Investigation of social media addiction symptoms and the relationship between social media addiction and depression in university students

Technological developments contribute to modern people's quality of life; however, they also cause many difficulties. Among those social media addiction is attracting attention as a rising problem especially in youth. Research shows that depression might be effective in the emergence of social media addiction and vice versa. In this study, it is aimed to investigate social media addiction symptoms, and the relationship between social media addiction and depression symptoms among university students. The sample is consisted of 200 university students (females N=129 males N=71) from universities in Istanbul, Turkey. Data was collected using Demographic Data Form, Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Version, and Beck Depression Inventory. According to our results male students scored higher in Social Media Addiction Scale. Students spending 7 hours and more on social media scored highest in Social Media Addiction Scale and virtual factors and virtual communication subscales. There were no statistical differences in Social Media Addiction Scale and its virtual factors and virtual communication subscale scores according to age, grade, social media usage purposes, and devices used for social media connection. There was a positive correlation between Social Media Addiction Scale total scores and Beck Depression Inventory scores (r=886, p<.05). There was no correlation between virtual factors and virtual communication subscale scores and Beck Depression Inventory scores.