Dysfunction of Self-Regulation and Self-Control in Facebook Addiction

Abstract

Nowadays, Facebook has become one of the most popular communication tools. With its increasing popularity, a new phenomenon connected with extensive use has appeared: namely, Facebook intrusion. The answer to the question of who is prone to become addicted still remains open. This study aimed to explore whether insufficient selfcontrol and self-regulation resources in Facebook users are related to Facebook addiction. The participants in the study were 284 people. The Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire, the Brief Self-Control Scale, the Self-Regulation Scale, Action Control Scale, and the Multitasking Scale were used. We found that dysfunctional self-control system can be related to Facebook addiction. An insufficient self-control and low level of failure-related action orientation are those psychological characteristics that put Facebook users ''at-risk'' of Facebook addiction. The study reveals a picture showing that those Facebook users who are able to resist an impulse or temptation, are more self-disciplined, and do not focus on negative emotions are less likely to develop Facebook addiction. The obtained findings may serve as a basis for prevention programs for people at risk of Facebook addiction.

Predicting SNS addiction with the Big Five and the Dark Triad

“…Each of the Dark Triad traits significantly correlated with problematic use of SNS, with psychopathy formed the weakest relationship (Kircaburun, Demetrovics, & Tosuntas, 2018;Kircaburun et al, 2018b). However, psychopathy has been consistently linked to poor self-control and impulsivity (Jonason & Tost, 2010;Jones & Paulhus, 2011a) that are central to the development of SNS addiction (Błachnio & Przepiorka, 2016b). Reflecting from this, the present research anticipates the significance of psychopathy in predicting SNS addiction.…”

“…Hence, they tend to exploit these features, which could be a possible cause to their frequent (Fox & Rooney, 2015) and intense use of SNS (Pabian et al, 2015). It was indicated that frequent use of SNS may escalate into addiction (Hong, Huang, Lin, & Chiu, 2014) when users are unable to restraint the use of SNS (Błachnio & Przepiorka, 2016b). Recent findings support the link of the Dark Triad and problematic use of SNS (Kircaburun, Demetrovics, & Tosuntaş, 2018;Kircaburun et al, 2018b), suggesting that the escalation of prolonged (Fox & Rooney, 2015) and intense use of SNS (Pabian et al, 2015) into SNS addiction is possible through poor self-control and high degree of impulsivity that are evident amongst those with salient features of the Dark Triad (Crysel et al, 2013;Jonason & Tost, 2010;Jones & Paulhus, 2011a;Malesza & Ostaszewski, 2016).…”

Prevention of Internet addiction: A systematic review

“…The risk factors (or characteristics) found in the literature relate to: (a)  psychopathological factors : ADHD, depressive and anxiety disorders, and social phobia (e.g., Alavi et al., 2012; Ang et al., 2012; Ko, Yen, Chen, Yeh, & Yen, 2009; Lin et al., 2011; Oh, 2003; Yen et al., 2008), substance use (Ko, Yen, Yen, Chen, & Chen, 2012), or obsessive compulsive symptoms (Jang, Hwang, & Choi, 2008); (b)  personality characteristics : hyperactivity and impulsivity (Wu et al., 2013), high novelty seeking and low reward dependence (Dalbudak et al., 2015; Ko et al., 2006), introversion, low conscientiousness and agreeableness and high neuroticism/low emotional stability (Kuss, Shorter, van Rooij, van de Mheen, & Griffiths, 2014; Kuss, van Rooij, Shorter, Griffiths, & van de Mheen, 2013), hostility (e.g., Alavi et al., 2012; Ang et al., 2012; Ko et al., 2009; Lin et al., 2011; Oh, 2003; Yen et al., 2008), or a low level of self-control and self-regulation (Blachnio & Przepiorka, 2015); (c)  physiological characteristics : stronger blood volume pulse and respiratory response and a weaker peripheral temperature (Lu, Wang, & Huang, 2010); (d)  patterns of Internet use : a large number of hours spent online (Kuss et al., 2013), engagement in different video games (Donati, Chiesi, Ammannato, & Primi, 2015), or excessive weekend Internet use (Xu, Shen, et al., 2012); (e)  sociodemographic factors such as gender (Ha & Hwang, 2014; Shek & Yu, 2016) or family economic disadvantage (Shek & Yu, 2016); and (f) the current situation : loneliness and stress (Alavi et al., 2012; Ang et al., 2012; Ko et al., 2009; Lin et al., 2011; Oh, 2003; Yen et al., 2008) or affiliation with peers who have lower levels of social acceptance or young people situated in a class with higher levels of Internet addiction (Zhou & Fang, 2015). …”

Problematic Social-Networks-Use in German Children and Adolescents—The Interaction of Need to Belong, Online Self-Regulative Competences, and Age

“…This conclusion is consistent with further studies, since Stodt, Wegmann, and Brand [36] also found a preventive effect of self-regulation when considering an unspecific Internet-use disorder. Additionally, Błachnio and Przepiorka [37] concluded that a dysfunction of self-regulation and self-control might be a risk factor for a problematic social-networks-use and van Deursen, Bolle, Hegner, and Kommers [24] found a negative effect of general self-regulation on addictive usage behaviors, but a positive effect of age on self-regulation. This underlines, on the one hand, that self-regulation can be considered as a protective factor preventing a problematic usage, and, on the other hand, implies that especially young individuals seem to have a low level of general self-regulation.…”