Examination of the relationship between mindfulness ands psychological well-being of social media users according to sociodemographic variables

For the study group used in the research, data were collected from a total of 508 students (between the ages of 18-24), 343 female and 165 male individuals, including associate and undergraduate students in the 2023-2024 academic year at Doğuş University-Istanbul. For data collection purposes in the study, Informed Consent Form, Mindfulness Scale, Psychological Well-being Scale, Social Network Usage Purposes Scale, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Data Form were used. In the evaluation of the data, correlation analysis, t-test, ANOVA tests, and Regression analysis were performed using SPSS 27.0 software. As a result of the findings of the study, moderate level positive correlations were found between the Psychological Well-Being Scale of the participating students and the sub-dimensions of the Purposes of Using Social Networks Scale; Research, Collaboration, Initiating Communication, Sustaining Communication, Content Sharing, and Entertainment. A low level of positive correlation was found between the Mindfulness Scale and the sub-dimensions of the Purposes of Using Social Networks; Research, Communication Initiation, Entertainment. A moderate level positive correlation was found between the Mindfulness Scale and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. A low level negative correlation, in other words, a negative relationship was found between the Mindfulness Scale and the Initiating Communication sub-dimension. As a result of the study, it was found that Research, Initiating Communication and Establishing Communication, which are the sub-dimensions of the Purposes of Using Social Networks, predicted Mindfulness and the R2 value was .13 and the predictors explained 13% of the variance in the outcome variable (F(4,503)=20.05 p<.001). Initiating Communication independent variable predicted mindfulness negatively (β=-.35, p<.001), Establishing Communication independent variable predicted mindfulness positively (β=.21, p<.01), and Research independent variable predicted mindfulness positively (β=.17, p<.01). It was observed that Research and Communication sub-dimensions predicted Psychological Well-being, and R2 was .23, explaining 23% of the variance in the outcome variable (F(6,501)=26.17 p<.001). It was found that the independent variable of Research predicted Psychological Well-Being positively (β=.32, p<.001) and the independent variable of Communicating predicted Psychological Well-Being positively (β=.28, p<.01). When Research, Collaboration, Initiating Communication, Establishing Communication, Maintaining Communication, Sharing Content, Entertainment, Psychological Well-Being Scale, Mindfulness Scale, which are the sub-dimensions of the Purposes of Using Social Networks Scale, were compared according to gender, it was determined that the averages obtained from the scales did not differ between the groups. When the scores of Collaboration, Psychological Well-Being Scale, Mindfulness Scale were compared according to the average daily Social Media Time, it was found that the averages of the scales did not differ between the groups. However, it was found that there was a difference when the scores of the sub-dimensions of Research, Communication Initiation, Maintaining Communication, Content Sharing, and Entertainment were compared according to the daily average Social Media Duration. When the scores of Research, Collaboration, Initiating Communication, Establishing Communication, Maintaining Communication, Sharing Content, Entertainment, Psychological Well-Being Scale, Mindfulness Scale, which are the sub-dimensions of the Purposes of Using Social Networks Scale, were compared according to the Average Number of Social Media Posts per Day, it was seen that the averages of the scales did not differ between the groups. When the sub-dimensions of the Purposes of Using Social Networks Scale were compared according to the Total Number of Social Media Followers, differentiation was observed in the sub-dimension of Collaboration and Content Sharing, while no differentiation was observed in the other sub-dimensions. The findings obtained were discussed within the scope of the studies in the literature and suggestions were presented.