Social Media Rejection Sensitivity: Impact of Undergraduate Students Socio- Demographic Variables

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of socio-demographic factors - gender, frequency and duration of social media use - on social media rejection sensitivity among undergraduate students. Using a descriptive survey research design, a sample of 720 students was drawn from a population of 15,732 third year students insix Federal Universities in South-East Nigeria. The Social Media Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (SMRS-Q) was employed for data collection. Data analysis involved the use of mean, t-test and ANOVA statistics. Results indicate that students showedsignificant sensitivity to aspects of online activities that reflect criticism and exclusion, and gender was not a significant factor across the dimensions of social media rejection sensitivity. Furthermore, frequency of social media use was a significant factor in all dimensions of social media sensitivity but the behavioral dimension, whereas the duration of social media use was a significant factor on all dimensions but on the emotional social media rejection sensitivity. It was concluded that students were sensitive to some aspects of social media rejections, and that patterns of use of social media could be more significant in impacting students’ social media rejection sensitivity than their gender. Recommendations include university-led awareness programmes and social media resilience training to support students' mental health among others.