Esperanza & Gabion

(F.A.S.T.)

IntroductionOnline social networking sites such as

Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have become a big part of people’s lives in the 21st century. These sites serve as tools for people to get in touch and reconnect with families and friends.

Social networking sites are particularly popular with the teens (and some adults as well) who have seemingly unending need, want and urge to share every detail of their lives online, even the most trivial ones.

IntroductionAccording to Dr. Kimberly Young,

Internet Addiction can be likened to addictive syndromes similar to impulse-control disorders on the Axis I Scale of the DSM.

It is also known as computer addiction, online addiction, or internet addiction disorder, which will be included in the upcoming revision of the DSM-V.

And a possible addition to the variety of impulse-control problems is the abusive use of online networking sites.

Introduction

Therefore, this instrument aims to measure the susceptibility to addiction or abusive use  of late adolescents to online social networking sites specifically Facebook.

Significance of Study

The emergence of different social networking sites which started in the early nineties, has affected the lives of people. These websites offer services wherein one can make an online identity that can be shared with other people.

Also, through these websites, one can strengthen existing relationships or create new relationships with people of the same activities, interests and background.

Significance of Study

Because these sites are internet or web based, it is much easier for the users to interact or socialize with their fellow users.

And since it’s first launch in the early nineties, these sites have now evolved and have become popular worldwide. With this, the rapid growth of users imply that more people are getting “addicted” to it, most especially adolescents or teens.

Significance of Study

Because past researches focused on the general definition of Internet Addiction, the researchers wanted to develop a test or assessment that specifically measured the susceptibility or the tendency of adolescents to be addicted to social networking sites especially Facebook.

With this, the researchers came up the Facebook Addiction Susceptibility Test (FAST), a paper and pencil self-administered projective test.

Significance of Study

The researchers believe that such assessment tool is not only timely but also important for the present and future generations of Facebook users because it will help them assess their own internet use behavior.

Conceptual Framework

Methodology

Using a self-administered questionnaire to assess the susceptibility to addiction of late adolescent users to such online networking sites, a survey was conducted in selected areas in Manila. The study population were late adolescents, ages 18-25 years old.

A self-developed projective test and a validated Internet addiction scale consisting of 12 self-assessment items measured on a 4-point Likert scale; 12- item projective test and 12 true or false questions, was administered.

Methodology

MethodologyFirst page

MethodologySecond page

Methodology

The first section of the survey instrument consisted of socio-demographic questions regarding the subject (e.g. name, address, school, age and year level).

The second section consisted of K-scale, which included items measuring Internet Addiction of adolescents.

Methodology

The third section consisted of a projective test, measuring the respondents’ familiarity with the Facebook website. The section included 12 edited and cropped illustrations/icons from the said social networking site.

The 12-item true or false questions, conversely, was administered to subjects who had high scores in the FAST to know whether they are susceptible to addicted specifically to Facebook

MethodologyTest of Validity and Reliability

The K-scale was culturally validated (Cronbach’s Alpha= .738). The scores were categorized as highly addicted if the total score in the given scale is over 20 points. The projective test, Facebook Addiction Susceptibility Test (FAST) was supported by another self-developed test which consisted of the 12-item true or false questions about the respondent’s use of Facebook. The scores in the FAST were categorized as highly susceptible to addiction if the total score in the test is over 10.

Methodology

Reliability Statistics

Cronbach's Alpha

Cronbach's Alpha Based on

Standardized Items

N of Items

.738 .728 12

Methodology

To isolate what the researchers intended to measure, the researches made use of various icons specifically found in the Facebook website.

If the subject identified at 10 correct icons, then the subject is familiar with the social networking site because of one’s frequent use of it, which can be an indicator of one’s tendency to be addicted to it. To also ensure its reliability, FAST was correlated to K-Scale which is a validated scale for Internet Addiction, and to the self-developed 12-item true or false Facebook Test.

Methodology

 Using Pearson Correlation, the K-scale and

FAST is moderately correlated (0.30). This means that scores of a person in the FAST is not that dependent on the scores in the K-scale. With this, we can conclude that if one is addicted to the internet, it does not necessarily mean that one is also highly susceptible to be addicted to Facebook.

Methodology

Correlations

K-scale FAST

K-scale

Pearson

Correlation1 .300

Sig. (2-tailed) .117

N 30 30

FAST

Pearson

Correlation.300 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .117

N 30 30

Methodology 

To determine the construct validity, Paired t-test was used. The mean scores in K-scale and FAST are significantly different (pvalue or sig = 0.000 <0.05). This means that the two tests do not measure the same construct. The K-scale measures Internet Addiction, while the FAST only measures a person’s susceptibility to addiction to specifically Facebook, and not internet as a whole. Paired Samples Test

t df Sig. (2-tailed)    

Pair 1K-scale

- FAST

-

5.17

5

29 .000  

Methodology 

To support the data gathered from the respondents who scored high in the FAST and to know whether they are really susceptible to be addicted to Facebook, they were given another test, the 12-item true or false test about their use of Facebook. Out of 30 respondents, 10 respondents scored high (10 correct answers out of 12 items) and were given the test.

Methodology

 The scores in the FAST and the 12-

item true or false test were correlated with a correlation coefficient of 0.794, which means that the scores on both tests are highly correlated. Thus, if the respondent scores high on the FAST, he or she will also score high on the 12-item true or false test.

Methodology

Correlations

Key 10 up

True or False

Pearson Correlation 1 .794*

Sig. (2-tailed) .033

N 10 10

FAST

Pearson Correlation .794* 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .033

N 10 10

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Methodology

To get rid of the contaminants, the FAST opted to only measure the adolescents’ susceptibility of the respondents to addiction, and not addiction per se.

The FAST does not generalize or label the person as being already addicted. The researchers have recognized the fact that the FAST may only measure or describe only one indicator of internet addiction, which is the familiarity of the respondent to the website because of one’s frequent use of it or one’s time allotted in using it.

Methodology

This indicator may not be enough in concluding that a person is addicted to Facebook, because addiction as a whole is a complex matter which considers a lot of factors. 

Also, to ensure that the respondents cannot cheat or peak in the Facebook website, the FAST is in the form of paper and pencil instead of an online one.  

Feasibility

The Facebook Addiction Susceptibility Test (FAST) as an assessment tool that measures the respondent’s susceptibility to Facebook addiction with little or minimum effort.

They can assess and at the same time know whether they should regulate their own internet use and Facebook use behavior through the use of this self-administered paper and pencil test.

Basic knowledge on Facebook and its features and of one’s behavior is enough to help them answer this assessment tool.

Observation

When the respondents were given the questionnaires, they were amazed with the general design of it.

One of the factors that contributed to this is that the icons and tables attached to the questionnaire were colored, for the respondents to easily name the icons needed to be identified. Moreover, there were instances during the assessment period when some respondents wanted a copy of it, while some even volunteered to answer.

Observation

While the researchers were assessing the respondents, many of them showed similar behavior such as imagining the features of Facebook and where the icons are located, and filling the letters in the words in the icons to be identified.

There were also some respondents who even drew the said website to easily locate and identify the icons.