Investigation of the relationship between social media use, happiness level and emotional eating in adults

Social media, mobile and online platforms where content can be created and exchanged by the user; Happiness is defined as the joy and emotional appetite of reaching all longings in a complete and uninterrupted manner, and the eating behavior that occurs in positive or negative emotional states. It is known that social media use and mood affect food preference and amount. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the effect of positive mood on emotional appetite. This research was conducted to examine the relationship between social media use, happiness level and emotional appetite in adults. A total of 401 people, 206 male (51.3%) and 195 female (48.7%), aged 19-64, volunteered and answered the questions completely. The data of the participants' Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form, Oxford Happiness Scale-Short Form, Three-Factor Eating Scale and Emotional Appetite Questionnaire were collected face to face with the questionnaire form. It was determined that all of the participants in the study used social media and 44.9% of them had a positive mood. Social Media Addiction Scale virtual tolerance (r=-0.216, p<0.001), virtual communication (r=-0.132, p<0.05) and total (r=-0.189, p<0.001) scores were negatively correlated with Oxford Happiness Scale; There was a positive correlation between the Social Media Addiction Scale virtual tolerance (r=0.716, p<0.001), virtual communication (r=0.219, p<0.001) and total scores (r=0.206, p<0.001) and the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire. Detected. Between Three Factor Eating Scale emotional eating scores and Social Media Addiction Scale total scores (r=0.215, p<0.001), negative (r=0.310, p<0.001) and positive Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (r=0.252, p<0.001) scores positively; It was determined that there was a negative correlation between Oxford Happiness Scale (r=-0.107, p<0.05) scores. Since there is no study examining the relationship between social media use, happiness level and emotional appetite in the literature, it is thought that this study will make important contributions to the literature and more research is needed to make a clear comment on this subject. Keywords: Social media, happiness, emotional eating, nutrition