Abstract:

Technology has become a phenomenon that gradually increases its importance by facilitating the lives of individuals reaching every part of the world. Although the increasing use of the internet with the developing technology provides benefits to individuals in terms of business, education and social aspects, it has also brought its negative effects over time. Social media addiction, which develops as a result of the increased use of social media, is also counted among these negative aspects. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of social media addiction on social anxiety levels. This research was carried out in relational survey type with quantitative method. 331 university students, 263 female and 68 male, participated in the study. “Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form”, “Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users”, “Coping Attitudes Assessment Scale COPE-R” and “Personal Information Form” were used in the research. It has been determined that each of the students has at least one social media application and they spend an average of 1-3 hours a day. A significant majority of the students have never used Facebook. It has been determined that they use Instagram and YouTube significantly. It was concluded that the relationship between gender and the Social Anxiety Scale for Social Media Users and its subscales, Privacy Anxiety and Substance Interaction is significant. Women's social anxiety levels are higher than men. It has been determined that there is a positive and significant relationship between students' social anxiety level and social media addiction.

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