A Model of Factors Influencing Social Media Addiction in University Students

Abstract

Social media addiction is an important mental health concern with steadily increasing prevalence in young people along with physical, psychological, and academic issues. To reduce social media addiction, an understanding about its influencing factors is required. This cross-sectional study aimed to develop and test a model of factors influencing social media addiction in university students. Multi-stage sampling was used to obtain 550 undergraduate students from five faculties of a public university in Thailand. Data were collected using a demographic data form, the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, the Internet Self-efficacy Scale, the Internet Use Expectancies Scale, the Self-regulation Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, a neuroticism subscale and an extraversion subscale of the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness to experience Five-Factor Inventory, the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Subjective Norm Scale. SPSS version 26.0 and the AMOS program were applied for model testing. Findings revealed that the modified model fitted with empirical data and explained 86% of variance in social media addiction. Depression was the strongest predictor influencing social media addiction both directly and indirectly via Internet use expectancies and self-regulation. Subjective norm directly and indirectly influenced social media addiction via self-regulation. Extraversion and neuroticism directly influenced social media addiction whereas Internet self-efficacy and perceived social support had no direct or indirect effects on social media addiction. In conclusion, personal and environment factors together exert powerful effect on social media addiction. Therefore, nurses and other health professionals can design and test the effectiveness of interventions to reduce social media addiction by decreasing depression, changing subjective norm to improve self-regulation and reduce Internet use expectancies, and screening and modifying extraversion and neuroticism personality.