FACEBOOK ADDICTION AMONG FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
SHARIFAH SOFIAH S.Z.
Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication,
43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel:+603-89468797 Fax: +603-89485950 E-mail: sharifahsofiah@putra.upm.edu.my
SITI ZOBIDAH OMAR
Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication,
43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel:+603-89468797 Fax: +603-89485950 E-mail: zobidah@putra.upm.edu.my
JUSANG BOLONG
Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication,
43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel:+603-89468797 Fax: +603-89485950 E-mail: jusang@fbmk.upm.edu.my
MOHD NIZAM OSMAN
Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication,
43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel:+603-89468797 Fax: +603-89485950 E-mail: nizamosman@fbmk.upm.edu.my
ABSTRACT
Facebook is used widely by the students in fulfilling their basic needs and interaction. It was
becoming a popular medium for socializing online and tools to facilitate friendship. Female
students used Facebook for different kind of motives from social interaction to communication. The
frequent use of Facebook brought an addiction toward the site and simultaneously influent
students’ daily life at large. The phenomenon of Facebook addiction in Malaysia is rising among
university students especially female. The objective of this study is to identify the relationship
between female students’ motives for Facebook use and Facebook addiction. The five motives
identified were social interaction, passing time, entertainment, companionship, and communication.
This study involved 380 female students (Facebook users) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
and Universiti Tenaga Nasional. Findings of the study showed that there are significant
relationship between female students’ motives for Facebook use and Facebook addiction. As a
conclusion, social interaction, passing time, entertainment, companionship and communication
motives were among the major contributor to the addiction of Facebook site. It is hoped that the
results of the study will be applicable to service providers, current users, and potential users of
Sharifah Sofiah S. Z, Siti Zobidah Omar, Mohd Nizam Osman, Jusang Bolong – Facebook Addiction Among…………….
Key words: Facebook; Addiction; Motives; Female students