Social Media Addiction Among Female Undergraduates: Examining the Roles of Self-Esteem and Age

Young adults especially females have become obsessed with social media leading to a form of social media addiction. Studies have used different predictors to investigate social media addiction with varied results. This study examines the influence of self-esteem and age on social media addiction among female undergraduates in Abuja, Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey design was adopted while purposive sampling technique was utilized to select two private universities. Data were conveniently collected from 197 female undergraduates using validated scales and analysed using independent sample t-test to test two hypotheses which were accepted at p <.05 level of significance. The results indicate that self-esteem significantly influenced social media addiction [t(194) = 2.21, p <.05] such that undergraduates who reported high level of self-esteem reported higher level of social media addiction (M = 84.33, SD = 24.86) compared to undergraduates who reported low self-esteem (M = 79.24, SD = 13.97). However, age did not statistically influence social media addiction among study participants t (194) = .02, p > .05. The novelty of this study is that it is the first time self-esteem and age on social media addiction is investigated among the study population. The study recommends that parents, mental health professionals and other stakeholders should create awareness on the adverse effects of social media addiction on the overall psychological well-being among the study population and beyond.