A Quantitative Study On Social Media Addiction Among University Students In Khost,Afghanistan

This study examines students' social media addiction phenomenon among universities' student in Khost.The study aims to identify the social media platforms that students used the most in regular interval,and the purposes they used these social media platforms for.The main objective of the study was to examine the existence of social media addiction whether the sampled students are addicted to and to what level they were addicted.The sample size was calculated 384 students from Shaikh Zayed,Pamir and Ahmad Shah Abdali universities.Probability-stratified random sampling method was used and a 35-items questionnaire was distributed to the participants.Dr.Kimberly Young's Internet Addiction Test(IAT)was replicated and expanded to measure social media addiction phenomenon among the students.Uses and Gratifications and Media Systems Dependency theories were used as a theoretical framework in the study.The findings reveal that Facebook was the leading regularly used social media platform among other online platforms.Social media was used for social purposes,mostly for obtaining news and maintaining relationships.Besides that,the study found that social media addiction has existed at various levels among the respondents.The study confirmed both theories regardless of political stability,low literacy level,weak economy and conflict in the least developed countries like Afghanistan.