Why people are becoming addicted to social media: A qualitative study

Smartphone usage and addiction among undergraduate dental students in Malaysia: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Behavioral addiction to smartphones is a common phenomenon in the present digital age, wherein indulgence in these devices is compulsive and impacts physical, social, and psychological health of the population. The smartphones effect on a dental student's life is detrimental to their academics, health, and efficiency in providing clinical patient care. To assess use and addiction of smartphones among dental students under six major domains and to compare this based on their gender, ethnicity, and year of study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study using a validated questionnaire, Smartphone addiction scale was conducted among 349 undergraduate students (N = 349) at a private dental school in Malaysia.

RESULTS

Overall results are presented as mean scores under six domains with total score as 142.40 (33.65). The total scores compared between two genders did not show statistical difference, however on comparing individual domains, females (25.25) had higher mean score for daily life disturbance (P = 0.013) and males (30.17) for cyberspace-oriented relationship (P = 0.001). Chinese students had higher scores with respect to withdrawal (32.45) and cyberspace-oriented relationship (29.48) as compared to other ethnicities. Year 4 students show higher scores than other years in daily life disturbance (27.44), tolerance (16.81), and overuse (16.51).

CONCLUSION

Our research presents the extent and pattern of smartphone of usage and addiction among the undergraduate students at a dental school in Malaysia. The indicators of addiction highlighted in the study are pivotal in spreading awareness regarding this overuse and addiction as well as planning further research in this area.

Socio-Demographic and Attitudinal Correlates of Problematic Social Media Use: Analysis of Ithra's 30-Nation Digital Wellbeing Survey

Time spent on social media continues to rise globally. For some individuals, social media use can become maladaptive and associated with clinically significant social and occupational impairments. This problematic social media use (PSMU) is also linked with poorer health and wellbeing. Much of our existing PSMU knowledge comes from single nation studies, heavily focused on adolescent and college-age samples. This study uses data from Ithra's 2021 global digital wellbeing survey to explore rates of PSMU and identify socio-demographic and attitudinal correlates. Participants (N = 15,000) were representative adult samples (N = 500) drawn from 30 nations. All participants provided socio-demographic data and completed a measure of PSMU, along with questions assessing attitudes toward social media and general usage patterns. PSMU prevalence was 6.82%, varying from 1.7 to 18.4% between nations. Multivariate logistical regression identified several correlates, including national culture, age, parenthood and frequency of use. These findings can help inform public policy and public health initiatives to reduce PSMU prevalence.