Comparative Analysis of Perceived Loneliness among Selfie Addicts and Non-selfie Addicts Youth of Punjab

Nowadays, taking selfies and posting them to social media is a major trend. However, photos may seem harmless, if used carelessly, they can have devastating repercussions on psychological heath of individuals. The present study is based on the comparative analysis of perceived Loneliness among selfie addicts and non-selfie addicts youth of Punjab. In this study, 500 young adults of 19-21 years were surveyed by using Self-Structured Selfie Addiction Checklist and Loneliness Inventory. A complete list of all the districts falling under three cultural regions of Punjab, viz., Majha, Malwa and Doaba was prepared. For equal representation of the sample from all cultural regions, proportionate numbers of districts were selected in the ratio of approximately 1:1:3 from Majha, Doaba, and Malwa region respectively. Amritsar district from Majha and Jalandhar district from Doaba region and Ludhiana, Moga and Patiala from Malwa region were purposively selected. The colleges and universities were chosen randomly for data collection to complete the sample. Survey results indicated that non-significantly majority of young adults had medium level of loneliness irrespective of their addiction in Majha, Malwa, and Doaba region respectively. Moreover, significantly more number of non-addicts had high level of loneliness which highlights that addicts keep them engaged by clicking, editing and posting selfies on social media. Further, significantly higher number of addicted males in comparison to non-addict males, had medium level of loneliness whereas more number of addicted females were found in low level of loneliness which shows that addicted females feel less lonely and isolated as compared to addicted males.