Literature Review

Social Media Addiction and Emotional Behaviour

Ciplak (2020) focuses on “[examining] the variables that predict social media addiction” (p. 48); he has two hypotheses related to this:

·         H1: “The level of social media addiction related to the weekly time spent on social media” (p. 48).

·         H2: “Narcissism, happiness and weekly time spent on social media predict social media addiction at statistically significant levels” (p. 48).

The idea behind this research is that certain traits, notably narcissism and happiness, accompanied by extensive time spent on social media weekly, are good predictors of social media addiction. The official definition of narcissism is considered to be “the self-admiration of the individual” (Freud, 2010, as cited in Ciplak, 2020, p. 49). This research highlights that social media addiction has not been added as an official psychological disorder to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5); however, in recent years, they have included computer gaming as an addiction. Therefore, it seems as though social media addiction is on its way to becoming a classified mental illness (Ciplak, 2020).

The convenient sampling method was used to gather participants for Ciplak’s (2020) study. According to Galloway (2005), “convenience sampling involves using respondents who are “convenient” to the researcher. There is no pattern whatsoever in acquiring these respondents” (p. 860). The study group was comprised of 239 adults (140 women and 99 men) in different regions of Turkey (Ciplak, 2020). The measurement tools included the Social Media Addiction Scale, the Happiness Scale – Short Form, the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Scale, and a personal information form. The three scales all “consist of [varied] items with five-point Likert-type response options” (p. 51). The Social Media Addiction Scale has twenty items, the Happiness Scale has six items, and the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Scale has eighteen items. The methodology in this study is quantitative due to the numerical nature of the scales and the close-ended questions in the personal information form. At the end of the study, both hypotheses were supported by the research. Firstly, those who reported spending more time on social media weekly scored higher on the Social Media Addiction scale. Those who reported spending less time on social media weekly scored lower on the Social Media Addiction scale. Secondly, there was a “positive relationship” between high social media usage/addiction and narcissism (Ciplak, 2020, p. 53). There was a “negative relationship” between high social media usage and happiness (p. 53). This means that the more time participants spent on social media and the higher they scored on the addiction scale, the higher they scored on the narcissism scale. It also concluded that the more time they spent on social media, the lower they scored on the happiness scale.

Ciplak’s (2020) research is significant to the present study for various reasons. Firstly, it highlights that social media addiction is not yet a classified psychological disorder in the DSM-5. Secondly, it highlights the relationship between social media addiction and lower rates of happiness. Mental health is something that many young people struggle with, therefore, if proven that the majority of young adults in the Edmonton area are addicted to social media, Ciplak’s (2020) research shows that this could be one reason for lower rates of happiness among this population.