Boredom and problematic Facebook use in adolescents: What is the relationship considering trait or state boredom?

Abstract

Boredom is an unpleasant experience caused by the lack of being engaged in satisfying activities. It can be caused by external circumstances (state boredom, SB) or by individual determinants (trait boredom, TB). Although several studies have attested the impact of boredom on adolescents' risk-taking behaviours, the relationships between boredom and problematic Facebook use (PFU), which has grown exponentially among adolescents, have not been deeply analysed to date. This study aimed at exploring a possible mechanism through which TB, PFU, and SB are related. We hypothesised and tested the mediating role of PFU in the relationship between TB and SB. Participants were 204 Italian adolescents (57% male, M age = 17.13, SD = 1.61). Analyses showed a significant positive indirect effect of TB on SB through PFU that acted as a mediator. Specifically, individual sensitivity to boredom may enhance the likelihood that teenagers employ Facebook excessively and in addictive way; in turn, PFU may enhance adolescents' situational experience of boredom. Although preliminary, findings indicate the need to further investigate the relationship between TB, PFU, and SB in youth.

Aggressive behavior, boredom, and protective factors among college students during closed-off management of the COVID-19 pandemic in China

“…As a coping strategy for boredom, there was no significant positive association between the two forms of aggressive behaviors and boredom. The results of this study are in line with previous research on coping strategies and boredom (Droit-Volet et al, 2020;Gazmer et al, 2020;Liang et al, 2020;Donati et al, 2022). In light of this, aggression may not be a meaningful and satisfying alternative target activity for everyone as a means to alleviate boredom.…”

Motives for digital social multitasking (DSMT) and problematic phone use among adolescents

“…The motive of boredom was indirectly associated with problematic phone use via greater perceived distraction. A high score on this motive may reflect one's proneness to boredom, which is a risk factor for problematic phone use both concurrently (Donati et al, 2022; Elhai et al, 2018) and prospectively (Zhang et al, 2022). Eastwood et al (2012) conceptualized boredom as an unpleasant state that resulted from poor attention allocation and regulation.…”

Effect and Mechanisms of State Boredom on Consumers’ Livestreaming Addiction

“…Boredom is recognized as one of the common causes of addiction, such as Internet addiction ( Chou et al, 2018 ), Facebook use ( Donati et al, 2022 ), gambling behavior ( Mercer and Eastwood, 2010 ), and smartphone addiction ( Wang et al, 2020 ). Boredom is a negative state of under-arousal, and people usually try to escape from boredom and achieve physiological arousal through media, which leads to media dependence ( Khang et al, 2013 ).…”

“…In recent years, scholars realize that proneness boredom is not enough to understand boredom itself, but a deeper understanding of boredom and its influence on individual decisions and behaviors could be possible by exploring state boredom ( Bench and Lench, 2019 ). However, previous studies mainly discussed proneness boredom and its effects on some addictive behaviors, such as mobile phone addiction ( Chou et al, 2018 ; Wang et al, 2020 ), Internet addiction ( Lin et al, 2009 ), and Facebook addiction ( Donati et al, 2022 ), and less is talked about state boredom. Therefore, paying attention to the effect of state boredom on addiction is a supplement to boredom and addiction theoretical research.…”