Social Media Addiction among Vietnam Youths: Patterns and Correlated Factors

Linh Phuong Doan (), Linh Khanh Le, Tham Thi Nguyen, Thao Thi Phuong Nguyen, Minh Ngoc Vu Le, Giang Thu Vu, Carl A. Latkin, Cyrus S. H. Ho, Roger C. M. Ho and Melvyn W. B. Zhang
Additional contact information
Linh Phuong Doan: Faculty of Medicine, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Linh Khanh Le: Department of Economics, Troy University, Troy, AL 36082, USA
Tham Thi Nguyen: Faculty of Medicine, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Thao Thi Phuong Nguyen: Faculty of Medicine, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Minh Ngoc Vu Le: Institute of Health Economics and Technology, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Giang Thu Vu: Center of Excellence in Evidence-Based Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Carl A. Latkin: Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Cyrus S. H. Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
Roger C. M. Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
Melvyn W. B. Zhang: Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore 639815, Singapore

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: Background: Prior research has investigated how the excessive use of social media has an impact on one’s functioning. Youths are among the most vulnerable subjects to the impacts of social media overuse, especially in Vietnam (a developing country). However, very little evidence has been provided on social media addiction. This work aims to determine the prevalence of social media addiction amongst Vietnamese individuals and the factors associated with social media addiction. Method: An online cross-sectional study was conducted from June to July 2020 in Vietnam. Participants completed the structured questionnaire, which comprised four main components: (1) social characteristics; (2) The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale; (3) stress associated with neglect and negative reactions by online peers and fear of missing out (FOMO); and (4) status of social media platform usage. Results: Some demographic factors, such as gender, the locality of accommodation, and relationship status affected the overall scores. The results also indicated Facebook, Zalo, and Youtube to be the most popular social media platforms among Vietnamese youths. Individuals who used social media for gaming also had higher BSMAS scores. FOMO and stress associated with neglect by online peers had a high correlation with social media addiction. Conclusions: This study is one of the first studies to examine social media addiction and its associated factors in Vietnam. Interventions for social media addiction need to be developed in different fields: clinical research, policy, and education.

Keywords: social media addiction; internet disorder; behavioral addiction; Internet; epidemiology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14416/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14416/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14416-:d:962434

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().