Abstract
Majority of Pakistan’s population is comprised of youth who are increasingly using social media networks like Facebook. Though Facebook provides a platform for social interaction, there are also considerable problems associated with excessive Facebook usage that can result into addiction. Measurement of usage and addiction of Facebook through a validated scale is needed to promote better policies for protection against the pernicious consequences of addiction. Until now, the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS) has not been widely used and validated in Pakistan. The objective of the present study was to conduct a psychometric validation in a sample of university students of Pakistan. Responses of 713 respondents were included in the final analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis was run to confirm construct validity, and results showed that the BFAS demonstrates a one-factor solution with high factor loadings for all items. Criterion validation was also performed through structural equation modeling. Results showed that the BFAS primarily measures intensity of usage in context of addiction. Internal consistency was proven through Cronbach’s alpha analysis which was above 0.78. To conclude, the BFAS can be used in both epidemiological and clinical settings. Longitudinal use of the BFAS on larger population can help to devise policies for positive social media networking in university students to improve mental health and social development.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alabi, O. F. (2013). A survey of Facebook addiction level among selected Nigerian University undergraduates. New Media and Mass Communication, 10(2012), 70–80.
AlphaPro Digital Statistical Indicators. (2018). Pakistan Social Media Stats 2018. Retrieved from http://alphapro.pk/pakistan-social-media-stats-2018/
Altin, M., & Kivrak, A. O. (2018). The social media addiction among Turkish university students. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 6(12), 13–20.
Andreassen, C. S. (2015). Online social network site addiction: a comprehensive review. Current Addiction Reports, 2(2), 175–184.
Andreassen, C. S., Torsheim, T., Brunborg, G. S., & Pallesen, S. (2012). Development of a Facebook addiction scale. Psychological reports, 110(2), 501–517.
Andreassen, C. S., Griffiths, M. D., Gjertsen, S. R., Krossbakken, E., Kvam, S., & Pallesen, S. (2013). The relationships between behavioral addictions and the five-factor model of personality. Journal of behavioral addictions, 2(2), 90–99.
Avis, W. (2016). The role of online/social media in countering violent extremism in East Africa. Retrieved from.
Awan, J., & Memon, S. (2016). Threats of cyber security and challenges for Pakistan. Paper presented at the International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security.
Badenes-Ribera, L., Fabris, M., Gastaldi, F., Prino, L., & Longobardi, C. (2019). Parent and peer attachment as predictors of Facebook addiction symptoms in different developmental stages (early adolescents and adolescents). Addictive behaviors, 95, 226–232.
Błachnio, A., & Przepiorka, A. (2016). Personality and positive orientation in Internet and Facebook addiction. An empirical report from Poland. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 230–236.
Brailovskaia, J., & Margraf, J. (2017). Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) among German students—a longitudinal approach. PLoS One, 12(12), e0189719.
Broadhurst, R., Grabosky, P., Alazab, M., Bouhours, B., & Chon, S. (2014). An analysis of the nature of groups engaged in cyber crime. An analysis of the nature of groups engaged in cyber crime, International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 8(1), 1–20.
Casale, S., & Fioravanti, G. (2018). Why narcissists are at risk for developing Facebook addiction: the need to be admired and the need to belong. Addictive behaviors, 76, 312–318.
Cerniglia, L., Guicciardi, M., Sinatra, M., Monacis, L., Simonelli, A., & Cimino, S. (2019). The use of digital technologies, impulsivity and psychopathological symptoms in adolescence. Behavioral Sciences, 9(8), 82.
Chen, H. T., & Kim, Y. (2013). Problematic use of social network sites: the interactive relationship between gratifications sought and privacy concerns. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 16(11), 806–812.
Costello, C. R., & Ramo, D. E. (2017). Social media and substance use: what should we be recommending to teens and their parents? Journal of Adolescent Health, 60(6), 629–630.
D’Ambrosi, L., Papakristo, P., & Polci, V. (2018). Social media and gender violence: communication strategies for a “new education”. Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 10(2).
Davis, R. A., Flett, G. L., & Besser, A. (2002). Validation of a new scale for measuring problematic Internet use: implications for pre-employment screening. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 5(4), 331–345.
Desjarlais, M., & Willoughby, T. (2010). A longitudinal study of the relation between adolescent boys and girls’ computer use with friends and friendship quality: support for the social compensation or the rich-get-richer hypothesis? Computers in Human Behavior, 26(5), 896–905.
Duke, É., & Montag, C. (2017). Smartphone addiction, daily interruptions and self-reported productivity. Addictive behaviors reports, 6, 90–95.
Economic, U. N. D. o., & Division, S. A. P (2010). World population prospects: The 2010 revision: UN.
Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of computer-mediated communication, 12(4), 1143–1168.
Elphinston, R. A., & Noller, P. (2011). Time to face it! Facebook intrusion and the implications for romantic jealousy and relationship satisfaction. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(11), 631–635.
Englander, F., Terregrossa, R. A., & Wang, Z. (2010). Internet use among college students: tool or toy? Educational Review, 62(1), 85–96.
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics: sage.
Gadit, A. A. M., & Mugford, G. (2007). Prevalence of depression among households in three capital cities of Pakistan: need to revise the mental health policy. PLoS One, 2(2), e209.
Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Social networking addiction: emerging themes and issues. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 4(5).
Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing theory and Practice, 19(2), 139–152.
Haron, H., & Yusof, F. B. M. (2010). Cyber stalking: the social impact of social networking technology. Paper presented at the 2010 International Conference on Education and Management Technology.
Hawi, N. S., & Samaha, M. (2016). To excel or not to excel: strong evidence on the adverse effect of smartphone addiction on academic performance. Computers & Education, 98, 81–89.
Henken, L. (2015). Internal instability and technology: do text messages and social media increase levels of internal conflict?
Hong, F.-Y., Huang, D.-H., Lin, H.-Y., & Chiu, S.-L. (2014). Analysis of the psychological traits, Facebook usage, and Facebook addiction model of Taiwanese university students. Telematics and Informatics, 31(4), 597–606.
IBM Corp. (2011). IBM SPSS statistics for windows, version 20.0. New York: IBM Corp.
Joseph, S. (2012). Social media, political change, and human rights. BC Int’l & Comp. L. Rev., 35, 145.
Junco, R. (2012). Too much face and not enough books: the relationship between multiple indices of Facebook use and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(1), 187–198.
Kabilan, M. K., Ahmad, N., & Abidin, M. J. Z. (2010). Facebook: an online environment for learning of English in institutions of higher education? The Internet and higher education, 13(4), 179–187.
Kadoda, G., & Hale, S. (2015). Contemporary youth movements and the role of social media in Sudan. Canadian Journal of African Studies/Revue canadienne des études africaines, 49(1), 215–236.
Kalpidou, M., Costin, D., & Morris, J. (2011). The relationship between Facebook and the well-being of undergraduate college students. CyberPsychology, behavior, and social networking, 14(4), 183–189.
Kane, G. C. (2012). Psychosocial stages of symbolic action in social media.
Karaiskos, D., Tzavellas, E., Balta, G., & Paparrigopoulos, T. (2010). P02–232-Social network addiction: a new clinical disorder? European Psychiatry, 25, 855.
Kimpton, M., Campbell, M. A., Weigin, E. L., Orel, A., Wozencroft, K., & Whiteford, C. (2019). The relation of gender, behavior, and intimacy development on level of Facebook addiction in emerging adults Gender and Diversity: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 1706–1719): IGI Global.
Kline, R. B. (2011). Convergence of structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling: na.
Lin, J.-H., Peng, W., Kim, M., Kim, S. Y., & LaRose, R. (2012). Social networking and adjustments among international students. New Media & Society, 14(3), 421–440.
Livingstone, S. (2014). Developing social media literacy: how children learn to interpret risky opportunities on social network sites. Communications, 39(3), 283–303.
Luxton, D. D., June, J. D., & Fairall, J. M. (2012). Social media and suicide: a public health perspective. American journal of public health, 102(S2), S195–S200.
Madge, C., Meek, J., Wellens, J., & Hooley, T. (2009). Facebook, social integration and informal learning at university: ‘It is more for socialising and talking to friends about work than for actually doing work’. Learning, media and technology, 34(2), 141–155.
Mahmood, Q. K., & Saud, M. (2018). Civic participation and facebook: A cross sectional survey of Pakistani university students. In 4th International Conference on Contemporary Social and Political Affairs (ICoCSPA) (Vol. 13, pp. 59–65).
Mahmood, Q. K., Zakar, R., & Zakar, M. Z. (2018a). Role of Facebook use in predicting bridging and bonding social capital of Pakistani university students. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 28(7), 856–873.
Mahmood, Q. K., Bhutta, M. H., & ul Haq, M. A. (2018b). Effects of sociodemographic variables and Facebook group membership on students political participation. Education and Information Technologies, 23(5), 2235–2247.
Malik, S., & Khan, M. (2015). Impact of Facebook addiction on narcissistic behavior and self-esteem among students. J Pak Med Assoc, 65(3), 260–263.
Marshall, T. C. (2012). Facebook surveillance of former romantic partners: associations with postbreakup recovery and personal growth. CyberPsychology, behavior, and social networking, 15(10), 521–526.
Masthi, N. R., Cadabam, S. R., & Sonakshi, S. (2015). Facebook addiction among health university students in Bengaluru. International Journal of Health & Allied Sciences, 4(1), 18.
Monacis, L., De Palo, V., Griffiths, M. D., & Sinatra, M. (2017). Social networking addiction, attachment style, and validation of the Italian version of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 6(2), 178–186.
MPh, M. M. (2015a). Facebook addiction and its relationship with mental health among Thai high school students. J Med Assoc Thai, 98(3), S81–S90.
MPh, M. M. (2015b). Validation of the Thai version of Bergen Facebook addiction scale (Thai-BFAS). J Med Assoc Thai, 98(2), 108–117.
Muise, A., Christofides, E., & Desmarais, S. (2009). More information than you ever wanted: does Facebook bring out the green-eyed monster of jealousy? CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 441–444.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2012). Mplus: Statistical Analysis with Latent Variables; User’s Guide;[version 7]: Muthén et Muthén.
Nel, R. (2015). Social media and the new struggles of young people against marginalisation: a challenge to missional ecclesiology in Southern Africa. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 1(2), 511–530.
Pera, A. (2018). Psychopathological processes involved in social comparison, depression, and envy on Facebook. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 22.
Poushter, J. (2016). Smartphone ownership and Internet usage continues to climb in emerging economies. Pew Research Center, 22, 1–44.
Poushter, J., Bishop, C., & Chwe, H. (2018). Social media use continues to rise in developing countries but plateaus across developed ones. Washington: Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Quan-Haase, A., & Young, A. L. (2010). Uses and gratifications of social media: a comparison of Facebook and instant messaging. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 30(5), 350–361.
Rinaldi, R. L., & Farr, A. C. (2018). Promoting positive youth development: a psychosocial intervention evaluation. Psychosocial Intervention, 27(1), 22–34.
Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013a). Facebook and texting made me do it: media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948–958.
Rosen, L. D., Whaling, K., Rab, S., Carrier, L. M., & Cheever, N. A. (2013b). Is Facebook creating “iDisorders”? The link between clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders and technology use, attitudes and anxiety. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 1243–1254.
Ryan, T., Chester, A., Reece, J., & Xenos, S. (2014). The uses and abuses of Facebook: a review of Facebook addiction: Akadémiai Kiadó, co-published with Springer Science+ Business Media BV.
Saied, S. M., Elsabagh, H. M., & El-Afandy, A. M. (2017). Internet and Facebook addiction among Egyptian and Malaysian medical students: a comparative study, Tanta University, Egypt. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 3(5), 1288–1297.
Saleem, M., Irshad, R., Zafar, M., & Tahir, M. A. (2016). Facebook addiction causing loneliness among higher learning students of Pakistan: a linear relationship. Journal of Applied and Emerging Sciences, 5(1), 26–31.
Sathar, Z. A., Kamran, I., Sadiq, M., & Hussain, S. (2016). Youth in Pakistan: priorities, realities and policy responses. Islamabad: Population Council.
Sharifah, S. Z. S., Siti, Z. O., Jusang, B., & Mohd, N. O. (2011). Facebook addiction among female university students. Revista de Administratie Publica si Politici Sociale., 2(7), 95–109.
Shaw, L. H., & Gant, L. M. (2004). In defense of the Internet: the relationship between Internet communication and depression, loneliness, self-esteem, and perceived social support. Internet Research, 28(3).
Sherman, E. (2011). Facebook addiction: factors influencing an individual’s addiction. University of Massachusetts Boston.
Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 434–445.
Suissa, A. J. (2014). Cyberaddictions: toward a psychosocial perspective. Addictive behaviors, 39(12), 1914–1918.
Tandoc Jr., E. C., Ferrucci, P., & Duffy, M. (2015). Facebook use, envy, and depression among college students: is Facebooking depressing? Computers in Human Behavior, 43, 139–146.
United Nations., Department of Economic and Social Affairs., Population Division (2011). World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, Volume I: Comprehensive Tables. ST/ESA/SER.A/313.
Velasquez, A., & LaRose, R. (2015). Youth collective activism through social media: the role of collective efficacy. New Media & Society, 17(6), 899–918.
Yan, W., Li, Y., & Sui, N. (2014). The relationship between recent stressful life events, personality traits, perceived family functioning and Internet addiction among college students. Stress and Health, 30(1), 3–11.
Yigit, M. F., & Tarman, B. (2013). The impact of social media on globalization, democratization and participative citizenship. Journal of Social Science Education, 12(1), 75–80.
Yusuf, M. (2008). Prospects of youth radicalization in Pakistan. Brookings, Analysis Paper, 14(7), 1–27.
Zaffar, M., Mahmood, S., Saleem, M., & Zakaria, E. (2015). Facebook addiction: Relation with depression, anxiety, loneliness and academic performance of Pakistani students. Science International (Lahore), 27(3), 2469–2475.
Zeitzoff, T. (2017). How social media is changing conflict. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 61(9), 1970–1991.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethical Research Committee of the Department of Sociology, International Islamic University Islamabad.
Informed Consent
A written consent was taken from the respondents and their anonymity and confidentiality was assured.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendices
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mahmood, Q.K., Jafree, S.R. & Sohail, M.M. Pakistani Youth and Social Media Addiction: the Validation of Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS). Int J Ment Health Addiction 20, 581–594 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00391-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00391-0