The role of personality traits in Facebook and Internet addictions: A study on Polish, Turkish, and Ukrainian samples

Although the relationships between Facebook addiction, Internet addiction and personality have already been investigated. The aim of the present study was to explore whether there were personality traits associated with Facebook addiction and Internet addiction across three different cultures. The participants were 1011 Facebook users from Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine. We administered the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, the Internet Addiction Test, and the Ten Item Personality Inventory. We found that in the total sample Facebook addiction was positively associated with Internet addiction, while Internet addiction was negatively associated with emotional stability, conscientiousness, and extraversion. The lack of invariance across the countries indicates that the tested links are not the same in each of them, which may suggest the role of cultural factors in this phenomenon. The results are discussed in the light of Facebook addiction and personality literature. The application of culturally sensitive intervention programs in dealing with Facebook addiction is encouraged.