Mediaboss Marketing

Study design and setting

This is an institution-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study. It was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum state, Republic of Sudan in January, February, and March 2021.

We included all undergraduate medical students at the faculty of medicine, university of Khartoum (the total population was 2016 students from 6 classes, both males and females). We excluded students unwilling to participate.

With a total population (N) of 2016 and a level of precision (d) of 0.05; a sample size (n) of 333 students was calculated using the formula:(n=N/1+(Ntimes d^2 )). The sample was selected using proportionate simple random sampling.

The total population was divided into 6 classes that correspond to the academic years. The size of the student sample from each class was proportionate to the size of the class (56 from 1st year class, 54 from 2nd year class, 55 from 3rd year class, 59 from 4th year class, 57 from 5th year class, 52 from 6th year class). Students from each class were selected by simple random sampling.

Data was collected using an online, self-administered structured questionnaire (Google form) which consisted of sociodemographic data, social networking intensity (SNI) scale, and fear of missing out (FOMO) scale. Names were not included to ensure confidentiality.

The questionnaire (Supplementary 1) was developed for this study and composed of 23 items, divided into 3 sections. The socio-demographic characteristics section was composed of 6 variables (AgeSexBatchPlace of residenceMarital statusMonthly income) (Table 1). Participants were asked about the way they access the internet through most of the time (smartphones or laptops), and how they connect to the internet (Table 1). In social networking intensity section, a scale of 5 items was used to assess the level of social networking intensity (SNI) of each participant, each item used a 5-point Likert scale (1=Not at all true for me, 2=Slightly true for me, 3=Moderately true for me, 4=Very true for me, and 5=Extremely true for me), SNI score for each individual was calculated by summation of the five items. Scores ranged between 5 and 25 (5 represents low SNI and 25 represents the highest level of SNI). According to Salehan and Negahban, this scale has a good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.88 [8]. In our study, the Cronbach alpha coefficient for the SNI scale was 0.84 which suggests a good internal consistency and reliability for the scale regarding our sample (Table 2). SNI scores were classified into three grades: low (scores 510), moderate (scores 1119), and high (scores 2025).

In fear of missing out section, a scale of 10 items was used to assess FOMO among the participants, each item used a 5-point Likert scale (1=Not at all true for me, 2=Slightly true for me, 3=Moderately true for me, 4=Very true for me, and 5=Extremely true for me), FOMO score for each participant was calculated by summation of the ten items. Scores ranged between 10 and 50 (10 represents low FOMO and 50 represents the highest level of FOMO). According to Przybylski, Murayama, DeHann, and GladWell (2013), this scale has a good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.89 [9]. In our study; we had a Cronbarch alpha coefficient of 0.88 which suggests reliable results with good internal consistency for the FOMO scale regarding our sample (Table 3). FOMO scores were classified into three grades: low (scores 1020), moderate (scores 2139) and high (scores 4050).

Statistical Package for Social Science 26 (SPSS-26) software was used for data entry and analysis. Simple descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequencies and percentages of the different variables. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for the two scales to determine their internal consistency. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the association between SNI & FOMO. Linear regression analysis was used to describe the relation between FOMO and SNI.

Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to examine the associations and differences related to the socio-demographic groups.

See the rest here:
Social networking and fear of missing out (FOMO) among medical ... - BMC Psychology