Cross-sectional study of Facebook addiction in a sample of Nepalese population

Background: Facebook addiction is said to occur when an individual spends
an excessive amount of time on Facebook, disrupting one’s daily activities
and social life. The present study aimed to find out the level of Facebook
addiction in the Nepalese context and briefly discuss the crimes
associated with its unintended use. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional
study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Lumbini
Medical College. The study instrument was the Bergen Facebook Addiction
Scale typed into a Google Form and sent randomly to Facebook contacts of
the authors. The responses were downloaded in a Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences
version 16. Results: The study consisted of 103 Nepalese participants, of
which 54 (52.42%) were males and 49 females (47.58%). There were 11
participants (10.68%) who had more than one Facebook account. When
different approaches were applied it was observed that 8.73% (n=9) to
39.80% (n=41) were addicted to Facebook. Conclusion: When used properly
Facebook has its own advantages. Excessive use is linked with health
hazards including addiction and dependency. Students who engage more on
Facebook will have less time studying leading to poor academic
performance.People need to be made aware of the issues associated with the
misuse of Facebook