Examining the relationship between university student's digital literacy levels and social media addiction

In today's world where digital technologies dominate, the importance of digital literacy increases day by day. It is accepted that individuals who do not have a certain level of digital literacy skills are at greater risk when dealing with the internet and new media. While social media, which has become widespread due to digitalization, provides certain advantages and conveniences in daily life practices and business life, on the other hand, it creates addicted individuals. This study aims to measure the relationship between university students' digital literacy levels and social media addiction. In the study, Ng's (2012) digital literacy scale and Young's (1998) internet addiction scale were adapted to social media addiction and applied to 381 students studying at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University through simple random sampling. The data obtained was analyzed with statistical techniques. Accordingly, there is a weak but positive relationship between digital literacy and social media addiction. 40 percent of the survey participants are at risk of social media addiction. On the other hand, as the mother's education level increases, the level of dependency increases. As university students' social media usage time increases, their social media addiction also increases.