Facebook addiction: an exploratory study using mixed methods.

In light of the global popularity and ubiquity of Facebook, this thesis presents an in-depth examination of Facebook addiction. Commonly, researchers measuring potential technological addictions adapt symptoms from more established addictive disorders. However, due to the strong social focus of Facebook, it was expected that addiction to this site would also involve unique symptoms. In order to explore this potential, an exploratory mixed methods research design was used, incorporating three research phases: a systematic review of existingi nternet addiction symptoms, a small-scale qualitative study of five self-identified problematic Facebook users, and a large-scale mixed methods study of 417 general Facebook users. Thematic analysis of the qualitative responses supported all of the core symptoms of internet addiction. In terms of additional potential indicators, it seems that boredom, disconnection, and fear of missing out may be relevant to Facebook addiction. Further statistical analyses were conducted to determine whether Facebook addiction takes different forms, and to identify predictors. Cluster analysis resulted in the identification of three types of potential Facebook addicts: those heavily engaged in social activities and browsing, those who are shallowly engaged in social activities but heavily engaged in browsing, and those who are shallowly engaged both in social activities and browsing, but moderately engaged in gaming. Regression modelling was used to identify the following predictors of Facebook addiction: age, sex, level of Facebook use, and level of concern about Facebook use. This model successfully classified 86% of potential Facebook addicts. Through consideration of the results of this thesis, it was theorised that there may be four potential pathways to Facebook addiction: online social enhancement, social monitoring, procrastination, and entertainment. It was concluded that this thesis provides a first step towards understanding Facebook addiction, but that more extensive exploratory and confirmatory research is needed to obtain construct validity