Behaviour patterns on social media and their associations with cognitive, social and emotional skills in university students

Abstract Background Research on digital behaviour has largely centred on aggregated screen-time metrics, which offer limited insight into how distinct patterns of engagement within social media environments relate to psychosocial competencies. Life skills—encompassing cognitive, social and emotional domains—are fundamental to adaptive functioning in young adults, yet the behavioural features of online interaction that align with these capacities remain insufficiently characterised. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out with 420 university students aged 18–25. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing instrumental, passive and reactive social media behaviours, alongside a validated measure of life skills. Analytical procedures included descriptive statistics, Spearman correlations, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Reliability coefficients were estimated from the present sample, and model fit indices were examined to assess structural coherence. Results Instrumental engagement displayed small positive associations with cognitive and social life skills. Passive browsing and reactive interaction showed small negative associations with emotional and social skills. Although modest in magnitude, these associations displayed a stable configuration across the analytical models, suggesting that behavioural differentiation within social media use aligns with distinct life-skill profiles. Conclusions The study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of digital engagement by shifting the analytical focus from global usage frequency to behaviour-specific patterns. Instrumental, goal-directed use aligned with more adaptive skill configurations, whereas passive and reactive tendencies were associated with less favourable profiles. The cross-sectional design and the demographic composition of the sample constrain generalisability, underscoring the need for longitudinal and diverse population studies. The findings reinforce the relevance of intentional and reflective digital practices within university settings, where online interaction is embedded in daily life.