Predictive Relationship between Social Media Usage and Materialism among University Students of a Private University in Kuala Lumpur

Puah, Tiffany Shu Yen (2023) Predictive Relationship between Social Media Usage and Materialism among University Students of a Private University in Kuala Lumpur. Social Media Usage and Materialism. (Unpublished)

Text Tiffany Puah Shu Yen_BHPY3004_Journal Manuscript.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (2MB)

Abstract

Social media has become one of the cost-effective advertising mediums among businesses to advertise their products. These advertisements influence youths to make purchases and materialism is the main contributor that prompts purchasing desires. This study aims to investigate the duration of social media use per day on average among university students of a private university in Kuala Lumpur; gender difference in the duration of social media usage among university students of a private university in Kuala Lumpur; the predictive relationship between social media usage and materialism among university students of a private university in Kuala Lumpur. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 undergraduate students (50 males and 50 females) from a private university in Kuala Lumpur, through convenience sampling and quota sampling. A google form survey that includes Social Media Use Questionnaires (SMUQ) and Materialism Values Scale (MVS) were administered to collect data. The data collected was analyzed by SPSS version 27. Descriptive statistics was performed to analyze the demographic information and investigate the duration of social media use per day on average. Next, an independent t-Test was conducted to examine the gender difference in the duration of social media usage. Furthermore, a simple linear regression was performed to examine the predictive relationship between social media usage and materialism. This study found that university students spent an average of 6 hours on social media per day. Moreover, a significant gender difference in the duration of social media usage. Lastly, it was found that social media usage significantly predicts materialism. In conclusion, it is recommended that students should be extra vigilant about materialistic advertisements on social media to avoid falling into a materialistic mindset