PREDICTORS OF FACEBOOK ADDICTION AMONG YOUTH: A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM)

With the popularity of Facebook, more and more youth extensively adopt Facebook for different motives. They are spending a plenty of time daily on surfing the site, which may be an indication of addiction. The current study investigates the predictors of Facebook addiction among youth from the uses and Gratifications theory perspective. Using online survey, the data was obtained from 309 youth from a Sub-Saharan African country. Data was analyzed using AMOS version 18 and SPSS version 17. The results of the structural equation modeling suggested that social interaction (ß= .21, p<.001) and entertainment motives (ß=.42, p<.001) had statistically positive and significant effects on Facebook addiction among youth, yielding 30% of variance. Limitations and future research scope are further elaborated.