Abstract
Learning to adapt to the new set of conditions that confound behavioral standards was made possible
by the pandemic-driven change in the school system. Due to these conditions and the COVID-19
pandemic, students may experience behaviors like social media addiction and social anxiety that may
affect their well-being or happiness. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effects of social media
addiction and social anxiety on the happiness of tertiary students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study was conducted on 316 first-year college students utilizing Google forms to disseminate
questionnaires. After utilizing Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Social Anxiety Scale, and
Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, it was found that social media addiction (β = -0.30, p<.00) and
social anxiety (β = -0.003, p<.00) has a significant negative effect on happiness. Therefore, the study
recommended and designed a student wellness program that provides a range of recreational, healthimproving, self-esteem-boosting, and relationship-strengthening activities for students in order to
mitigate the negative effects of problematic social media usage and social anxiety that negatively
effect their happiness.