Social media addiction and depression among adolescents in two Malaysian states

Figures & data

Table 1. Respondents’ demographic profile.

Social media use pattern	Frequency	%
Gender
Male	126	33.0
Female	258	67.0
Age
13–15	88	23.0
16–18	115	30.0
19–21	181	47.0
Race
Malays	184	48.0
Chinese	77	20.0
Indian	88	23.0
Others	35	9.0
Class
Form 1–2	58	15.0
Form 3–4	88	23.0
Form 5–6	238	64.0

Table 2. Social media use pattern among 384 adolescents from Johor and Sarawak.

Social media use pattern	Frequency	%
Social media accounts
WhatsApp	370	96.4
Instagram	365	95.0
Facebook	280	73.0
Twitter	207	54.0
Others	58	15.0
Time spent on social media
1–3 hrs	48	12.4
4–6 hrs	120	31.4
More than 7 hours	212	55.2
None	4	1.0
Frequency of checking social media accounts daily
3–5 times	35	9.0
6–10 times	58	15.0
11–20 times	108	28.0
Always	178	46.7
Not at all	5	1.3
Types of Internet subscription
Postpaid	145	38.0
Prepaid	171	45.0
Both	68	18.0
Amount spent on internet subscription monthly (Measured in Ringgit Malaysia; RM)
0–50 RM	258	67.0
21–100 RM	100	26.0
101–150 RM	19	5.0
151–200 RM	5	1.3
Above 200 RM	2	0.5
Sources of access to social media
Laptop	245	64.0
Smartphone	380	99.7
Personal computer	92	24.0
Tablet	107	38.0

Note: 1 United States Dollars = 4.68 Ringgit Malaysia (RM).

Table 3. Responses to items assessing adolescents’ addiction to social media (n = 384).

Items	SD	D	N	A	SA
I communicate with my friends using social media	5 (1.3)	1 (0.3)	42 (10.9)	123 (32.0)	213 (55.5)
I search my friends’ profiles on social media	7 (1.8)	19 (4.9)	53 (13.8)	146 (38.0)	159 (41.4)
I enjoy visiting social media	5 (1.3)	9 (2.3)	40 (10.4)	139 (36.2)	159 (41.4)
I would like to visit social media early in the morning	17 (4.4)	37 (9.6)	74 (19.3)	131 (34.1)	125 (32.6)
I wonder whether my friends will read my posts on social media	11 (2.9)	36 (9.4)	67 (17.4)	134 (34.9)	136 (35.4)
Social media helps me to strengthen relationships with my friends	6 (1.6)	16 (4.2)	54 (14.1)	160 (41.7)	148 (38.5)
I feel disconnected from friends when I have not logged into social media	25 (6.5)	33 (8.6)	57 (14.8)	122 (31.8)	147 (38.3)
I prefer social media more to television	22 (5.7)	35 (9.1)	56 (14.6)	131 (34.6)	157 (40.9)
I feel disconnected from my friends wherever I cannot log to social media	8 (2.1)	14 (3.6)	61 (15.9)	163 (42.4)	138 (35.9)
Life without social media is boring	16 (4.2)	23 (6.0)	52 (13.5)	125 (32.6)	168 (43.8)
I build new relationships via social media	13 (3.4)	21 (5.5)	72 (18.8)	144 (37.5)	134 (34.9)
I believe social media has changed people	4 (1.0)	10 (2.6)	44 (11.5)	157 (40.9)	169 (44.0)
I respond to content that other people share on social media	11 (2.9)	35 (9.1)	87 (22.7)	137 (35.7)	114 (29.7)

Note: SA = strongly agree, A = agree, N = neutral, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree.

Table 4. Responses to items assessing adolescents’ depression (n = 384).

Items	SD	D	N	A	SA
I felt that I had lost interest in just about everything	40 (10.4)	72 (18.8)	114 (29.7)	110 (28.6)	48 (12.5)
I felt I was not worth much as a person	51 (13.3)	70 (18.2)	85 (22.1)	122 (31.8)	56 (14.6)
I could not seem to get any enjoyment out of the things I did	47 (12.2)	76 (19.8)	100 (26.0)	113 (29.4)	48 (12.5)
I felt down-hearted and discouraged	42 (10.9)	83 (21.6)	82 (21.4)	122 (31.8)	55 (14.3)
I was unable to become enthusiastic about anything	46 (12.0)	73 (19.0)	98 (25.5)	123 (32.0)	44 (11.5)
I could see nothing in the future to be hopeful about	59 (15.4)	85 (22.1)	89 (23.2)	104 (27.1)	47 (12.2)
I felt life was meaningless	66 (17.2)	73 (19.0)	96 (25.0)	110 (28.6)	39 (10.2)
I felt sad and depressed	48 (12.5)	69 (18.0)	104 (27.1)	123 (32.0)	40 (10.4)
I found it difficult to work up the initiative to do things	42 (10.9)	68 (17.7)	89 (23.2)	127 (33.1)	58 (15.1)

Note: SA = strongly agree, A = agree, N = neutral, D = disagree, SD = strongly disagree.

Table 5. Level of social media addiction and depression (N = 384).

Variables	Frequency	Percent	Mean	SD
Social Media Addiction			2.703	0.506
Low (1–2.33)	9	2.3
Moderate (2.34–3.66)	96	25.0
High (3.67–5)	279	72.7
Depression			2.112	0.808
Low (1–2.33)	106	27.6
Moderate (2.34–3.66)	129	33.6
High (3.67–5)	149	38.8

Table 6. Pearson correlation between social media addiction and depression.

		Depression	Social Media Addiction
Depression	Pearson Correlation	1	0.206**
	P-value		<0.001
Social Media Addiction	Pearson Correlation	0.206**	1
	P-value	<0.001

Table 7. Relationship between adolescents’ demographic profile and social media addiction and depression.

	Social media addiction		Depression
Variables	Mean ± SD	P-value	Mean ± SD	P-value
Gender
Male	3.92 ± 0.81^a	0.03	3.08 ± 1.03	0.81
Female	4.09 ± 0.67^b		3.11 ± 1.13
Age (years)
13–15	4.04 ± 0.97	0.39	2.79 ± 1.06^a	0.005
16–18	3.96 ± 0.61		3.11 ± 1.03^b
19–21	4.08 ± 0.64		3.26 ± 1.13^b
Race
Malay	3.97 ± 0.66^a	0.001	3.17 ± 1.09^ab	0.07
Chinese	4.41 ± 0.48^b		3.34 ± 0.99^abc
India	3.76 ± 0.93^a		2.78 ± 1.18^ab
Others	4.26 ± 0.49^b		3.07 ± 1.07^a
Class
Form 1–2	4.04 ± 0.96	0.13	2.78 ± 1.05^b	0.04
Form 3–4	3.92± 0.63		3.16 ± 1.01^a
Form 5–6	4.10 ± 0.63		3.24 ± 1.10^a
Time spent on social media
1–3 hours	3.23 ± 0.97^a	0.0001	2.36 ± 0.96^b	0.001
4–6 hours	3.91 ± 0.57^b		3.01 ± 1.05^a
More than 6 hours	4.30 ± 0.55^c		3.34 ± 1.08^a
Amount spent on internet subscription monthly
0–50 RM	4.01 ± 0.76	0.220	3.09 ± 1.09	0.83
51–100 RM	4.14 ± 0.60		3.16 ± 1.12
101–10 RM	3.89 ± 0.73		3.15 ± 1.02
	Correlation coefficient	P-value	Correlation coefficient	P-value
Number of platforms	0.294	0.001	0.144	0.005

Note: values are presented as mean ± standard deviation and values with different superscript letters are statistically significant at a p-value of 0.05.