Investigation of the relationship between social media addiction and self-esteem in uni̇versity students

Introduction: With the development and differentiation of technology, social media addiction has become an important issue that has been examined in the psychology literature in recent years. In this study, we examined the relationship between social media addiction, which has significant effects on individuals' psychological health, and self-esteem. Purpose:In this study, the relationships between social media addiction and self-esteem of university studentswhospend time on social media were examined. Materials and Methods: In the study, a questionnaire including personal information form, Social Media Addiction Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale wasapplied to the participants. A total of 310 people, 180 women and 130 men, tookpart in the study. Findings: In the analysis, it was seen that the social media addiction and self-esteem meanscores of the participantsdiffered significantly according to demographic variables. Significant relationships were found between age, social media addiction and self-esteem scores in correlation analysis. Finally, in the regression analysis, it was seen that social isolation, a subscale of social media addiction, significantly predicted self-esteem score. Conclusion: The study shows the effects of social media addiction on psychological health in a sample of university students. In addition, the findings obtained as a result of demographic comparisonsprovideup-to-dateinformation to experts.