Abstract
The use of social networking sites (SNSs) has been growing at a staggering rate, especially among university students. The present study investigated the prevalence of social networking addiction (SNA), its health consequences, and its relationships with parents' Internet-specific parenting behaviors in a sample of Hong Kong university students (N = 390). Adopting the 9-item social media disorder scale, 21.5% of the participating students met the criteria for SNA. Students with SNA showed longer sleeping latency, more sleep disturbance, poorer academic performance, lower levels of life satisfaction, and higher levels of depression than did students without SNA. Parental reactive restriction and limiting online behaviors of the participants were associated with higher risk of SNA. The findings suggest the severity of SNA and its negative consequences among Hong Kong university students. While parental behaviors limiting children's use of SNSs were found to increase the occurrence rate of SNA among university students, longitudinal studies are needed to further examine this causal relationship.
Highlights
Social networking sites (SNSs) are defined as web-based services that allow users to “(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, [2] articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and [3] view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.” (p. 211) [1]
Internet-specific parenting behaviors including reactive restriction, limiting online behavior, co-use, and parent adherence were positively related to participants’ reported social networking addiction (SNA)
More than 40% reported that they were preoccupied by social media usage (44.1%), tried to spend less time on social media but failed (44.9%), and often felt bad when they could not use social media (40.0%). These results show that addictive behaviors associated with SNS use are quite common among Hong Kong university students
Summary
Social networking sites (SNSs) are defined as web-based services that allow users to “(1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, [2] articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and [3] view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.” (p. 211) [1]. Through SNSs, people can communicate and interact with their friends, family, and people from all over the world on the Web. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are among the most popular SNSs while new platforms/websites continue to pop up regularly. A recent report showed that in 2019, there were 3.48 billion SNSs users worldwide (almost half of the Earth’s entire population), of which 27% were young adults aged between 18 and 24 years old [2]. Internet users reported that approximately 27% of the time spent online was for social media interaction, more than for email, news, and any form of entertainment combined [3]. Using SNSs has become the most popular online activity but an important part of our daily lives [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
