The relationship between social media addiction, self-esteem and body perception of young adults

In this study; The relationship between social media addiction, perceptions of their own bodies and self-esteem of young adults was examined. In addition, whether social media addiction, self-esteem and body perception differ significantly according to variables such as gender, filter / photoshop use and time spent on social media is another purpose of the study. In addition, the importance that users attach to the status of getting likes on social media, the reasons for using filters, and the effect of perfect male or female photos seen on social media are among the other purposes of the study and constitute the qualitative dimension of the research. The study group consists of 315 people (223 females, 92 males) between the ages of 18-30, living within the borders of Istanbul Province, using social media. Personal Information Form, Interview Form, Social Media Addiction, Self-Esteem and Body Image scales were obtained from the participants via the Google Forms application. The research was conducted in the mixed research model in which quantitative and qualitative methods were used together, and the quantitative relational survey model was used. In the qualitative dimension, the opinions of the participants were taken through the semi-structured interview form. The responses of the participants in the study group to open-ended questions were analyzed by two different coders with content analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to test whether body perception, self-esteem, and daily social media usage time are a significant predictor of social media addiction. Body perception, self-esteem, daily social media usage time variables predicted 33% of the social media addiction variance. In the study, it was observed that women's self-esteem was higher than men, and their body perception was negative compared to men. In addition, the body perception of those who make photoshop editing on the photograph is lower than those who do not; There is a negative and moderate relationship between self-esteem and body perception; It has been revealed that social media addiction does not differ significantly according to gender and the duration of social media use has an effect on social media addiction. In the qualitative part of the study, it was observed that when the participants saw the perfect male or female photo on social media, the female participants compared themselves with the relevant photos and responded mostly in the category of "Inadequate". When the "Awareness of False Beauty Perception" category was examined according to the gender of the participants, a significant difference was found. Accordingly, it was understood that the awareness of women that perfect photos are actually fake beauties was higher than men. To the question "Is it important for you to like a photo you share on social media? Why?", 64.4% of the participants only answered "no", it has been observed that those who answer yes and gave reasons for in "Ego satisfaction , Approval, Beauty, Desire to be liked and Happiness" categories. "Do you use a filter effect before sharing photos? Can you explain the reasons? "44% of the participants answered "no". 56% of the people who stated that they used filter effects gave answers in the "Photo Feature" and "Beauty Perception" categories. In addition, it was understood that women use these filter effects more than men and they care more about looking beautiful than men. Key Words: Young Adults, Social Media Addiction, Body Perception and Self-Esteem.