Social Media Use and Perceived Loneliness Level in Covid-19 Infected Patients and Its Relationship with Depression

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to compare and assess the connections between depression, anxiety, social media dependency, and perceived loneliness levels in individuals who were quarantined due to Covid-19 and those who were not affected by the virus and were not quarantined. Methods: The study involved 189 patients seeking treatment for anxiety and depression at a psychiatry outpatient clinic, with 92 of them being quarantined due to Covid-19 and 97 not being affected by the virus. Participants completed a sociodemographic information form, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Social Media Addiction Form, Perceived Loneliness Scale, and Nomophobia Scale. Results: Quarantined patients exhibited significantly higher anxiety levels and lower perceived loneliness levels compared to those who were not quarantined. Among individuals with Covid-19, there was a moderate and significant correlation between depression and anxiety levels (r = 0.509), a moderate and significant correlation between nomophobia and social media addiction levels (r = 0.580), and a moderate and significant correlation between anxiety and loneliness levels (r = 0.305). Among patients without Covid-19, a weak but significant correlation between nomophobia and loneliness (r = 0.295) and a moderate and significant correlation between nomophobia and social media addiction (r = 0.609) were observed. Conclusion: The study concluded that quarantine was linked to adverse psychological effects, which were also associated with feelings of loneliness and social media usage. These issues could potentially be alleviated by providing accurate information from reliable sources and by limiting social media usage.

Keywords

• Anxiety
• Quarantine
• Social media

Covid-19 Enfeksiyonu Geçirenlerde Sosyal Medya Kullanımı Ve Algılanan Yalnızlık Düzeyinin Depresyonla Ilişkisi

Abstract

Amaç: Çalışmamızda Covid-19 nedeniyle karantinaya alınan bireylerle, Covid-19 geçirmeyip karantinaya alınmayan kişilerin depresyon, anksiyete, sosyal medya bağımlılığı ve algılanan yalnızlık düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkilerin karşılaştırılması ve değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Psikiyatri polikliniğine anksiyete ve depresyon belirtileri ile başvuran 92'si Covid-19 tanısı ile karantinaya alınmış, 97'si Covid-19 geçirmemiş ve karantinaya alınmamış 189 hasta çalışmaya katılmıştır. Katılımcılara sosyodemografik bilgi formu, Beck Depresyon Ölçeği, Beck Anksiyete Ölçeği, Sosyal Medya Bağımlılığı Formu, Algılanan Yalnızlık Ölçeği, Nomofobi Ölçeği uygulanmıştır. Bulgular: Karantinaya alınan hastaların anksiyete düzeyleri alınmayanlara kıyasla anlamlı derecede yüksek ve algılanan yalnızlık düzeyleri ise anlamlı derecede düşük olarak saptanmıştır. Karantinaya alınan bireyler arasında depresyon ve anksiyete düzeyleri arasında orta düzey ve anlamlı bir ilişki (r=0,593), nomofobi ve sosyal medya bağımlılığı düzeyleri arasında orta düzeyde ve anlamlı bir ilişki (r=0,679) ve anksiyete ve yalnızlık düzeyleri arasında orta düzeyde ve anlamlı bir ilişki (r=0,404) tespit edilmiştir. Covid -19 geçirmemiş hastalar arasında nomofobi ile yalnızlık arasında zayıf ve anlamlı bir ilişki (r=0,295) ve nomofobi ile sosyal medya bağımlılığı arasında orta düzeyde ve anlamlı bir ilişki (r=0,609) gözlenmiştir. Sonuç: Çalışmamız, karantinanın olumsuz psikolojik etkilerle ilişkili olduğu ve bunun da kişinin yalnızlık hissi ve sosyal medya kullanımı ile ilişkili olduğu sonucuna varmıştır. Bu sorunlar, güvenilir kaynaklardan doğru bilgi edinilmesi ve sosyal medyaya sınırlı zaman ayrılmasıyla azaltılabilir.

Keywords

• Anksiyete
• Karantina
• Sosyal medya

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