PERSONALITY TRAITS AND FACEBOOK ADDICTION AMONG TEENAGERSAND YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

The present study aimed to understand which of the big five personality traits of the teenagers and young adults have tendencies to lead the commonly Facebook usage toward Facebook addiction. Very few extensive researches have been conducted on this subject in Pakistan. The study aimed to identify the relationship of some particular Big Five Personality traits as well as predicting those traits with Facebook addiction. This study has also evaluated the differences of Facebook addiction in terms of age between teenager and young adult students. An initial purposive sample of 300 Facebook users including 150 teenager students (75 girls, 75 boys) and 150 young adult students (75 girls, 75 boys) was recruited from various schools and colleges. From this sample of 300 Facebook users, 86 participants were indicated asFacebook addicts as assessed by the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. The Big Five Markers Personality Scale and Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale were used as assessment measures. Pearson product moment correlation, linear regression and independent sample t-test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated significant positive relationship and predict of ëExtraversion ëwhile significant negative relationship and predict of ëConscientiousness ëtraits with Facebook addiction. Agreeableness, Emotional Stability and Intellect personality traits were insignificant for Facebook addiction. Additionally, insignificant differences were revealed between Facebook addicted teenagers and young adults. The study would be an addition to the academic literature on personality and social psychology with various implications for better understanding of Facebook addicted teenagers and young adults including counseling and psychotherapy as well.