Problematic social media use, digital gaming addiction and excessive screen time among Turkish adolescents during remote schooling: implications on mental and academic well-being

Year 2023, , 24 - 33, 31.01.2023

Gresa Carkaxhıu Bulut Sebla Gokce

https://doi.org/10.5472/marumj.1244628

Cited By: 4

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to describe screen use patterns among Turkish adolescents during the coronavirus disease 19
(COVID-19) pandemic with a special emphasis on social media and digital gaming addiction, and explore how these are linked to
adolescents’ mental and academic well-being.
Materials and Method: The study sample consisted of 9th to 12th grade students from three public high-schools in Istanbul, Turkey
(n=201). Participants were required to complete a comprehensive questionnaire which gathered information about various domains
including problematic screen use, attitudes towards online education, and mental/academic well-being during the lockdown period.
Results: The overall screen time exhibited a significant increase during the lockdown, with the most common discretionary screen
activities being social media use, communication, and watching movies/series (p<0.001). The students spent significantly less time
on physical activities (p=0.003) and face-to-face meetings with their friends (p<0.001). Male students presented with higher scores on
gaming addiction (p<0.001), whereas a significantly higher proportion of the female students (28.57% vs. 14.81%) were classified as atrisk
for social media addiction (p=0.046). Both gaming addiction and social media addiction were associated with higher depression
scores (p=0.003 and p<0.001 respectively).
Conclusion: Screen use patterns may have diverse consequences for youth’s well-being during the pandemic. The addiction risk and
other detrimental outcomes are likely to be associated with the qualitative features of screen activities, rather than just the amount of
time spent on digital media by the adolescents.

Keywords

Screen time, Social media use, Digital gaming addiction, Adolescents, COVID-19, Well-being.

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