Seeking approval through likes among university students: Frequency, manifestations, and sociodemographic patterns

The pursuit of social approval through likes can take the form of emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioural manifestations, yet little is known about their frequency or variation across sociodemographic groups. This study aimed to describe the frequency of 18 manifestations grouped into eight thematic categories—Cognitive, Emotional, Psychological, Identity-Related, Behavioural, Dependence/Addiction, Social, and Personal—and to examine their relationship with sex, age, and field of study. A total of 534 students enrolled at a Spanish university responded to 18 items using a five-point Likert scale (0–4). Descriptive analyses and non-parametric correlations were carried out. The “Never” option accounted for between 68.7% and 94.6% of responses, depending on the manifestation assessed. Emotional and cognitive manifestations were the most frequent, whereas identity-related, personal, and dependence-related manifestations were infrequent. No significant differences were found by sex or field of study, nor were there any significant associations with age. The findings showed no systematic sociodemographic variation and placed the main source of descriptive variation in the type of manifestation. They suggest that priority should be given to cross-cutting, non-stigmatising preventive approaches, with particular attention to those centred on emotional and cognitive processes.