Problematic Social Media Use: Results from a Large-Scale Nationally Representative Adolescent Sample

Despite social media use being one of the most popular activities among adolescents, prevalence estimates among teenage samples of social media (problematic) use are lacking in the field. The present study surveyed a nationally representative Hungarian sample comprising 5,961 adolescents as part of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). Using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and based on latent profile analysis, 4.5% of the adolescents belonged to the at-risk group, and reported low self-esteem, high level of depression symptoms, and elevated social media use. Results also demonstrated that BSMAS has appropriate psychometric properties. It is concluded that adolescents at-risk of problematic social media use should be targeted by school-based prevention and intervention programs.

[1]  Melvyn Zhang.  Mental Health in the Digital Age: Grave Dangers, Great Promise , 2017, BJPsych Bulletin.

[2]  T. Panova,et al.  A critical consideration of social networking sites’ addiction potential , 2017 .

[3]  M. Griffiths,et al.  The relationship between addictive use of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: Findings from a large national survey. , 2017, Addictive behaviors.

[4]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  The Social Media Disorder Scale , 2016, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[5]  A. Phatak,et al.  Developing and pilot testing of a tool for "clinicosocial case study" assessment of community medicine residents , 2016, Education for health.

[6]  Julia M. Hormes,et al.  Under the influence of Facebook? Excess use of social networking sites and drinking motives, consequences, and attitudes in college students , 2016, Journal of behavioral addictions.

[7]  J. Hee,et al.  Facebook Addiction among Malaysian Students , 2016 .

[8]  M. Griffiths,et al.  The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale cross-sectional study. , 2016, Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors.

[9]  Marie Hayes,et al.  The independent relationship between trouble controlling Facebook use, time spent on the site and distress , 2015, Journal of behavioral addictions.

[10]  Zsolt Demetrovics,et al.  Commentary on: Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioral addiction research , 2015, Journal of behavioral addictions.

[11]  M. Brand,et al.  Addictive use of social networking sites can be explained by the interaction of Internet use expectancies, Internet literacy, and psychopathological symptoms , 2015, Journal of behavioral addictions.

[12]  Griffiths,et al.  Clinical psychology of Internet addiction: a review of its conceptualization, prevalence, neuronal processes, and implications for treatment , 2015 .

[13]  P. Maurage,et al.  Are we overpathologizing everyday life? A tenable blueprint for behavioral addiction research , 2015, Journal of behavioral addictions.

[14]  C. S. Andreassen.  Online Social Network Site Addiction: A Comprehensive Review , 2015, Current Addiction Reports.

[15]  Sadia Malik,et al.  Impact of facebook addiction on narcissistic behavior and self-esteem among students. , 2015, JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association.

[16]  G. Arbanas.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) , 2015 .

[17]  Z. Demetrovics,et al.  The diagnostic pitfalls of surveys: if you score positive on a test of addiction, you still have a good chance not to be addicted. A response to Billieux et al. 2015 , 2015 .

[18]  Mai-Ly N Steers,et al.  Seeing everyone else's highlight reels: How Facebook usage is linked to depressive symptoms. , 2014 .

[19]  A. Chester,et al.  The uses and abuses of Facebook: A review of Facebook addiction , 2014, Journal of behavioral addictions.

[20]  Tracii Ryan,et al.  Social Media Use and Social Connectedness in Adolescents: The Positives and the Potential Pitfalls , 2014 .

[21]  Global self-esteem and method effects: Competing factor structures, longitudinal invariance, and response styles in adolescents , 2014, Behavior research methods.

[22]  C. Ko,et al.  The association between suicidality and Internet addiction and activities in Taiwanese adolescents. , 2014, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[23]  Shahnil Asmar Saaid,et al.  The impact of addiction to Twitter among university students , 2014 .

[24]  Mark D. Griffiths,et al.  Assessment of Problematic Internet Use and Online Video Gaming , 2014 .

[25]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Social networking addiction: an overview of preliminary findings , 2014 .

[26]  M. Griffiths.  Social Networking Addiction: Emerging Themes and Issues , 2013 .

[27]  Ulrich John,et al.  Occurence of Internet Addiction in a General Population Sample: A Latent Class Analysis , 2013, European Addiction Research.

[28]  Florian Rehbein,et al.  Video Game and Internet Addiction: Is there a Need for Differentiation ? , 2013 .

[29]  A. Wu,et al.  Psychological risk factors of addiction to social networking sites among Chinese smartphone users , 2013, Journal of behavioral addictions.

[30]  Antonio Bernabe-Ortiz,et al.  Association between Facebook Dependence and Poor Sleep Quality: A Study in a Sample of Undergraduate Students in Peru , 2013, PloS one.

[31]  O. F. Alabi,et al.  A Survey of Facebook Addiction Level among Selected Nigerian University Undergraduates , 2013 .

[32]  Francis T. McAndrew,et al.  Who does what on Facebook? Age, sex, and relationship status as predictors of Facebook use , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[33]  Louis Leung,et al.  Gratification, Loneliness, Leisure Boredom, and Self-Esteem as Predictors of SNS-Game Addiction and Usage Pattern Among Chinese College Students , 2012, Int. J. Cyber Behav. Psychol. Learn..

[34]  Emre Çam,et al.  A New Addiction for Teacher Candidates: Social Networks , 2012 .

[35]  C. S. Andreassen,et al.  Development of a Facebook Addiction Scale , 2012, Psychological reports.

[36]  Mark D Griffiths,et al.  Facebook Addiction: Concerns, Criticism, and Recommendations—A Response to Andreassen and Colleagues , 2012, Psychological reports.

[37]  I. Pantic,et al.  Association between online social networking and depression in high school students: behavioral physiology viewpoint. , 2012, Psychiatria Danubina.

[38]  Alexander Serenko,et al.  The benefits and dangers of enjoyment with social networking websites , 2012, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[39]  Zach W. Y. Lee,et al.  An Investigation into the Problematic Use of Facebook , 2012, 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[40]  Ajewole Olaniyi Olowu,et al.  A STUDY OF SOCIAL NETWORK ADDICTION AMONG YOUTHS IN NIGERIA , 2012 .

[41]  Rachel A. Elphinston,et al.  Time to Face It! Facebook Intrusion and the Implications for Romantic Jealousy and Relationship Satisfaction , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[42]  M. Griffiths,et al.  Online Social Networking and Addiction—A Review of the Psychological Literature , 2011, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[43]  June Ahn,et al.  The effect of social network sites on adolescents' social and academic development: Current theories and controversies , 2011, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[44]  Griffiths,et al.  Excessive online social networking: Can adolescents become addicted to Facebook? , 2011 .

[45]  Aaron Smith,et al.  Social Media & Mobile Internet Use among Teens and Young Adults. Millennials. , 2010 .

[46]  Katherine M. White,et al.  Psychological Predictors of Young Adults' Use of Social Networking Sites , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[47]  Danah Boyd,et al.  Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[48]  Stephanie T. Lanza,et al.  Latent Class and Latent Transition Analysis: With Applications in the Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences , 2009 .

[49]  Katherine M. White,et al.  Personality and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Young People's Technology Use , 2008, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[50]  James H. Steiger,et al.  Understanding the limitations of global fit assessment in structural equation modeling , 2007 .

[51]  P. Barrett.  Structural equation modelling : Adjudging model fit , 2007 .

[52]  Katherine M. White,et al.  Young and connected: Psychological influences of mobile phone use amongst Australian youth , 2007 .

[53]  T. Bowles.  The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist , 2009 .

[54]  M. Griffiths.  A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework , 2005 .

[55]  Bernard C. K. Choi,et al.  A Catalog of Biases in Questionnaires , 2004, Preventing chronic disease.

[56]  B. Byrne.  Structural equation modeling with EQS : basic concepts, applications, and programming , 2000 .

[57]  James G. Phillips,et al.  Potential determinants of heavier internet usage , 2000, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[58]  J. Morahan-Martin,et al.  Incidence and correlates of pathological Internet use among college students ? ? Portions of this pa , 2000 .

[59]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[60]  Kimberly Young,et al.  Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a New Clinical Disorder , 1998, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[61]  D. Altman,et al.  Statistics Notes: Diagnostic tests 2: predictive values , 1994, BMJ.

[62]  D. Altman,et al.  Statistics Notes: Diagnostic tests 1: sensitivity and specificity , 1994 .

[63]  A. Glaros,et al.  Understanding the accuracy of tests with cutting scores: the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value model. , 1988, Journal of clinical psychology.

[64]  L. Radloff.  The CES-D Scale , 1977 .

[65]  D. J. Lee.  Society and the Adolescent Self-Image , 1969 .

[66]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .