Factors influencing social media dependency and effects on Social Media Intelligence Quotient (SMIQ) among graduates / Nadhrathul Ain Ibrahim

The rising popularity of smartphones has increased people's reliance on social media. The addiction becomes ingrained in a person's habits, with the phone being the first thing they check in the morning. According to past research, extensive social media and the internet have been implicated in an addiction problem. However, advances in information and technology have created many new career prospects as companies seek more technologically proficient employees. There is a massive disparity in numbers between recent graduates and experienced workers in today's world, making it difficult to choose the right person for the job. The research aimed to conceptualise and operationalise Social Media Intelligence Quotient (SMIQ) scales to determine whether media system, social system, and personality system influence social media dependency among graduates and investigate whether social media dependency influences SMIQ among graduates. SMIQ integrates social media literacy, online business literacy, and social intelligence. The data was collected with final semester students from the Faculty of Business Management Universiti Teknologi Mara Puncak Alam, Universiti Malaya Kuala Lumpur, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Bangi due to they are reported as producing the most employable graduates in 2018. The data were analysed through SPSS and SEM AMOS to explore and confirm all the factors. The results achieved an acceptable model fit value and showed a significant relationship between the social media system and self–esteem with social media dependency. Meanwhile, social media literacy and social intelligence significantly affect social media dependency outcomes. As a result, this study concludes that the change in technology and communication provides us with favourable motivations to engage in social media activities for extended periods. Most of us use social media to produce income and expand our global networking, particularly with experts. Future research can look into the effects of SMIQ on graduate employability and the relationship between social media credibility and social media dependency.