ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Public Health
doi: 10.25005/2074-0581-2026-28-1-67-75
PREVALENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK (UNIMAS), SARAWAK

D.P. NGADAN, N.S. MAZLAN, A.M. JAMEL, S. ISMAIL, D.K. MAHENDRAN, M. KAPITONOVA

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Malaysia

Objective: To determine the prevalence of SMA and its associated factors among undergraduate students at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 undergraduate students from ten faculties using simple random sampling. Data were collected using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and Pearson’s correlation analyses were applied.

Results: The prevalence of SMA was 16.7%. Female students were significantly more likely to be addicted than male students (p=0.047). Ethnicity was also associated with SMA (p<0.001), with Indian students reporting the highest prevalence (61.5%). Age was negatively correlated with SMA (r=–0.123, p=0.012), indicating younger students were more at risk. SMA showed moderate positive correlations with depression (r=0.422), anxiety (r=0.378), and stress (r=0.451) (all p<0.001).

Conclusion: SMA is prevalent among UNIMAS students and is significantly associated with gender, ethnicity, and younger age. Moreover, higher SMA levels were linked with poorer mental health outcomes. Universities should implement integrated digital literacy and mental health programmes that promote balanced technology use and support early identification of students at risk of SMA.

Keywords: Social media addiction, prevalence, mental health, undergraduate students, Malaysia.

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Authors' information:

Deburra Peak Ngadan,
MD, MPH, DrPH, Community Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
Researcher ID: IYS-1112-2023
Scopus ID: 56111985600
ORCID ID: 0009-0001-4270-6090
E-mail: pndeburra@unimas.my

Nurul Sahira binti Mazlan,
Graduate Student, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
ORCID ID: 0009-0007-9516-4145
E-mail: 82890@siswa.unimas.my

Aeliya Masniza anak Jamel,
Graduate Student, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
ORCID ID: 0009-0001-9044-9439
E-mail: 97206@siswa.unimas.my

Syahmi bin Ismail,
Graduate Student, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
ORCID ID: 0009-0009-3925-3447
E-mail: 97837@siswa.unimas.my

Dinesh Kumar a/l Mahendran,
Graduate Student, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
ORCID ID: 0009-0001-3991-7268
E-mail: 98733@siswa.unimas.my

Marina Kapitonova,
MD, PhD, Professor of the Department of the Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
Researcher ID: Y-6429-2018
Scopus ID: 8854275100
ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6055-3123
E-mail: kmarina@unimas.my

Information about support in the form of grants, equipment, medications

The authors did not receive financial support from manufacturers of medicines and medical equipment

Conflicts of interest: No conflict

Address for correspondence:

Marina Kapitonova,
MD, PhD Professor of the Department of the Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medi- cine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) UNIMAS campus, Kota Samarahan, 94300, Sarawak, Malaysia

Tel.: +60 (176) 243699

E-mail: kmarina@unimas.my


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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