A sociological examination on social media use of university students: The case of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University

Man has built his social life through different communication channels in every period of his historical life. This construction covers the process from the invention of writing to the emergence of the internet. As a matter of fact, the emergence of the internet paved the way for the rapid spread of information and the facilitation of communication. Thus, a social media platform has emerged where there are no borders anymore, where the individual carries his entire private life to the virtual world. The emergence of social media has become inevitable in the globalizing world. What makes the said social media so attractive; popular and far from the nature of real life. The group that uses social media the most, which is independent of the values and norms of social life, is undoubtedly the youth. The fact that young people prefer social media so much has brought along sociological problems. In this context, the research will focus on how the social media usage behaviors of university students shape their leisure time, consumption cultures and social life areas. Keywords: Internet, Social Media, Leisure, Consumption Culture, Social Life