FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES,

COLLEGE COMPUTING, INFORMATICS AND MEDIA,

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA (UiTM),
NEGERI SEMBILAN BRANCH,
REMBAU CAMPUS

DIPLOMA IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA

COM 323 - ACADEMIC WRITING

ASSIGNMENT TITLE:
CONCEPTUAL PAPER: THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND THE
CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL MEDIA AD DICTION ON SOCIETY’S MENTAL HEALTH

PREPARED BY:

NAME STUDENT ID

NURUL BATRISYA BINTI ZAILANI 2020871016

SARAH BATRISYIA BINTI ZULKARNAIN 2020613648

TASNEEM MAISARAH BINTI AZRUL HISHAM 2020490554

AHMAD FAHKHRI BIN AHMAD FATHIR 2020847968

NURKHAIRULAIMAN NAJMI B. MD KAREEN 2020863968

CLASS:
N5MC1105B

PREPARED FOR:
DR DZAA IMMA ABDUL LATIFF
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 2

INTRODUCTION 3

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 4

PROBLEM STATEMENT 5

LITERATURE REVIEW 6
Factors Contributing to Social Media Addiction 6
The Consequences Of Social Media Addiction to Society’s Mental Health 8
General Discussion 9
Social Comparison Theory 11

CONCLUSION 12

REFERENCES 14

1
 THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND THE
CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION ON SOCIETY’S MENTAL HEALTH

Authors: Nurul Batrisya Binti Zailani, Tasneem Maisarah Binti Azrul Hisham, Sarah Batrisyia
Binti Zulkarnain, Ahmad Fahkhri Bin Ahmad Fathir, Nurkhairulaiman Najmi Bin Md Kareen

Affiliation: Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Negeri Sembilan Branch, Rembau Campus

ABSTRACT

Social media is an effective instrument for communication that has transformed how
people communicate with one another. It expedites how individuals communicate and share
ideas, thoughts, and information across virtual networks. Social media does, however, have
drawbacks. According to some data, using it excessively can have a variety of harmful effects
on mental health. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to look into the factors that could
contribute to social media addiction, consider how it impacts societal mental health, and
discover better solutions to this issue in order to address it for future generations. In this study,
we analyze the social media addiction risk factors and the effects of social media addiction on
society's mental health. Due to that, Social Comparison Theory will be used to establish a link
between the subject of our research and the three goals we have set.

Keywords: Social media, Addiction, Mental health, Society, Depression, Loneliness, Social
Comparison Theory.

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INTRODUCTION

We live in the 21st century where most people in this modern world would rely heavily on
social networking websites or known as social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook,
Youtube, Snapchat, the famous one Tiktok and many more. Despite the advantages, it is crucial
to keep in mind that social media could not ever fully replace face-to-face interaction. The
hormones that relieve stress and enable you to feel happy, healthy, and more positive must be
released when you interact physically with other people (Social Media and Mental Health,
2022). It is ironic that a tool meant to bring people together may really cause you to feel more
alone and diagnosed with mental health issues if you spend too much time on social media.
According to (Nuramanina et al., 2018), the vast majority of respondents who responded to the
survey questionnaire in order to learn more about the connections between social media use
and depression—76.7% of all respondents—were victims of online bullying. These findings
supported the idea that cyberbullying on social media might contribute to depression. Besides,
considering that Malaysia has the sixth-highest rate of social media adoption in the Asia Pacific
region at 53%, it is possible that using social media too much might lead to mental health
issues, especially depression.

Addiction is often defined as a person's incapacity and struggle to avoid using a

substance or to give up a habit they typically have, despite the fact that doing so may harm
them physically or emotionally according to (Peckham & Legg, 2021). Some addictions may
entail a persistent difficulty to give up behaviors like eating, gambling, working or utilizing and
exploring social media. Being hooked to anything indicates that the substance or bad habit has
been ingrained in one's self, therefore quitting an addiction takes a lot of work and self-control.
Apart from that, (Legg, 2018) also emphasizes how, over time, addiction may substantially
obstruct one's everyday life because addicts constantly relapse and repeat the same cycle. If
they choose not to ask for assistance, it will eventually have greater and maybe irreversible
repercussions, including health complications. However, in the present day, we have discovered
that most addictions, like a social media addiction, are caused by a person's inability to quit
doing something.

An excessive use of technological advancements, including social media, may well have
negative effects on people, especially children, according to a research by (Griffiths, 2013). Not
only that, he also pointed out that those who are addicted to social media may have the same
symptoms as those who are addicted to drugs. As stated by (Hilliard, 2019), social media

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addiction is essentially defined as having an overpowering desire to continually check social
media and spending an excessive amount of time doing so. Due to that, it feels like a need for
someone who is hooked to social media, it may be tough for them to quit checking it every 30 to
60 minutes. The fact that there has not been much research on this subject does not change the
fact that this addiction is viewed as a behavioral addiction.

Speaking about addiction, those who struggle with it must deal with its bad effects.
Social media addiction is not excluded because it might have detrimental effects on a person's
health both physically and mentally. However, considering that they have the ability to become a
silent killer in today's culture, the impacts on someone's mental health are more concerning. Too
much time spent on social media increases the risk of poor self-esteem and insecurities, both of
which contribute to dissatisfaction. This is due to the majority of social media users frequently
comparing themselves to everyone else online, which surely leads to self-doubt. According to
(Hilliard, 2019), by continuously comparing oneself to others, particularly on social media, may
cause mental health issues that may eventually lead to harsher behaviours such as suicide.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this research paper is to find out all the questions in the current topic.

1. To investigate the elements that might be responsible for social media addiction.
2. To look into how addiction to social media affects mental health in society.
3. Find better solutions to solve this problem for future generations.

In today's generation, social media is one of the important platforms that have been used
by people all over the country. According to research, people become more addicted to social
media because it will give them a good impact on society such as can relieve their stress and
also relax their mind. However, social media addiction is also dangerous to society’s mental
health. This is because people can become afraid to face reality and become stressed when
they do not use social media for a while.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

Despite having a long-distance relationship with others, we use social media as a

platform to contact them whenever and wherever we are in our everyday lives. Social media is
widely utilized in society, as we already know, and this is how people from different parts of the
world are introduced to one another. Social media usage is growing daily because of the
advancement of modern technology. But the problem of Internet addiction in society, particularly
in Malaysia, cannot be underestimated because addiction can rule people's life, sabotage social
interactions, impair thinking, impede learning, and affect the stability of their emotions (Nazir et
al., 2020). From this problem, we can see that most of the people that are addicted towards
social media will experience negative impacts towards their mental health. This is because
when society becomes too addicted towards social media, they will be scared and awkward to
meet people as well as feel anxious when they do not use any kind of social media for a while.
From that, their self-esteem will decrease as they feel awkward to initiate human interactions in
real life. According to research, social networking sites can cause psychological and physical
health issues among users, including smartphone addiction, problematic social media use, and
social media fatigue (Aina & Fariza, 2019). Excessive use of cellphones and its dynamic
applications, including social networking platforms, might interfere with work, school, or social
contacts and even reduce sleep quality. People will also become less energetic and become
very lazy when they are too addicted to social media.

As we know, social media is the platform to stay connected to the people even though
they live in another country but when people become too addicted to social media and don't
want to increase their self-esteem to meet up with their online friends, it will become worse. This
is because when people don't have self-esteem, especially teenagers, it will become very
difficult when they want to continue their further study or working. They will become awkward
with the people and also the situation because of the social media addiction behavior. On the
other hand, people who are thought to be addicted to the internet will have symptoms of
depression, low self-esteem, disinhibition, anxiety, and aggression are frequently observed.
While some study on internet addiction has revealed negative impacts resembling
impulse-control problems, other studies characterize this tendency differently (Information
Technology & People, n.d.). Besides, when people become too addicted to social media and do
not care about their friends, they do not hangout with their mates. They will become lonely and
feel depressed because of loneliness. For this population, loneliness and depression are
especially problematic since they impair thinking. If people can't think clearly, a number of bad

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things will happen. Both of these problems are serious ones that they must deal with because
individuals use social media more than ever these days.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Factors Contributing to Social Media Addiction

As we are all aware, social media has ingrained itself into our everyday lives as a result
of living in the digital age. We cannot, however, ignore the reality that it not only helps us, but
also has certain downsides along the road. As a matter of fact, Hilliard (2019) has argued that
social media can be more addictive than both alcohol and drugs. This is due to the fact that
social media users do not need a huge amount of money to have access to the Internet. It is
basically simple and most importantly, free of charge. Nevertheless, most people still think social
media addiction is something that can be taken lightly as they do not really ‘see’ the effects on
the addicts. The effects are not as visible as the ones that are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Sure, we can choose to believe that social media is just a platform for people to have fun or we
could say a temporary escape from reality. In addition, Isaacson (2011) stated his experience
interviewing Steve Jobs for his book and he found out that even Steve Jobs does not allow his
children to play with gadgets during dinner or before they sleep. This proves that even the
‘father’ of iPhone, iPad and iPod refused to give their kids the ‘pleasure’ of scrolling social
media.

Now, let us take a look at the causes of why some people are addicted to social media.
Essentially, one of the reasons how and why a person can be addicted to social media is
because of their technological lifestyle factors. According to Padilla-Walker et al. (2018) and
Nelissen and Van den Bulck (2018), parents' awareness of technology and the Internet can
impact the selection of mediation tactics, which may support or discourage their children's
Internet usage (2018). In general, parents employ cautious mediation tactics to limit their
children's access to internet information, as well as the amount and type of media they consume
such as smartphones, tablets and cell phones (Shin, 2015). Meanwhile, according to Hawi and
Rupert (2015), young users whose parents utilize digital displays as a form of discipline are
more likely to stay online longer than those whose parents do not. As an example, some
parents often use gadgets as a reward for their children when they achieve something which
may lead to the kids only doing well in something just so they will get the chance to play with
their gadgets and scroll their social media. This is clearly unhealthy as Shin (2015) also

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described how parents' lack of technical knowledge of the Internet might limit their ability to
manage their children's Internet use hence makes their children feel addicted to it.

Besides that, the reason why some people are addicted to social media is actually
because of the fear of missing out or commonly known as FOMO. According to Przybylski et
al. (2013), individuals with high levels of FOMO are more likely to seek out new social
connections, which will encourage them to enhance their online personas by revealing more
details about their private lives on social media. This behavior is called self-disclosure where
one shares regarding themselves and on social media, this can be defined as sharing profile
picture, updating status or stories and also talking about one’s experience publicly. Youngsters
nowadays may have relied on self-disclosure activities in order to strengthen their socialization
within social media communities. As a matter of fact, Talwar et al (2019) found a positive
correlation between FOMO and the urge to self-disclose. Most people with high levels of FOMO
tend to share more on social media as they feel like it is one of the ways to stay updated.
Hence, they feel the need to keep on updating their personal life on social media so that they
will not miss out on current trends.

Furthermore, another factor why people are addicted to social media is the pleasure,
satisfaction and validation offered by it. This refers to the short pursuit of happiness social
media users get while using it. As an analogy, just like stated by Moody (2004), the views, likes,
comments and shares one receives when they post something on their social media might give
them the pleasure and validation they are looking for. When they keep getting those ‘positive’
things on social media, this will indirectly influence them to always be on social media. The main
reason which at first is to just feel the joy of sharing on social media has now changed to the
urge to gather likes and comments as if they are obligated to do so in order to maintain their
social profile. In addition, maintaining social ties and interactions with like-minded peers who
have a shared interest and hobbies is made easier by social media platforms like Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat, among others (Katz & Aspden, 1997; Kuo et al.,
2013). Not just that, Moody (2004) stated that social media communication aids in fulfilling a
person's need for connections and social interaction. Most youngsters nowadays often use this
interaction as an escape to avoid feeling lonely especially if they have no one to talk to in real
life. This is why a lot of teenagers in this generation have Internet friends as they find those
friends to be way more comforting rather than the ones they have in real life.

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The Consequences Of Social Media Addiction to Society’s Mental Health

The reality of social media brings numerous benefits and advantages to society,
however, it may also lead to addiction, which has ramifications for the mental health of society.
Our society depends too much on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter
and others to connect and build relationships in order to stay connected with others. While this
may be a fun and beneficial experience, digital connections cannot replace in-person
interactions. Therefore, using social media excessively, despite its name, might actually cause
loneliness and isolation. One of the leading causes of social media addiction is one's social
factors. There are various positive outcomes related to the use of social media by young
users. As an alibi, O'Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson (2011) discussed how Facebook may allow
high school students to gather outside of school hours to discuss educational activities.

This time period is also associated with the epidemic of social media addiction among
college-aged students. The research found that young people's behavior on social media is
generally reflective of their life in the real world, as children and teens traverse the streams
of their social networks, creating new ties, strengthening old ones, and sometimes diminishing
or terminating them (Grau et al., 8, ). Therefore, social media is seen to have both beneficial
and harmful impacts on people, depending on their intentions. Previous research has
examined how persons with low relationship satisfaction, a lack of social skills, or moral
support may resort to social media to meet their social needs and fulfillment (Atroszko et al.,
2018; Pittman and Reich, 2016). Young people will face unpleasant behavior, whether directed
at them or at someone or something else, whether online or in the real world. It is true that
social media can and can have a good impact on people, whether for employment, developing
relationships, or just having fun.

As previously said, social media addiction may have a negative influence on a

person's health, especially with regard to our consequential issue of mental health. Being
hooked to social media can cause you to experience unwarranted fear, such as dread of being
assessed, fear of missing out, worry of not being enough, fear of not being able to match
people's expectations, and others. Hence, the consistent and overuse of these social
platforms may also have a detrimental influence, especially on society's mental health and
well-being.

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 We examined and analyzed the journal's results, as well as the amount of advantages
and benefits of social media to society. However, all of the factors discovered agreed that
social media addiction will have a detrimental mental health impact on society. Everyone is
different, and there is no set amount of time spent on social media, frequency with which you
check for updates, or number of posts you make that suggests your usage is problematic. For
example, the number of respondents who have a social media account and the reason for
having a social media account to interact with others (Grau et al., 8,). Based on the past
research made, Ashford (2017) suggests one’s mental health is usually affected when
comparing their life to the material of other users, some people acquire cognitive biases,
which can lead to emotions of melancholy and anxiety. As a response, social media has a
greater rate of harming vulnerable groups, such as those with mental health diagnoses, and
has the potential to exacerbate mental health symptoms (Koehler, Parrell, 2020).

According to the consumption continuum concept, this data supports the narratives of
some respondents who are in the "near addiction" or "social media addiction" phases. As the
addiction to social media has a harmful impact on interpersonal connections. When compared
to introverts, persons who are hooked to social networking sites are more likely to suffer from
depression. The biggest effect of social media addiction was the inability to interact with
individuals in real life. People who suffer from this type of worry may develop an anxiety
disorder as a result of their persistent concern over small things. Furthermore, due to the
immense pressure to live up to impossible ideals, this condition can lead to a social media
addict engaging in self-destructive conduct, according to Bergman (2022). However, As per
Ashford (2017), those who use social media may endure emotions of social isolation,
melancholy, nervousness, jealousy, and low self-esteem. As a response, social media has a
greater rate of harming vulnerable groups, such as those with mental health diagnoses, and
has the potential to exacerbate mental health symptoms (Koehler, Parrell, 2020).

General Discussion

Following the modernization trend that is growing more sophisticated and advanced
day by day, it is widely accepted that the usage of social media and today's society are
inexorably intertwined. In general, social media is a site that serves as an online forum or area
for individuals all over the world to connect, associate, and create networking. However, just
like anything else in this world, using social media has its own set of benefits and drawbacks
for individuals, particularly in terms of mental health. Addiction to social media has resulted in

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the development of potentially harmful habits that can have a significant influence on one's
quality of life and well-being. Many circumstances might contribute to an extreme desire to use
social media, which can be avoided in most situations.

Just like mentioned previously, social media is seen to have both beneficial and harmful
impacts on people, depending on their intentions. Previous research has examined how
persons with low relationship satisfaction, a lack of social skills, or moral support may resort to
social media to meet their social needs and fulfillment (Atroszko et al., 2018; Pittman and Reich,
2016). This research also demonstrates that the usage of image-based sites by young users
can help to reduce loneliness while enhancing happiness and life satisfaction. This is because
image-based social media sites, which are mostly used by young people, allow for more
intimate interactions between individuals (Pittman and Reich, 2016). As an example, Snapchat's
"self-destruct" and filter capabilities, as well as Instagram's short video clips and photo
alterations, are said to provide users with greater control and trust in what they post. In
exchange, rapid feedback and validation from other members of the social group can give the
comfort and support required to boost contentment, satisfaction, and feelings of self-esteem
among users, who are usually young adults and teens (Choi and Sung, 2018).

However, in our opinion, being alone for a long time might be self-destructive for some
people. This can be supported by a past research by Koehler and Parrell which the viewpoint
differs from Pittman and Reich’s study, who believe that another important aspect influencing
the relationship between social media use and emotional well-being is social care. According to
research issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, social media enables juvenile persons
to strengthen relationships with current companions and to form new affiliations on the web,
which decreases social separation and aloneness and therefore advances psychological
well-being. According to studies, people with poor social consideration would surely experience
the negative consequences of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and mental
anguish in comparison to those with high social consideration from family, friends, and
neighbors. An examination revealed an adverse relationship between consistent online contact
via social media and both sadness and anxiety. In any scenario, as some experts argue,
nature's social support may be more important than quantity (Prasetyo, Tejero, Paras, Garcia,
2021).

Despite the fact that numerous studies have been conducted on this topic, it is critical
that we continue to speak and expose this issue to our community today regarding mental

10
health and social media addiction. It is also critical to recognise that issues caused by social
media may be mitigated if we are aware of all of the elements that contribute to them. As a
result, it is critical that we examine the detrimental influence that this addicting social media may
have on a person's mental health, particularly among Malaysians. In brief, most study on this
issue seeks to understand the origins of social media addiction as well as the consequences for
users. According to the scientific research I have read, while social media can be marginally
addictive for everyone, it can also be severely addictive for others. Aside from that, we must
keep in mind that various people utilize social media for different reasons. For example, for
scholarly purposes or to supplement one's salary, among other things. More research on this
issue is needed so that we understand what we are coping with and can devise appropriate
solutions to the situation.

Social Comparison Theory

In all possibilities, Social Comparison Theory is one of the theories that may be
generally linked to the reasons leading to social media addiction and the implications on
society's mental health. Social comparison theory (SCT) is a theory that describes the causes
and processes behind the assumption that individuals assess their own ideas, values,
accomplishments, and talents by comparing them to the opinions, values, accomplishments,
and abilities of others. 2014 (Powdthavee).

According to Social Comparison Theory, comparison may be either upward or

downward. Upward comparison happens when individuals compare themselves to someone
they think to be superior (L., 1991, ), while downward comparison occurs when people compare
themselves to someone thought to be inferior (Wheeler, 1966). (Wills, 1981). According to
Buunk and Gibbons (2006), upward social comparisons naturally tend to elicit more negative
sentiments. "To be human is to have inferiority sentiments," Alfred Adler observed (Ansbacher
and Ansbacher, 1964), and in the era of social media, this is potentially heightened and
magnified. In the actual world, social comparison mainly includes the self and a few others, but
the digital realm of social media offers almost endless opportunities for individuals to compare
themselves to others. Pre-social media research According to a 2018 nationally representative
Pew Research Center poll, 95% of kids questioned have access to a smartphone, and 45%
claim they are continuously online. While social connection provides numerous benefits, the
more connections one has, the more possibilities for social comparison.

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 The Social Comparison Theory claims that social media sites like Facebook and
Instagram might make users feel worse. This is owing to the fact that social media comparison
can persuade people by filling in the gaps and cause benign envy, which is a pleasant reaction
to others. The results show a favorable association between social comparison and inspiration
on Instagram, and benign envy serves as the only mediator of this relationship. When under the
effect of benign envy, people are inspired to emulate their superior targets. Therefore, the
majority of studies on social comparison and social media are focusing on platforms such as
Instagram and TikTok where society uses it daily. For instance, social comparison can be found
through a random Instagram posting by a negative comment that may impact the user’s mental
health. Furthermore, most people are preoccupied with making negative or positive social
comparisons on social media. For these reasons, it is critical to comprehend the role of social
comparison in social media activities, as well as the effects of this role on individuals'
psychological needs that correlates to the factors and consequences of social media addiction
to the society’s mental health.

CONCLUSION

In a nutshell, social media is a novel idea that has become increasingly popular,
particularly in this century. Those factors that contribute to social media addiction such as
technological lifestyles factors that leads to the only reason why children perform well in
anything is so they may use technology and browse social media, fear of missing out or
commonly known as FOMO that makes youngsters tend to share more on social media as they
feel like it is one of the ways to stay update and lastly, pleasure, satisfaction and validation
offered by it that makes one’s may get the joy and validation they seek in the views, likes,
comments, and shares they receive after posting anything on social media are all happened in
real life that we need to take serious actions on it. If we, as the society, still think that it is a small
matter, there is definitely something wrong with us because these factors that they show are
actually a cry for help that they themselves did not recognize.

Apart from taking note of the factors that contribute to social media addiction, we should
also be aware about the factors that contribute to social media addiction so that we can easily
help those people in need. Just like we mentioned above, an excessive usage of social media
may actually lead to loneliness and isolation and adverse effects on society's mental health like
depression and anxiety. Therefore, society should reduce their time in using social media and
not rely on social media to keep connected with others. Spending more time on human

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interactions will be a more fun and enjoyable experience that helps us learn new things and
enhance our mental health by enjoying in-person interaction. Despite the number of drawbacks
of social media affecting someone’s mental health, moderate use of social media will be
balanced and beneficial for the society to keep communicating with everyone.

While many individuals may use social media sites like Instagram, Twitter and TikTok on
a regular basis without any issues, those who have a social media addiction are obsessed by
their urge to utilize and participate on social media. It is a good thing that the illness is extremely
curable because many people have healed. The best strategy to deal with social media
addiction is to cut back on screen time, however if the addiction becomes too bad, they could
need professional assistance for further help. Besides, you can also try to consider why you use
social media and think about the benefits and drawbacks of the time spent on numerous
platforms thus far if you have trouble restricting your use and suspect you may be hooked. The
excellent thing is that you are not alone in wanting to reduce your addicting social media use.
We are all in this together, and it is more than possible to have positive relationships with our
online and social selves. Additionally, if the results of this study are utilised to advance
knowledge and expand the approaches now in use in this field, it may be possible to lessen
depression and avert the danger of suicide among Malaysians.

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