Factors associated with Facebook addiction among university students amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from an online cross-sectional survey

Is physical activity associated with lower risk of social network problematic use or addiction? A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The global rise in social media usage has led to an increasing prevalence of social network problematic use or addiction (SNPUA). Although previous research has identified a negative association between physical activity (PA) levels and some problematic digital behaviors, the relationship between PA and SNPUA remains unclear. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine possible associations between PA and SNPUA.

METHODS

The search was registered in OSF and was conducted in November 2024 using the following search terms: ('Physical activity' or exercise) and (addiction or 'problematic use') and ('social network' or 'social media' or Instagram or Facebook or 'Tik Tok'). It was carried out in PubMed and Web of Science databases. A total of 255 articles were retrieved and 24 of them met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis was conducted using Review Manager 5.4 software.

RESULTS

The majority of studies included university students (n = 14) and primary or secondary school students (n = 7). The participants' mean age ranged from 13.9 to 27.43 years. Female participants accounted for 50.8 % of the total sample. The meta-analysis involving 150,000+ participants revealed that PA is inversely related to SNPUA. Most of the included studies (14/24), involving 94 % of the sample, reported that those participants who engage in a higher amount of PA had lower levels of SNPUA.

CONCLUSION

PA could be an effective tool to prevent or reduce social network addiction levels. However, inconsistency in collecting data on PA and SNPUA makes it difficult to draw solid conclusions.

The link between Facebook addiction and depression among university students: Evidence from a lower-middle income country

Background and Aims

Among all the social media, Facebook is the most popular social networking site among students. That raises a chance of excessive Facebook usage being a form of addiction to hamper students' mental health. The primary goal of this study was to find the association of Facebook addiction with the depression level of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

Four hundred ten university students from Bangladesh were selected randomly as samples for this investigation. In this study, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale and nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire were used to assess the level of Facebook Addiction and depression status of the students, respectively. Ordered probit models were employed to identify the connection between Facebook addiction and depression. Ordinary least square models were utilized further to check the robustness of the findings.

Results

Ordered probit results confirm that Facebook addiction increases the likelihood of having heightened depression among university students. Besides, sex, household income, and history of being infected by COVID-19 also appeared to be correlated with the depression level of the students.

Conclusion

Creating opportunities for students to participate in more physically demanding outdoor activities should be prioritized as it could ultimately enhance their capacity to mitigate depression. Appropriate measures must be taken to increase the number of recreational facilities on the campus for students, considering their age, gender, and preferences.

Socio-demographic and mental health correlates of internet addiction amongst Hong Kong university students under COVID-19

Introduction

Regarding the problem of Internet addiction (IA) amongst university students under the pandemic, there are several research gaps. Firstly, few studies have examined IA of university students in Hong Kong, which is a Chinese society heavily influenced by Western values. In addition, findings on the socio-demographic correlates and psychological well-being predictors of IA in university students are unclear. Finally, researchers have not systematically examined the interaction effects of socio-demographic factors (particularly gender and personal infection of COVID-19) and psychological morbidity on IA. This pioneer study aimed to investigate the predictive role of socio-demographic factors and psychological morbidity in IA, and the moderating effects of gender and personal infection of COVID-19 on the relationship between psychological morbidity and IA.

Methods

We conducted an online survey (N = 1,020 university students) during the ending phase of Wave 5 of the pandemic in Hong Kong (late 2022 to early 2023). Socio-demographic correlates included age, gender, living status, personal and family financial situation, student status, personal and family infection of COVID-19. Participants responded to validated measures of psychological morbidity, including depression, suicidal behavior, and hopelessness. Hierarchical regression and simple slope analyses were used to examine the predictive role of socio-demographic variables and psychological morbidity in IA and the interactive effect of gender and personal infection of COVID-19 with psychological morbidity on IA.

Results

Personal financial difficulty was a significant socio-demographic predictor of IA. Depression, suicidal behavior, and hopelessness positively predicted IA. We also found a significant interaction effect of gender and psychological morbidity on IA. While the predictive relationship between depression and IA was stronger in males than in females, hopelessness was more strongly related to IA in females than in males. Finally, there was a significant interaction effect of personal infection of COVID-19 and suicidal behavior on IA.

Conclusion

Personal financial difficulty was a socio-economic correlate of IA. Psychological morbidity also predicted IA. Gender and personal infection of COVID-19 moderated the linkage between psychological morbidity and IA. The findings of the study enhance our understanding of individual differences in IA in university students during the pandemic, particularly concerning different ecological risk factors.