The relationship between smartphone addiction, social anxiety, and psychological resilience

In this thesis, the relationships among smartphone addiction, social anxiety, and psychological resilience in high school students were examined, and the extent to which these variables differed according to various demographic characteristics was investigated. The study employed a survey design, and the sample consisted of 392 high school students from the province of Bayburt. Data were collected through a Personal Information Form and three validated and reliable scales: the Smartphone Addiction Scale, the Social Anxiety Scale, and the Psychological Resilience Scale.Analysis revealed that the data met the assumptions of normality; therefore, parametric statistical techniques were applied, including the Independent Samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA, Tukey Post Hoc Test, and Pearson Correlation Analysis. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0, with a significance level set at p < 0.05.The findings indicated that female participants had significantly higher levels of smartphone addiction and social anxiety compared to males. In contrast, no significant gender differences were observed in psychological resilience. Approximately one-third of the participants reported using their phones for more than seven hours per day, and this level of use was strongly associated with higher addiction scores. Individuals who frequently used social media applications also reported higher levels of addiction and anxiety than those who predominantly used other types of applications.With respect to age, the 12–14 age group displayed the highest levels of both social anxiety and smartphone addiction, whereas the 14–16 age group showed the strongest levels of psychological resilience. Paradoxically, participants who reported parental restrictions on phone use exhibited higher levels of addiction and social anxiety, which may be associated with controlling parenting practices. Social anxiety was found to be higher among individuals with low income, whereas those with high income reported higher addiction scores.Participants who lacked close friends scored higher on both social anxiety and addiction, although no significant differences were found in psychological resilience. Team-sport athletes reported higher levels of both addiction and resilience compared to individual-sport participants. Longer duration of phone ownership was associated with increased social anxiety, but showed no significant association with addiction or resilience levels.Finally, Pearson correlation analyses demonstrated a positive and significant relationship between smartphone addiction and social anxiety, whereas psychological resilience was not significantly correlated with either variable. These results suggest that social anxiety may be a contributing factor to digital addictive behaviours, while psychological resilience does not directly influence this relationship. Overall, the findings indicate that digital dependency in adolescents is closely linked to social anxiety and that psychological resilience is shaped primarily by individual and environmental factors. In light of these outcomes, the implementation of early social-skills training, digital literacy education, and sport-based psychosocial intervention programs is recommended. Keywords: Smartphone addiction, social anxiety, psychological resilience.