EN
Despite being a pressing issue, the role of personality traits in the adolescent use of social networks has not yet been researched empirically in Slovakia. The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about the relationship between the tendency to overuse social media, personality traits and self-esteem in a sample of Slovak adolescents. Furthermore, it also confirms the gender differences in the tendency of male and female adolescents to use social media in a risky way. The research sample comprised 284 Slovak adolescents aged between 15 and 20 years old (M = 17.88, SD = 1.67); 141 of the subjects were female. The data collection was carried out using the snowball method i.e., by means of a Facebook questionnaire. The study suggests the importance of personality factors such as neuroticism and conscientiousness in explaining the tendency to overuse social media. The role of personality traits and gender differences may be relevant for designing prevention activities and intervention programmes on risky social networking use in adolescence.