The interaction between the tendency of college students to avoid the "lying flat" lifestyle and internet addiction: A cross-lagged model based on three-point longitudinal data

The study aims to uncover the dynamic relationship between the tendency of college students to avoid the “lying flat” lifestyle and internet addiction, as well as the underlying mechanisms behind this relationship. Three surveys were conducted among college students in a university in Sichuan Province during March 2024 (T1), September 2024 (T2), and March 2025 (T3). The sample sizes were 739, 685, and 656 individuals respectively. Using a random intercept cross-lagged model along with longitudinal mediation analysis, after controlling for factors such as gender, age, parental education level, family income, and current internet usage time, the results show that, after accounting for stable individual differences, there is a significant bidirectional cross-period correlation between the tendency to avoid the “lying flat” lifestyle and internet addiction at the individual level.