FROM SCREENS TO STRAIN: A STUDY OF MULTISCREEN ADDICTION, DOOMSCROLLING, AND DIGITAL BURNOUT IN YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

The present study was carried out to explore the relationship between multiscreen addiction, doomscrolling, and digital burnout in young adults. The study hypothesized that multiscreen addiction, doomscrolling, and digital burnout would be positively associated in young adults. It was also proposed that multiscreen addiction and doomscrolling would be the positive predictors of digital burnout in young adults. Meanwhile, the study also postulated that there would be meaningful gender differences in correspondence to study variables. In the current study, 201 participants comprising 68 men and 133 women were approached by taking into account the inclusion criteria of the study, such as active social media users aged between 18 to 30 years. Quantitative research was carried out by using a cross-sectional research design, and a purposive sampling technique was used. To examine the sample, the self-constructed demographic sheet, Multiple Screen Addiction Scale (Saritepeci, 2021), Doomscrolling Scale (Sharma et al., 2022), and the Digital Burnout Scale (Erten & Ozdemir, 2020) were used. The results showed significant positive associations between multiscreen addiction, doomscrolling, and digital burnout in young adults. Further, it was found that multiscreen addiction and doomscrolling were positively predicted by digital burnout in young adults. In addition, the results also indicated no significant gender difference in all the study variables. Therefore, the results of the study substantially contributed to cyberpsychology by examining how multiscreen usage and doomscrolling played a role in the development of digital burnout in young adults.