Face the Burnout! Link Between Academic Burnout, Facebook Use Motives and Importance, and Facebook Intrusion: A Longitudinal Study

The association between problematic internet use and school burnout among adolescents so far has not gained sufficient attention. Only a few studies have been conducted about social media overuse and burnout syndrome in an educational context. The main goals of the current study were (1) to examine the mediation role of Facebook (FB) motives on the relationship between academic burnout and FB intrusion, and (2) to test the validity of the cycle. A two-wave study was carried out (measurement at the beginning, Time 1, and at the end of the semester, Time 2) in a sample of 115 university students from Poland. The Maslach Burnout Inventory for Students, the Facebook Intrusion Scale, and the Facebook Motives and Importance Scale were used. The Time 1 burnout indicators did not significantly predict Time 2 FB intrusion, however Time 2 exhaustion and Time 2 Personal importance of FB explained 57% of the variances in Time 2 FB intrusion. Time 1 Personal importance explained 21% of the variances in Time 2 FB intrusion. The predictive capacity of academic burnout on FB intrusion appeared to exist only if we consider the motives and importance of FB. Moreover, the social motives and personal importance of FB appear to be critical to breaking the mutually reinforcing academic burnout–FB intrusion cycle.