Personality traits and the risky use of social media in Slovak adolescents
Personality traits and the risky use of social media in Slovak adolescents

Summary/Abstract: Objectives: Despite being a pressing issue, the role of personality traits in the adolescent use of social networks has not yet been researched empirically in Slovakia. The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about the relationship between the tendency to overuse social media, personality traits and self-esteem in a sample of Slovak adolescents. Furthermore, it also confirms the gender differences in the tendency of male and female adolescents to use social media in a risky way. Methods: The research sample comprised 284 Slovak adolescents aged between 15 and20 years old (M = 17.88, SD = 1.67); 141 of the subjects were female. The data collection was carried out using the snowball method i.e., by means of a Facebook questionnaire. The research instruments used were the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) (α = .77), the Mini International Personality Item Pool (Mini IPIP) (α = .58-.76) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSES) (α = .83). Results: The correlation analysis revealed three significant relationships in adolescents. Firstly, the relationship between the tendency to overuse social networks and neuroticism (ρ = .292); secondly, between the tendency to overuse social networks and conscientiousness (ρ = -.241) and lastly, between the tendency to overuse social networks and selfesteem (ρ = -.191). The linear regression model showed that two personality traits (neuroticism and conscientiousness) played a role as systematic predictors. Moreover, the gender analysis demonstrated a higher tendency of female adolescents to overuse social networks (d Cohen = -0.455). Conclusion: The study suggests the importance of personality factors such as neuroticism and conscientiousness in explaining the tendency to overuse social media. This supports similar explanatory studies from other countries. The role of personality traits and gender differences maybe relevant for designing prevention activities and intervention programmes on risky social networking use in adolescence.

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