Mediating Role of Satisfaction with Life in the Effect of Self-Esteem and Education on Social Media Addiction in Turkey

Orhan Koçak,Emine İlme,Mustafa Z Younis

doi:10.3390/su13169097

Orhan Koçak, Emine İlme + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169097

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Abstract

The increasing use of social media due to various individual and social reasons may trigger some psycho-social issues. What can be effective in reducing social media addiction, which causes social and economic problems, is an important issue today. This study aimed to investigate the mediation effect of satisfaction with life in the impact of self-esteem and education level on social media addiction in individuals. The study was designed as cross-sectional, and the sample consists of 952 volunteers over the age of 15 using social media in Turkey. A personal information form, the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were used as data collection tools in the study. The data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 Program and PROCESS macro plug-in. Demographic questions such as age, gender, and marriage were used as control variables. As a result of the research, it was determined that satisfaction with life had a mediation role in the effect of self-esteem and education level on social media addiction. Self-esteem and education level improved satisfaction with life, and increased satisfaction with life resulted in less social media addiction. These results demonstrate the importance of implementing specific practices based on self-esteem and education, especially for vulnerable groups, to minimize the problems that may arise with the excessive use of digital apps and social media.

Highlights

IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
These results demonstrate the importance of implementing specific practices based on self-esteem and education, especially for vulnerable groups, to minimize the problems that may arise with the excessive use of digital apps and social media
While satisfaction with life improves as self-esteem increases, the rise in satisfaction with life had a negative and significant effect on social media addiction

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Self-esteem is a structure formed by the sum of positive or negative thoughts about oneself [1]. For this reason, the self-structure of the individuals and their attitudes towards this structure may cause various health problems. One of them is the addiction that comes with active and uncontrolled social media use. Social media channels, which increase and develop in parallel with the development of the internet and technology, have brought many problems with their increasing usage

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