This study analyses the social media usage patterns of adolescents in state care and young people within the general population, with a particular focus on the relationship between loneliness and digital platform option within the framework of Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT).This topic is quite relevant today as mobile devices and the Internet had turned into key venues for the socialization and emotional regulation norm of young people, especially those who are disadvantaged in their social relationships. In our research, we seek to answer how young people's use of various social media platforms reflects the fulfilment of their social needs, and how these patterns are influenced by subjective well-being, feelings of loneliness, and family background. The sample consists of 554 young people aged 13–20, including those in state care and a control group. Based on the results of the quantitative analysis, young people in state care primarily use Messenger to maintain family relationships, very intensly, or seldom, as a kind of ‘virtual umbilical cord’, while for the control group, the same platform is a way of strengthening peer relationships. The overall impression indicates that lonely young people in state care are more likely to turn to platforms offering passive, parasocial content (such as YouTube). According to the overall results of our study, the functional role of social media varies significantly depending on social background: For young people in state care, digital communication is not only a form of entertainment but also, in a sense, a partial substitute for a lack of relationships and a psychological coping strategy.