The use of social media has grown exponentially in the past decade to the extent of engaging close to one third of the world’s population as of January 2017 (Hawi and Samaha 2017). This phenomenon is facilitated by numerous active social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As of December 2020, on average, Facebook had more than 2.6 billion monthly active users (Facebook 2020); Instagram reports more than 1 billion monthly active users, and 500 million individuals shared stories daily (Instagram 2020); Twitter had 330 million monthly active users, and 500 million tweets sent per day (Twitter 2020); and LinkedIn had more than 675 million active users (LinkedIn 2018). In the arena of gender differences, slightly more women (68% of the total population) use social media compared to men (62% of the total population), but women are higher utilizers who on average spend 46 min per day on social media compared to 31 min by men (Blachnie et al. 2017).
Social media addiction is defined as the compulsive use of social media sites that manifests itself in behavioral addiction symptoms. The symptoms include tolerance (increased use over time); conflict of use with physical, social, vocational, or academic obligations; withdrawal (feeling of distress when unable to use); relapse (inability to make decisions about use time or decide when you should stop using); and mood modification (euphoria or comfort with use, irritability or distress without use) (Chiu 2014).
Individuals, especially youth, who have not yet fully developed the skills to manage situational stressors, may both loose critical exposure to non-virtual social and academic experiences while spending extensive use time and also may have longer-term effects of over-use of the Internet due to having limited well-trained alternative problem-solving responses to environmental stressors later in life. Youth with addictive behavior patterns frequently do not develop healthy, positive, and action-based coping skills, when faced with external stressors. People with addictive habits generally have reduced local social support systems, despite having extensive addiction-related contacts (Mahamid and Berte 2019).
The risk of potential negative effect of excessive social media use appears to be increased for individuals with restricted resources (limited social outlets, challenges with mobility, sparse recreational activities, etc.) and developmental vulnerability with some age groups at higher risks, particularly young adults (Mahamid and Berte 2020).
Some studies have examined the relationship between social skills and the use of social media sites and found that people with lower levels of social skills tend to have higher frequency and intensity use of social media sites with the intended goal of enhancing their self-image and self-esteem. However, the desired effect is not always achieved as social media use is also often found to be linked to depression and a reduction of life satisfaction (Chang et al. 2017; Espada et al. 2014; Greco et al. 2009; Mclaughlin and Whitty 2007).
A longitudinal study of Facebook users showed that social skills were a factor that moderated the relation between Facebook use and self-esteem, whereas users with low levels of social skills and or self-esteem benefited from additional Facebook use to increase their social capital. Based on this social compensation hypothesis, people with low social skills, with low life satisfaction, and who have few offline contacts compensate by using Facebook to gain more friends and more perceived popularity (Lampe et al. 2008).
When we engage in face-to-face communication social information is conveyed by vocal and visual cues in the context of the situation. Non-verbal communication is an important part of a message and it includes facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice as well as posture, space between individuals, etc. (Bambaeeroo and Shokpour 2017).
Understanding the non-verbal aspects of communication is crucial because in social situations we need to modify our message or behavior in response to the reactions of others. Our ability to identify, interpret, and appropriately react to emotional cues is associated with personal, social, and academic success (Knapp, Hall, & Horgan 2013). Moreover, youth who understand emotional cues in social settings develop superior social skills and attain more positive peer relationships (Blakemore 2008). These non-verbal, affective cues are much more evident communicating in person vs. digitally (Sherman et al. 2013). Youth using digital communication extensively may not have the face-to-face experiences necessary for them to develop and master important social skills (Giedd 2012).
The literature features a number of studies that showed that Internet addictions, including excessive use of the Internet and social networking sites, correlate positively with stress, anxiety, and lack of social skills as well as negative associations with academic performance, all of which negatively affect perceived self-efficacy and self-esteem (Hawi and Samaha 2016; Kabasakal 2015; Kuss et al. 2014; Lepp et al. 2014).
Wolfing et al. (2011) found that Internet addiction was related to high levels of dysfunctional (maladaptive) coping strategies. These findings are supported by Sriwilai and Charoensukmongkol (2015) who indicated that an avoidant coping style was related to generalize problematic Internet use.
Espada et al. (2014) found that adolescents with high scores in problematic use of the Internet present concordant higher scores in social anxiety and social skills difficulties. Furthermore, adolescents with Internet addictive behaviors showed a positively significant association both with the degree of social anxiety and with lack of assertiveness. On the other hand, the interpersonal addiction did more with social anxiety.
Blachnie et al. (2017) tested the association between Facebook addiction, social skills, and self-esteem among 381 Polish Facebook users who use daily more than 7 h; results indicated a negative relationship between Facebook addiction, social skills, and self-esteem among participants. These results are in agreement with Satici and Uysal (2015) who tested the relationship between problematic Facebook use and life satisfaction among Turkish undergraduate students. Results showed a negative relationship between problematic Internet use and life satisfaction.
The importance of social interaction in Internet addiction treatment includes increasing frequency and quality of social contacts, which will enhance social skills as well as the increasing frequency, and quality of live contacts (Khazaei, Khazaei, & Ghanbari, 2017). Yao and Zhong (2014) presume that an increase in the frequency and quality of face-to-face social contacts can reduce Internet addiction.
The Social Stress Model of addiction proposes that adolescents engaged in addictive behaviors use it as a strategy to cope with stressors in different aspects of their life. It further proposes that improving social skills and support are critical in helping adolescents more effectively manage the stressors that arise during this period. Supporting the model, empirical evidence suggests that a higher level of social skills and support are associated with lower levels of addictive behaviors (Lau et al. 2018).
According to a social-cognitive theory of generalized problematic Internet use, improving social skills among individuals with Internet addictive behaviors should be related negatively with addictive behaviors. Individuals with Internet addiction frequently experience unpleasant social interactions in real life and appraise themselves as socially incompetent in face-to-face interactions. Yet, these individuals tend to perceive themselves as having greater confidence and efficacy in online interactions. Hence, individuals with Internet addiction prefer online interactions while avoiding face to-face communication (Cheng et al. 2017).
Generally, social skills training programs to reduce addictive behaviors include three major components: one component is very similar to the prevention approach that focuses on helping individuals resist social influences to use Internet intensively. The two other components focus on competence enhancement with an emphasis on teaching self-management skills and general social skills (Botvin and Griffin 2005).
Social skills training which focuses on teaching necessary skills should be an effective strategy for adolescents who suffer from Internet addiction. Communication skills would increase and improve problem-solving skills/outcomes, which should significantly decrease Internet addiction. Generally, it is held that promoting communication skills is effective in psycho-cognitive and mental health status. These skills may help the individual in dealing effectively with life stressors instead of engaging in addictive behaviors (Spencer 2006).
Social skills help individuals in starting conversations, listening actively and openly expressing thoughts and emotions. These skills are important in helping individuals to decrease negative feelings and social tensions and constructively/successfully solve problems which lead to preventing the emergence of negative and unconstructive behaviors such as those in Internet addictive (Abolfathi et al. 2014).
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for improving social skills as a model to deal with compulsive disorders such as Internet addiction (Cully and Teten 2008). CBT is a familiar treatment based on the premise that thoughts determine feelings. Individual are taught to monitor their thoughts and identify those that trigger addictive feelings and actions while learning new coping skills and ways to prevent a return to depression, anxiety, or addiction-based behavior patterns (Du et al. 2010). The early stage of CBT is behavioral, focusing on specific behaviors and situations that maintain the excessive Internet use. As therapy progresses, there is more of a focus on the cognitive assumptions and distortions that have developed and the effects of these on behavior. This treatment involves assessment of the type of distortion, problem-solving skills and coping strategies training, modeling in therapy, support groups, and keeping thought journals (Zarb 2007).
Recent studies have yielded the efficacy of training and therapeutic programs in reducing Internet addiction and improving social skills. For example, Fang et al. (2015) examined the efficacy of multi-generational group therapy to reduce Internet addiction and improve social skills among adolescents. Results indicated that adolescents and parents who received the training program were significantly improved compared to the control group.
These outcomes are consistent with those reported by Halasy et al. (2017) who tested the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral group intervention aimed at preventing extensive Internet use in adolescents. Outcomes showed significant reduction of Internet use disorder and comorbid symptoms as well as the promotion of problem solving, cognitive restructuring, and emotion regulation skills.
These results are supported by Yang and Kim (2018) who explored the efficacy of a self-regulatory program on self-control, self-efficacy, Internet addiction, and time spent on the Internet among 79 middle school students in South Korea. Results showed that self-control and self-efficacy significantly increased and Internet addiction and time spent on the Internet significantly decreased in the intervention group compared with the control group.
In 2014, Palestine was ranked the eighth on the list of Arab countries related to the percentage of the population using social networking sites by more than 33% (Concepts). The number of Palestinian using Facebook is currently 1,520,000 of 4.1 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Mourtada and Salem 2015). The situation of Palestinian university students in the occupied territories of Palestine is fraught with environmental stressors (militarization, poverty, lack of employment opportunities, cultural pressures, etc.) and few positive social outlets due to the restrictions on movement between communities, a lack of recreational facilities, and cultural standards of gender separation. In this situation, it is likely that a vulnerability to the easily accessible and unrestricted social networks of social media could lead easily to excessive and maladaptive use in the face of heightened stressors and few alternative avenues for socialization (Mahamid and Berte 2019). Research suggests that Palestinian college students’ greater accessibility and usage of the Internet may increase their vulnerability to Internet abuse (Mahamid and Berte 2020).
According to a survey conducted at An-Najah National University, more than 47% of students are engaging in addictive patterns of use related to the Internet, with social communications as their first priority, only a minority of students report to Internet use for academic tasks or business opportunities (Berte et al. 2021).
In response to this disconcerting finding, the current study was designed to test the efficacy of a training program to enhance social skills and reduce addictive Internet behaviors of Palestinian university students who are at risk more than any category of Palestinian population to develop Internet addiction in order to decrease their social media dependence, and direct them to the positive Internet use for learning and business.
The current study hypothesized that (1) there would be a negative association between Internet addiction and social skills among Palestinian university students and (2) the training program based on social skills would decrease Internet addiction symptoms among university students.