Social media use among U.S. college students attending a midwestern university

Abstract

Social media use is a topic of importance to many people, especially college students. Using a sample of college students (N=446), this quantitative research study examined social media preferences and addiction, time spent on social media, and satisfaction with social media. Findings indicated that college students who use TikTok and Snapchat more often than other forms of social media are more likely to experience social media addiction than those who use Instagram and YouTube more often. Findings also indicated that participants majoring in technology were less likely to experience social media addiction than those majoring in psychology/counseling, teaching, and nursing. Furthermore, our findings suggested that social media addiction and time spent on social media vary based on students’ age group and level of education. While older students (ages 25-29) were less likely to experience social media addiction than younger students (ages 18-20 and ages 21-24), freshman college students were more likely to experience social media addiction than graduate students. The implications of this study for practitioners are discussed in the context of the four research questions that guided this research.