Social media platforms are deeply woven into everyday life, offering channels for connection, information exchange, and self‑expression (Tereshchenko, 2023). However, for a minority of users, engagement becomes dysregulated and impairing, a pattern termed ‘problematic social media use’ (PSMU; Bányai et al., 2017, Kuss and Griffiths, 2017), which shares features with behavioral addictions such as preoccupation, diminished control, persistence despite negative outcomes, conflict, mood modification, withdrawal‑like distress) (Meynadier et al., 2025). Observational studies have associated heavy or dysregulated social media use with poorer mental health, especially among youth (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). These findings highlight the need to move beyond exposure metrics (time online) toward psychological processes that may explain why some patterns of use become difficult to self‑regulate (Pellegrino et al., 2022). Theoretical frameworks such as the Interaction of Person–Affect–Cognition–Execution (I-PACE) model (Brandtner et al., 2021) suggest that cognitive and metacognitive processes may be central to understanding the development of problematic technology use.

The I‑PACE model offers a multi‑level account in which person characteristics (e.g., traits, symptoms), affective responses, cognitive expectancies, and executive processes interact over time to shape problematic online behaviors (Brand et al., 2016). Reinforcing online experiences such as mood relief or social validation may strengthen specific cognitions and coping tendencies, which, in turn, have been associated with escalating patterns of use in the I‑PACE model (Brand et al., 2016, Brand et al., 2025, Turel and Serenko, 2012). Consistent with this perspective, models of internet‑communication disorder similarly highlight social vulnerability, coping style, and internet‑use expectancies as correlates of symptom severity (Wegmann & Brand, 2016). Beyond specific use-related cognitions (e.g., “Scrolling helps me relax”), metacognitive processes (i.e., beliefs about thinking, control, and regulation) may further influence persistent or excessive online engagement (Meynadier et al., 2025, Spada et al., 2008), affecting attention to urges, interpretation of internal cues, and deployment of coping strategies (Wegmann & Brand, 2016). Therefore, understanding the metacognitive architecture underlying PSMU offers opportunities for both theory development and intervention design.

Recently, The I-PACE model has been extended to integrate metacognitive processes, such as desire thinking, which appear to mediate the association between affective triggers and behavioral engagement (Brandtner et al., 2021). The extended I-PACE model demonstrates how cognitive and metacognitive mechanisms may be considered within the model and provides additional insight on the escalation and persistence of online behaviors, providing a conceptual basis for examining processes such as metacognitive beliefs or humor-based regulation in PSMU. Within the extended I-PACE model, MIHBs can be conceptualized as specific metacognitive beliefs regulating humor-based cognitive processing, influencing how individuals monitor and control responses to technology-related thoughts and urges.

Metacognitions about technology use.

Within metacognitive theory (Wells, 2009), individuals hold metacognitive beliefs about the meaning, utility, or dangerousness of their thoughts and mental states. In technology contexts, these can be broadly categorized as positive (e.g., “Checking helps me cope,” “Being online keeps me informed”) and negative (e.g., “My use is hard to control,” “If I don’t check, something bad could happen”) (Casale et al., 2021, Spada and Caselli, 2017). Domain‑specific measures indicate that these beliefs are associated with a range of problematic behaviors including internet use, online gaming, online gambling, smartphone use, online pornography use, and media use (Akbari et al., 2021, Akbari et al., 2023, Allen et al., 2017, Balıkçı et al., 2020, Casale et al., 2020, Casale et al., 2021, Fernie et al., 2014, Spada and Caselli, 2017, Spada et al., 2008).

Once endorsed, these belief systems may be associated with patterns of attention to cues, heightened urgency, and the maintenance of coping routines that can become habitual (Wells & Matthews, 1996). Given their role in self‑regulatory context surrounding PSMU, it is important to investigate processes that may influence these metacognitions. One potential candidate is humor, a light, socially acceptable and metacognitive modality which has been proposed to loosen rigid thoughts patterns about technology use, particularly problematic social media engagement (Brand et al., 2016, Korovkin et al., 2024, Oliveira et al., 2023, Simione and Gnagnarella, 2023).

What might regulate technology‑related metacognitions?

If metacognitive beliefs about social media contribute to the persistence of dysregulated use (Balıkçı et al., 2020, Özkan et al., 2025), it is important to identify processes that might regulate or modify these beliefs (Allen et al., 2025). Such beliefs, particularly those concerning the necessity or uncontrollability of technology use, can be conceptualized as self-imposed cognitive rules that guide engagement with social media use, which may become as rigid and self-reinforcing as dysregulated behavior (Casale et al., 2016, Wells, 2009).

An ideal regulatory process would meet several conceptual criteria. First, it should influence how individuals think about their thinking, not just what they think about social media (Gross and John, 2003, Wells and Matthews, 1996). Second, it should be acceptable, non-threatening, and quickly deployable in everyday life, without demanding major cognitive effort or prompting external prompts (Samson & Gross, 2012). Third, it should soften rigid metacognitive structures, reducing cognitive conflict or emotional attachment to these beliefs (Gross and John, 2003, Samson and Gross, 2012). These criteria lay the ground for potential consideration of humor as a metacognitive regulatory mechanism.

Humor as a candidate metacognitive contextual factor.

Any process proposed to regulate technology‑related metacognitions should operate at a level that influences how individuals relate to their thoughts, rather than merely what those thoughts contain (Gross and John, 2003, Samson et al., 2014). Humor meets several criteria for such a process. Theoretically, humor highlights incongruity, invites reinterpretation, and may soften evaluative rigidity, thereby supporting cognitive flexibility and reappraisal (Martin, 2007, Samson and Gross, 2012).

Socially, humor allows individuals to challenge norms and expectations indirectly, facilitating adaptive affiliative and self‑enhancing humor (Altan-Atalay & Fatih Boluvat, 2024, Dionigi et al., 2023, Perchtold et al., 2019). Cognitively, humor may create psychological distance, from rigid or catastrophic interpretations, functioning as a form of metacognitive distancing (Segal et al., 2013). When applied inwardly, humor resembles decentering or cognitive diffusion strategies used in mindfulness and acceptance‑based interventions, helping individuals view their thoughts as transient and less reflective of personal identity or reality (Mathews, 2016, Segal et al., 2013, Ritzert et al., 2015). By internalizing a humor-based stance, individuals might be able to reframe their technology-related beliefs, not by rejecting them outright but by potentially reducing their emotional weight and cognitive dominance. Although empirical evidence is limited, this suggests humor may foster a form of cognitive flexibility that challenges certainty and rigidity (Altan-Atalay & Fatih Boluvat, 2024). It is important to note that effectiveness of this process likely depends on whether individuals consider humor appropriate or beneficial in regulating their internal experiences. Taken together, these findings suggest that understanding humor-based metacognitive beliefs provides a novel lens for examining self-regulatory processes associated with PSMU.

Meta‑inner humor beliefs.

Individuals differ in whether they view applying humor to their own thoughts and feelings as helpful, appropriate, or risky. Meta-inner humor beliefs (MIHBs) are defined as metacognitive beliefs about using humor to relate to and regulate an individual’s own thoughts and emotions. This self-referential and regulatory nature distinguishes MIHBs from simple outcome expectancies or attitudes. Adaptive MIHBs facilitate humor-based cognitive reframing and emotional distance, whereas maladaptive MIHBs perpetuate rigidity and negative self-relating. In other words, these appraisals constitute MIHBs, reflecting beliefs about how humor can be used to regulate, reinterpret, or relate to an individul's internal experiences rather than expectations about external outcomes.

Adaptive MIHBs reflect the tendency to endorse using a light, playful, or compassionate humor stance toward internal experiences (e.g., “Humor helps me take my thoughts less seriously”), whereas maladaptive MIHBs reflect tendencies toward reservations or disapproval (e.g., “Using humor with my thoughts is foolish or might trivialize important concerns”). Importantly, and as aforementioned, MIHBs reflect metacognitive beliefs about how humor can be used to relate to and regulate an individual’s own thoughts and emotions, rather than being simple attitudes or outcome expectancies toward humor.

Importantly, MIHBs are thought to affect PSMU by influencing how individuals respond to their technology-related thoughts. Adaptive MIHBs may underly a flexible, playful perception that eases rigid metacognitive beliefs and helps reduce dysregulated social media use, whereas maladaptive MIHBs may strengthen rigid patterns, sustaining or worsening PSMU. Consequently, adaptive and maladaptive MIHBs may be associated with facilitating or constraining the use of humor‑based reframing strategies. More specifically, stronger adaptive MIHBs may be associated with more flexible responses to domain‑specific metacognitions (including those about social media), whereas maladaptive MIHBs may reinforce rigidity. Examining MIHBs longitudinally could show whether humor-based metacognitive beliefs recalibrate the structures contributing to dysregulated social media use.

In line with metacognitive theory (Wells, 2009), MIHBs function at the level of beliefs about how individuals regulate their own thoughts and feelings, influencing how individuals relate to, interpret, and manage their internal experiences. Evidence from humor, reappraisal, and stress‑buffering literatures (Falkenberg et al., 2011, Martin, 2007, Samson and Gross, 2012, Segal et al., 2013, Wells, 2009) broadly consistent with this conceptual view. However, empirical investigation on the predictive roles of humor-related metacognitions remains limited. Accordingly, a cautious, exploratory approach is warranted. In the present study adaptive and maladaptive MIHBs were examined as metacognitive beliefs influencing technology-related metacognitions relevant to PSMU. Therefore, it sought to determine whether humor could recalibrate the metacognitive structure that contributes to dysregulated social media use.

The present study.

Adaptive MIHBs may indirectly reduce dysregulated social media engagement by promoting cognitive flexibility and mitigating rigid metacognitive beliefs, whereas maladaptive MIHBs may reinforce compensatory or ruminative patterns. Unlike most prior studies that employed cross-sectional designs, the present two-wave longitudinal design allows for preliminary temporal insights into these associations. In other words, to the best of the present authors’ knowledge, most prior research in this area has employed cross-sectional designs. The closest available longitudinal study is that of Marino et al. (2025), who examined negative metacognitions and problematic smartphone use over two waves. However, no longitudinal research has previously examined associations between MIHBs, technology‑related metacognitions, and PSMU, highlighting the novel contribution of the present study. Grounded in the extended I‑PACE model (Brand et al., 2025) and metacognitive theory (Wells, 2009), the present study investigated whether person‑level MIHBs are prospectively related to later metacognitions about social media use, and whether these metacognitions, in turn, predict problematic social media engagement. Given prior research highlighting the relevance of negative uncontrollability beliefs to dysregulated online behavior (Akbari et al., 2021, Akbari et al., 2023, Allen et al., 2017, Balıkçı et al., 2020, Casale et al., 2020, Casale et al., 2021, Fernie et al., 2014, Spada and Caselli, 2017, Spada et al., 2008), it was hypothesized that any indirect effects from MIHB to PSMU would be strongest via negative metacognitions. In line with the extended I-PACE model, which emphasizes the dynamic interplay of cognitive and metacognitive processes, the present study conceptualized the relationships between MIHBs, technology-related metacognitions, and PSMU as mutually influencing one another over time. Bidirectional associations were hypothesized, in which MIHBs may influence subsequent metacognitions and PSMU, while reciprocal effects of PSMU on humor-related beliefs were also considered, in line with the extended I-PACE model emphasizing dynamic reciprocal interactions between cognitive and metacognitive processes.

A two‑wave (baseline, six‑month) longitudinal study was conducted among a Persian‑speaking community sample. The aims were to (i) examine whether baseline adaptive and maladaptive MIHBs were prospectively associated with later social media‑related metacognitions, negative (neg-meta-SMUs) and positive (pos-meta-SMUs) beliefs about social media use, after adjusting for their baseline measurement (Wave 1); and (ii) test whether adaptive and maladaptive MIHBs showed indirect associations with later PSMU through these metacognitive variables. Consistent with the theoretical aim, the study focused on cross-lagged associations to examine how baseline adaptive and maladaptive MIHBs predict later metacognitions and problematic social media use over time, rather than concurrent relationships.

Because positive and negative metacognitions often co‑occur, both were modeled simultaneously. However, it should be emphasized that two‑wave cross‑lagged panel models (CLPMs) can provide information on temporal precedence but cannot establish causality. Therefore, the findings are interpreted as exploratory and preliminary. Based on the extant literature, it was hypothesized that (i) adaptive MIHBs at baseline would be prospectively associated with lower levels of both negative and positive metacognitions about social media at follow-up (H1), whereas maladaptive MIHBs would predict higher levels of negative metacognitions (H2), (ii) negative metacognitions were expected to positively predict later PSMU (H3), whereas positive metacognitions were expected to show weaker or nonsignificant associations with PSMU (H4), and (iii) adaptive MIHBs were hypothesized to relate to lower PSMU via reductions in negative metacognitions (H5), whereas maladaptive MIHBs were expected to show indirect positive associations with PSMU through elevated negative metacognitions (H6). In sum, the study examined whether baseline adaptive and maladaptive MIHBs showed indirect associations with later PSMU through technology-related metacognitions.