The Effect of Social Media Addiction on the Personality of University Students

The present study examined the effect of social media addiction on the personality traits of university students. Students' daily lives now revolve around social media, which has a big impact on social interactions, academic behavior, and personality development. The primary objectives of this research were to examine the influence of Facebook and Instagram on the personality of university students and to investigate the association between social media addiction and personality traits. This study applied a quantitative survey research design. The sample size was 200 university students, and it was chosen by a simple random sampling method. Data were collected using the Social Media Addiction Scale Student Form (SMAS-SF) to assess levels of social media addiction and the Big Five Inventory 10 (BFI-10) to measure personality characteristics. Regression analysis and independent samples t-tests were used to perform statistical analyses. The findings revealed that social media addiction significantly influenced the personality traits of openness, agreeableness, neuroticism, and extraversion. Male students showed higher levels of social media addiction than female students, and there were also notable gender differences in personality traits. These results underscore the significant impact of social media use on university students' personality development and stress the significance of comprehending its psychological ramifications.