Social media addiction among college students in Tunisia

Excessive use of social media can lead to addiction with adverse consequences for health. Through this work, we evaluated the prevalence of addiction to social media of college students from different fields and the associated factors.

We conducted a survey of 115 students by means of a questionnaire posted online during two weeks in groups of students aged between 19 and 30years from different fields in Tunisia. The questionnaire consisted of an information sheet and three self-administered questionnaires: Bergen social media addiction scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, and UCLA 3-item loneliness scale.

Our population was 70% female. The average age was 25.1±3.5years. Regarding lifestyle habits, twenty-nine students (25.2%) were smokers, thirty-three students (28.7%) consumed alcohol, and nine students (7.8%) used cannabis. The average number of years of social media use was 11.77±3.28years. The average time on line per day was 3.8±1.81hours. The main social networks were Facebook (98.3%), Instagram (93%), Whatsapp (80.9%), Tiktok (28.7%), Snapchat (20%), and Twitter (19.1%). The use of social networks was the first action in the morning when waking up in 71.3% of the students and before sleeping in almost all students (94%). According to the results of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, 31.3% of students had problematic social media use, defined by a score≥19/30. Thirty-three students (28.7%) had moderate to severe anxiety symptomatology and 41 students (35.7%) had moderate to severe depressive symptomatology. Sixty-two students (53.9%) were considered lonely according to the UCLA loneliness scale. Marital status was significantly associated with social media addiction score, with higher rates among single students. Smoking was also associated with higher social media addiction scores. Social media addiction scores were positively and significantly correlated with anxiety, depression, and loneliness scores. Frequency of going out with friends was negatively and significantly associated with social media addiction score, as well as depression and loneliness scores.

This study shows that social media addiction is a major health problem. Therefore, it is important for college students to recognize a problematic social media use and take steps to use it in a healthy way.