Investigation of the relationship between social media addiction level and loneliness level and self-regulation skills in adolescents

Social media holds an important place in today's communication technologies. Adolescents easily adapt to innovations such as social media, yet their adaptation to real social relationships becomes more difficult while immersed in a virtual world. Since the limitless nature of social media does not exist in real life, self-limitation can become a problem especially for adolescents. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the level of social media addiction, loneliness, and self-regulation skills among adolescents. Additionally, the study investigates whether there are significant relationships between these variables and adolescents' gender, age, grade level, type of high school, mother's education level, father's education level, and monthly income status.The research utilized the relational screening model, a subtype of the general screening model. The study sample consisted of high school students attending public secondary education institutions in the city center of Manisa during the 2024–2025 academic year. A total of 410 students participated in the study. The data collection tools included the "Personal Information Form," "Social Media Addiction Scale for Adolescents," "UCLA Loneliness Scale-Short Form," and "Self-Regulation Scale for Adolescents." The data were statistically processed and analyzed using SPSS 26 software. For statistical analyses, independent samples t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, and Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient were utilized. The significance level for statistical analyses was set at p<0.05. The findings of the study indicate that there is no statistically significant relationship between social media addiction and gender among adolescents. However, loneliness levels and self-regulation skills are found to have a statistically significant relationship with gender. In addition, a significant relationship was found between loneliness levels and both age and grade level. No significant relationships were found between the dependent variables and mother's education level. However, a significant relationship was found between self-regulation skills and both father's education level and type of high school. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between loneliness levels, self-regulation skills, and monthly income status. In conclusion, a statistically significant relationship was found between social media addiction, loneliness levels, and self-regulation skills among adolescents. It is recommended to conduct interventions aimed at raising adolescents' awareness regarding social media use, reducing feelings of loneliness, and developing self-regulation strategies. Key Words: Adolescence; self regulation; social media addiction; loneliness