Attitudes of Turkish teacher candidates towards social media

The purpose of this study is to determine the attitudes of Turkish language teacher candidates towards social media. In the study, stratified sampling method and quantitative research methods were used. Universities where Turkish language teacher candidates are located were identified and stratified by regions. A total of 406 Turkish language teaching undergraduate students from 17 different universities in our country participated in the research. As part of the research, participants were given a personal information form and the Social Media Attitude Scale University Form (SMTÖ-Ü) was applied. The data obtained were analyzed using the SPSS program. When the findings were interpreted, it was observed that Turkish language teacher candidates have a high level of positive ability to manage their addiction to social media. There was no significant difference found between the participants' taking Media Literacy course and their ability to manage their addictions. The highest attitude was in the entertainment and sharing sub-dimension. It was observed that entertainment and sharing attitudes are above average; interest attraction, social interaction, open communication, and education attitudes are at a moderate level. Participants were found to use Instagram and X the most. However, it was determined that they use the internet most in the 3 - 5 hour range, and social media most in the 1 - 3 hour range. No significant difference was found between the subdimensions in the scale and the social media usage purposes of social sharing and news gathering. Moreover, it was observed that as the frequency of participants' use of social media increases, their ability to manage their addictions decreases. In the recommendations section of the study, attention was drawn to the importance of Media Literacy and a suggestion was made for Media Literacy to be taught as a compulsory course in schools and universities affiliated with the Ministry of National Education (MEB).