Investigation of the effect of social media addiction levels of university students on virtual environment loneliness levels

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine the effect of social media addiction levels of university students on virtual environment loneliness levels. The sample of the study consists of 379 university students selected by purposeful sampling method studying in the TRNC in the 2021-2022 academic year. In the study, Socio-Demographic Information Form, Social Media Addiction Scale and Virtual Environment Loneliness Scale were used as data collection tools. In the study, it was concluded that there was a positive and moderately significant relationship between social media addiction and virtual environment loneliness level. In the study, it was revealed that variables such as gender, department of education and place of residence did not affect the level of social media addiction. Duration of social media usage and memberships to virtual dating sites have been found to have an effect on the level of virtual environment loneliness. Participants who spend 2-3 or more hours on social media and had memberships to virtual dating sites had higher levels of virtual environment loneliness than other participants. Also, it will be useful to investigate the methods of combating social media addiction and its psychological effects on students.