Examination of the relationship between internet addiction, social appearance anxiety and loneliness among young adults

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between internet addiction, social appearance anxiety, and levels of loneliness among young adults. The sample group of the study consists of 176 young adult individuals, accessed through an online survey method, aged between 18-25 years (Mean=21.97 SD=2.10), including 113 females (64.2%) and 63 males (35.8%). For data collection from the participants, the Personal Information Form covering demographic data questions, Internet Addiction Scale, Social Appearance Anxiety Scale, and Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA-S) were used. Upon examining the findings from the research, a positive and strong correlation was found between internet addiction and social appearance anxiety (r= .52, p<.01), a positive and low correlation between internet addiction and social loneliness (r=.26, p<.05). A positive and strong correlation was observed between social appearance anxiety and social loneliness (r = .53, p<.01), a positive and moderate correlation between social appearance anxiety and familial emotional loneliness (r = .47, p<.01), a positive and moderate correlation between social appearance anxiety and emotional loneliness (r = .44, p<.01), a positive and strong correlation between social appearance anxiety and Total SELSA-S (r = .52, p<.01). There was no significant relationship found between internet addiction and the sub-dimensions of loneliness, namely familial-emotional, romantic-emotional, and emotional loneliness (p>.05). Additionally, no significant relationship was observed between social appearance anxiety and the romantic-emotional sub-dimension of loneliness (p>.05). A Multiple Linear Regression test was conducted to examine whether social appearance anxiety and social-emotional loneliness predict internet addiction. The analysis revealed that social appearance anxiety and social-emotional loneliness did not have a predictive effect on internet addiction (p>.05). The findings from the research support the assumption of a positive significant relationship between internet addiction and social appearance anxiety, as well as social-emotional loneliness.