Social networking site addiction and undergraduate students' irrational procrastination: The mediating role of social networking site fatigue and the moderating role of effortful control

PLoS One. 2018 Dec 11;13(12):e0208162. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208162. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

With the popularity of social networking sites (SNSs), the problems of SNS addiction have been increasing. Research has revealed the association between SNS addiction and irrational procrastination. However, the mechanism underlying this relation is still unclear. The present study aimed to examine the mediating role of social networking site fatigue and the moderating role of effortful control in this link among Chinese undergraduate students. The Social Networking Site Addiction Scale, Social Networking Service Fatigue Scale, Effortful Control Scale and Irrational Procrastination Scale were completed by 1,085 Chinese undergraduate students. Results indicated that SNS addiction, SNS fatigue and irrational procrastination were positively correlated with each other, and negatively correlated with effortful control. Further analyses revealed that, SNS addiction has a direct effect on irrational procrastination. SNS fatigue mediated the relationship between SNS addiction and irrational procrastination. Both direct and indirect effects of SNS addiction on irrational procrastination were moderated by effortful control. Specifically, this effect was stronger for people with lower effortful control. These findings help clarify the mechanism underlying the association between SNS addiction and irrational procrastination, which have potential implications for intervention.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Behavior, Addictive / complications
  • Behavior, Addictive / diagnosis
  • Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Fatigue / diagnosis
  • Fatigue / etiology
  • Fatigue / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Online Social Networking*
  • Procrastination*
  • Psychometrics
  • Social Media / statistics & numerical data
  • Students / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires / statistics & numerical data
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Major Program of National Social Science Foundation of China [Project No. 11&ZD151], The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project Nos. 31400887 and 31872781), Humanities and Social Sciences Research Funds from the Ministry of Education of China [Project No. 15YJA190001], and Fundamental Research Funds of Central China Normal University [Project No. CCNU14Z02004]. No competing financial interests existed. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.