Predicting the digital burnout levels of youth

In our age where technological developments continue rapidly, individuals use digital devices both in business life and in their daily routines. While using digital devices, which are an extension of the brain, young individuals gain advantages in many areas and sometimes experience psychological difficulties. On the one hand, young individuals who want to follow the developments closely, on the other hand, isolated from social life, may encounter some problems. In this study examining the digital burnout of young people, it was aimed to reveal the predictive power of loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress on digital burnout. In addition, it was examined whether there is a significant difference in the level of digital burnout in terms of demographic variables such as gender, academic achievement, employment status, average daily internet usage time, frequency of checking notifications and purpose of using digital devices. The sample of the study consisted of 598 (368 female, 230 male) young individuals selected in Kayseri and Kırşehir. 'Digital Burnout Scale (DBS)', 'Loneliness Scale Short Form (ULS-8)', 'Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale (DASS-21)' and 'Personal Information Form' developed by the researcher were used as data collection tools. The data obtained within the scope of the study were analyzed using SPSS 26 statistical software. Binary relationships between variables were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine the characteristics predicting the level of digital burnout. The data were analyzed using a regression model including loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress variables. Independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA tests were used to examine whether the digital burnout levels of young people differed according to the independent variables of the study, namely gender, academic achievement, employment status and purpose of using digital devices. According to the findings of the study, there were significant positive relationships between digital burnout and loneliness at a moderate level, and significant positive relationships between depression, anxiety and stress at a high level. It was observed that loneliness (ULS-8) and all sub-dimensions of the DASS-21 Scale predicted the dependent variable of the study, digital burnout. It was found that loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress together explained 55% of digital burnout. In addition, statistically significant differences were found between the variables of gender, employment status, average daily internet usage time, frequency of checking notifications and purpose of using digital devices and digital burnout level in young individuals. No significant difference was found in the digital burnout levels of young individuals in academic achievement categories.