Problematic TikTok and Facebook use among Bangladeshi adolescents

Begum, M, Huraira, MA, Kaggwa, MM, Almerab, MM, Gozal, D, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, Mamun, MA and Al Mamun, F, 2026. Problematic TikTok and Facebook use among Bangladeshi adolescents. Sage Open, 16 (1). ISSN 2158-2440

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Abstract

Facebook and TikTok are two of the most popular social media platforms, especially among adolescents in Bangladesh. Although generalized problematic social media use among young adults in Bangladesh has been explored, specific problematic use of social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok among adolescents and their associated risk factors remains underexplored. A sample of 1,183 adolescents was recruited from the Kurigram district of Bangladesh through stratified cluster sampling. They completed a cross-sectional survey containing questions regarding socio-demographic, lifestyle and behavioral, and socio-environmental factors along with the Problematic TikTok Use Scale (PTTUS) and Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (BFAS). Problematic TikTok use was significantly associated with up to primary level parental education, a history of tobacco smoking, poor parent-child communication, lack of peer support in the past month, truancy in the past month, and serious injury in the past year. Problematic Facebook use was significantly associated with a history of tobacco smoking, lack of peer support in the past month, parental homework check in the past month, and involvement in physical fights in the past year. Linear regression showed that a history of tobacco smoking, poor interactions with parents, lack of peer support in the past month, and serious injury in the past year as significant predictors of problematic TikTok use, whereas family type was a predictor of problematic Facebook use. These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of problematic social media use among adolescents. Culturally appropriate, school-based interventions are needed to foster healthier digital behaviors among Bangladeshi adolescents.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Sage Open
Creators:	Begum, M., Huraira, M.A., Kaggwa, M.M., Almerab, M.M., Gozal, D., Griffiths, M.D., Mamun, M.A. and Al Mamun, F.
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Date:	2026
Volume:	16
Number:	1
ISSN:	2158-2440
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1177/21582440261425854 DOI 2582836 Other
Rights:	© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	27 Feb 2026 09:55
Last Modified:	27 Feb 2026 09:55
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55344

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