Impact of facebook addiction on narcissistic behavior and self-esteem among students

Objective: To investigate the relationship between Facebook addiction, narcissism and self-esteem and to see if gender played any role in this equation. Methods: The correlational study was conducted from February to March 2013 at the Department of Psychology, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. Using convenient sampling, two equal groups ofmale and female students were enrolled from different departments of the university. Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale and Rosenberg s Self-esteem Scale were used for evaluation. SPSS 17 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Of the 200 subjects in the study, 100(50%) each weremales and females. Facebook addiction was positively correlated with narcissism(r=0.20; p 0.05) and negatively with self-esteem(r=-0.18; p 0.05). Relationship between narcissism and self-esteem was non-significant(r=0.05; p 0.05). Facebook addiction was a significant predictor of narcissistic behaviour (β=0.202; p 0.001) and low self-esteem (β=-0.18; p 0.001). There were no significant gender differences in the three variables (p 0.05 each). Conclusion: Facebook addiction was a significant predictor of narcissistic behaviour and low levels of self-esteem among students.