Investigation of the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction levels and social media addiction levels in university students

In this study, it is aimed to examine the relationship between the loneliness life satisfaction levels of university students and their social media addiction levels. In addition, the study also investigates whether there is a difference between the demographic variables of the participants (gender, age, parent's education level, parent's level, place of accommodation, frequency of meeting with friends and daily social media use) and levels of loneliness, life satisfaction and social media addiction. The participants of the research were applied to undergraduate students studying at Toros University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Health Sciences. A total of 1792 undergraduate students studying at Toros University in the 2020-2021 academic year were selected by easily accessible sampling method. The sample of the research consists of 365 undergraduate students (39 students from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture, 182 students from the Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, 114 students from the Faculty of Engineering and 30 students from the Faculty of Health Sciences) studying in various departments of Toros University. Assuming that University Students represent all university students, four types of data collection tools were used: UCLA Loneliness Scale-short form, Life Satisfaction Scale, Social Media Addiction Scale and Personal Information Form. The raw data obtained with the data collection tools were analyzed with SPSS 27 and the statistical data were recorded. As a result, it is seen that there is a positive and negative relationship between loneliness and social media addiction, and a negative significant relationship between social media addiction and life satisfaction. It is seen that the loneliness levels, life satisfaction perceptions and social media addictions of university students do not differ significantly according to gender. Considering the age variable of the participants, there is no significant relationship. Considering the economic level of their parents, it is seen that there is a significant difference. Considering the frequency of meeting with friends of the participants, there is a significant relationship. There is a significant relationship when looking at the variable of daily use of social media by the participants.