The impact of technology addiction on depression levels and sleep quality in adolescents

The Impact of Technology Addiction on Depression Levels and Sleep Quality in Adolescents Aim: This study aimed to examine the effects of technology addiction on depression levels and sleep quality in adolescents. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted as a cross-sectional study between October 2022 and July 2024 in five high schools located in Darende district of Malatya province. A total of 634 adolescents were selected from the schools using simple random sampling by listing the students within clusters. Data were collected using a personal information form, technology addiction scale, sleep quality scale, and adolescent depression scale. For data analysis, the SPSS 21.0 software package was used, employing descriptive statistics, percentage distribution, and regression analyses. The statistical significance level was set at p<0.05. Results: The overall technology addiction score was found to be 52.64±17.81. The depression level, according to the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale, was identified as moderately high with a mean value of 25.67±8.21. The sleep quality score and sleep variables were found to be 14.06±4.28. In our study, it was determined that technology addiction and its subdimensions had a 28.4% effect on depression and a 28.5% effect on sleep quality among adolescents. Additionally, it was found that the technology addiction scale and its subdimensions, as well as sociodemographic characteristics, had a 34.5% effect on depression and a 30.9% effect on sleep quality. Conclusion: According to this study, as the scores for the social network addiction subdimension, online gaming addiction subdimension, and technology addiction increase, the levels of depression in adolescents also increase. Furthermore, it was observed that as the scores for the online gaming addiction subdimension and technology addiction increase, the sleep quality of adolescents decreases. Keywords: Depression, Adolescence, Public Health Nursing, Technology Addiction, Sleep Quality.