating behavioral addictions might require a deeper look at a person’s self-esteem. Interventions that help young people manage frustration, process shame, and build strong real-world relationships could prevent the development of overlapping compulsive habits. Therapies focused on underlying narcissistic vulnerabilities might be more effective than simply trying to stop the addictive behaviors on the surface.

The study, “Maladaptive Daydreaming, Hypersexuality, and Social Media Use: Testing Narcissism as a Mediator in a Young Adult Online Sample,” was authored by Alessia Renzi, Filippo Maria Nimbi, and Rachele Mariani.