The Relationship Between Digital Addiction and Social Phobia Levels Among University Students
Year 2026,
Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 93 - 104, 13.01.2026
Ahmet Göktaş
,
Tuğba Baysak
,
Mediha Baran
Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between digital addiction and social phobia among university students.
Methods: This correlational and cross-sectional study was conducted with students from a state university between March and May 2024. The study utilized a Personal Information Form, the Digital Addiction Scale, and the Brief Social Phobia Scale. A total of 421 university students participated in the study.
Results: Among the students in this study, 76.0% were female, and the average age was 21.59±3.30 years. It was found that 56.3% of the students used digital devices for an average of 3-5 hours per day, and 72.4% spent the most time on social media. The average score on the Digital Addiction Scale was 2.69±.60, and the average score on the Brief Social Phobia Scale was 23.10±12.14. A significant positive correlation was found between digital addiction and social phobia (r=.226, p<.001).
Conclusion: The results of this study reveal that there is a relationship between digital addiction and social phobia among university students. It is recommended to educate university students about the effects of digital addiction and social interaction. Education and interventions by psychiatric nurses regarding digital addiction and social phobia can contribute to protecting students' mental and physical health.
References
-
Andreassen CS. (2015). Online social network site addiction: A comprehensive review. Current Addiction Reports, 2, 175–184.
-
Andreassen CS, Billieux J, Griffiths MD, Kuss DJ, Demetrovics Z, Mazzoni E, et al. (2016). The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(2), 252-262.
-
Arslan A, Bardakçı S. (2021). Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Dijital Bağımlılıklarının Sosyal Kaygı Düzeyleri Üzerindeki Etkisinin İncelenmesi. Journal of National Education, 50(230), 899-922.
-
Arslan A. (2020). Üniversite öğrencilerinin dijital bağımlılık düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi. International e-Journal of Educational Studies, 4(7), 27-41.
-
Arslan A. (2019a). Ortaöğretim öğrencilerinin dijital bağımlılık düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi: Sivas ili örneği. Gazi Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 5(2), 63-80.
-
Arslan A. (2019b). Sağlık hizmetleri meslek yüksekokulu öğrencilerinin sosyal kaygıları ve genel öz-yeterlik algılarının çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi. International e-Journal of Educational Studies, 3(6), 78-96.
-
Aziz N, Nordin MJ, Abdulkadir SJ, Salih MMM. (2021). Digital addiction: Systematic review of computer game addiction impact on adolescent physical health. Electronics, 10(9), 996.
-
Başdaş Ö, Özbey H. (2020). Digital game addiction, obesity, and social anxiety among adolescents. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 34(2), 17-20.
-
Bondü R, Inerle S. (2020). Afraid of injustice? Justice sensitivity is linked to general anxiety and social phobia symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 272, 198-206.
-
Cemiloglu D, Almourad MB, McAlaney J, Ali R. (2022). Combatting digital addiction: Current approaches and future directions. Technology in Society, 68, 101832.
-
Cengiz GF, Gürü M, Şafak Y, Kuru E, Özdemir İ, Özdel K ve ark. (2018). The validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the Brief Social Phobia Scale. Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(1), 61-67.
-
Çelikkanat Ş, Özgüç S, Kuşlu S. (2024). Üniversite Öğrencilerinin dijital bağımlılık düzeylerinin üstbiliş ile ilişkisi. Etkili Hemşirelik Dergisi, 17(2), 190-201.
-
Davidson JR, Potts NL, Richichi EA, Krishnan KR, Smith RD, Wilson W. (1991). The Brief Social Phobia Scale. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 52(Suppl), 48–51.
-
Demir Gökmen B. (2023). Sağlık Öğrencilerinde Teknoloji Bağımlılığı, Benlik Saygısı ve Savunma Mekanizmaları Arasındaki İlişki. Sakarya Üniversitesi Holistik Sağlık Dergisi, 6(2), 240-255.
-
Demirci K, Akgönül M, Akpinar A. (2015). Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 85-92.
-
Ekinci NE, Yalcin I, Ayhan C. (2019). Analysis of loneliness levels and digital game addiction of middle school students according to various variables. World Journal of Education, 9(1), 20-27.
-
Enez Darcin A, Kose S, Noyan CO, Nurmedov S, Yılmaz O, Dilbaz N. (2016). Smartphone addiction and its relationship with social anxiety and loneliness. Behaviour & Information Technology, 35(7), 520-525.
-
Evli M, Şimşek N, Işıkgöz M, Öztürk Hİ. (2023). Internet addiction, insomnia, and violence tendency in adolescents. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 69(2), 351-361.
-
Göldag B. (2020). The Relationship between the digital game dependence and violence tendency levels of high school students. International Education Studies, 13(8), 118-129.
-
Gupta S, Gupta S, Kumar S. (2024). Influence of ınternet addiction and academic procrastination on academic achievement of secondary & senior secondary school students. The International Journal of
Indian Psychology, 12(2), 1293-1308.
-
Ime Y, Akyıl Y, Caglar A. (2024). The examination of the relationships among digital addiction, loneliness, shyness, and social anxiety in adolescents. Annals of Psychology, 40(2), 236-241.
-
Kanat S. (2019). The relationship between digital game addiction, communicationskills and loneliness perception levels of university students. International Education Studies, 12(11), 80-93.
-
Kesici A, Tunç NF. (2018). The Development of the Digital Addiction Scale for the University Students: Reliability and Validity Study. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 6(1), 91-98.
-
Khan S, Atta M, Malik NI, Makhdoom IF. (2021). Prevalence and relationship of smartphone addiction, nomophobia, and social anxiety among college and university late adolescents. ılkogretim/elementary
Education Online, 20(5), 3588-3595.
-
Konan N, Durmuş E, Türkoğlu D, Ağıroğlu Bakır A. (2018). How is smartphone addiction related to interaction anxiety of prospective teachers?. Education Sciences, 8(4), 186.
-
Meng SQ, Cheng JL, Li YY, Yang XQ, Zheng JW, Chang XW, et al. (2022). Global prevalence of digital addiction in general population: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 92, 102128.
-
Mohamed ZK, ElNahas GM, Hatata HAM, El-Serafi DM, Mahmoud DAM. (2023). Smartphone addiction and its relation to social phobia in female university students. Middle East Current Psychiatry, 30(1), 74.
-
Mujica AL, Crowell CR, Villano MA, Uddin KM. (2022). Addiction by design: Some dimensions and challenges of excessive social media use. Medical Research Archives, 10(2).
-
Peper E, Harvey R. (2018). Digital addiction: Increased loneliness, anxiety, and depression. NeuroRegulation, 5(1), 3-3.
-
Ran G, Li J, Zhang Q, Niu X. (2022). The association between social anxiety and mobile phone addiction: A three-level meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 130, 107198.
-
Rahayu FS, Nugroho LE, Ferdiana R, Setyohadi DB. (2020). Research trend on the use of IT in Digital Addiction: An investigation using a systematic literature review. Future Internet, 12(10), 174.
-
Savolainen I, Oksanen A, Kaakinen M, Sirola A, Paek, HJ. (2020). The role of perceived loneliness in youth addictive behaviors: Cross-national survey study. JMIR Mental Health, 7(1), e14035.
-
Sedek SSS. (2021). Innovative solutions for awareness campaign of social media addiction and its consequences. International Design Journal, 11(2), 131-156.
-
Statista (2024a). Number of internet and social media users worldwide as of January 2024. Erişim tarihi: 09.04.2024, Internet and social media users in the world 2024 | Statista
-
Statista (2024b). Number of internet users worldwide from 2005 to 2023. Erişim tarihi: 09.04.2024, Number of internet users worldwide 2023 | Statista
-
Videbeck SL. (2020). Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders. Videbeck SL, editor. Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; p: 516-558.
-
Weigle PE, Shafi RM. (2024). Social media and youth mental health. Current Psychiatry Reports, 26(1), 1-8.
-
Yaman Aktaş Y, Karabulut N, Arslan B. (2022). Digital addiction, academic performance, and sleep
disturbance among nursing students. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 58(4), 1537-1545.
Zenebe Y, Kunno K, Mekonnen M, Bewuket A, Birkie M, Necho M, et al. (2021). Prevalence and associated factors of internet addiction among undergraduate university students in Ethiopia: a community university-based cross-sectional study. BMC Psychology, 9, 1-10.
Üniversite Öğrencilerinde Dijital Bağımlılık ve Sosyal Fobi Düzeyleri Arasındaki İlişki
Year 2026,
Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 93 - 104, 13.01.2026
Ahmet Göktaş
,
Tuğba Baysak
,
Mediha Baran
Abstract
Amaç: Bu çalışmada üniversite öğrencilerinde dijital bağımlılık ile sosyal fobi arasındaki ilişkinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır.
Yöntem: Korelasyonel ve kesitsel olarak yapılan bu çalışma, Mart-Mayıs 2024 tarihleri arasında bir devlet üniversitesinde okuyan öğrencilerle yapılmıştır. Çalışmada Kişisel Bilgi Formu, Dijital Bağımlılık Ölçeği ve Kısa Sosyal Fobi Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Çalışmaya 421 üniversite öğrencisi katılmıştır.
Bulgular: Bu çalışmadaki öğrencilerin %76’sı kadın, yaş ortalaması 21.59±3.30’dur. Öğrencilerin %56.3’ü günde ortalama 3-5 saat dijital araçları kullandığı ve %72.4’ü en çok sosyal medyada zaman geçirdiği bulunmuştur. Öğrencilerin Dijital Bağımlılık Ölçeği puan ortalaması 2.69±.60, Kısa Sosyal Fobi Ölçeği puan ortalaması 23.10±12.14’tür. Dijital bağımlılık ile sosyal fobi arasında pozitif yönlü anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmuştur (r=.226, p<.001).
Sonuç: Bu çalışmanın sonuçları üniversite öğrencilerinde dijital bağımlılık ile sosyal fobi arasında ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Üniversite öğrencilerine dijital bağımlılığın ve sosyal etkileşimin etkileri üzerine eğitim verilmesi önerilmektedir. Psikiyatri hemşirelerinin dijital bağımlılık ve sosyal fobi ile ilgili eğitim ve müdahaleleri, öğrencilerin ruhsal ve fiziksel sağlıklarını korumalarına katkıda bulunabilir.
References
-
Andreassen CS. (2015). Online social network site addiction: A comprehensive review. Current Addiction Reports, 2, 175–184.
-
Andreassen CS, Billieux J, Griffiths MD, Kuss DJ, Demetrovics Z, Mazzoni E, et al. (2016). The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(2), 252-262.
-
Arslan A, Bardakçı S. (2021). Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Dijital Bağımlılıklarının Sosyal Kaygı Düzeyleri Üzerindeki Etkisinin İncelenmesi. Journal of National Education, 50(230), 899-922.
-
Arslan A. (2020). Üniversite öğrencilerinin dijital bağımlılık düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi. International e-Journal of Educational Studies, 4(7), 27-41.
-
Arslan A. (2019a). Ortaöğretim öğrencilerinin dijital bağımlılık düzeylerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi: Sivas ili örneği. Gazi Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi, 5(2), 63-80.
-
Arslan A. (2019b). Sağlık hizmetleri meslek yüksekokulu öğrencilerinin sosyal kaygıları ve genel öz-yeterlik algılarının çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi. International e-Journal of Educational Studies, 3(6), 78-96.
-
Aziz N, Nordin MJ, Abdulkadir SJ, Salih MMM. (2021). Digital addiction: Systematic review of computer game addiction impact on adolescent physical health. Electronics, 10(9), 996.
-
Başdaş Ö, Özbey H. (2020). Digital game addiction, obesity, and social anxiety among adolescents. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 34(2), 17-20.
-
Bondü R, Inerle S. (2020). Afraid of injustice? Justice sensitivity is linked to general anxiety and social phobia symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 272, 198-206.
-
Cemiloglu D, Almourad MB, McAlaney J, Ali R. (2022). Combatting digital addiction: Current approaches and future directions. Technology in Society, 68, 101832.
-
Cengiz GF, Gürü M, Şafak Y, Kuru E, Özdemir İ, Özdel K ve ark. (2018). The validity and reliability study of the Turkish version of the Brief Social Phobia Scale. Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(1), 61-67.
-
Çelikkanat Ş, Özgüç S, Kuşlu S. (2024). Üniversite Öğrencilerinin dijital bağımlılık düzeylerinin üstbiliş ile ilişkisi. Etkili Hemşirelik Dergisi, 17(2), 190-201.
-
Davidson JR, Potts NL, Richichi EA, Krishnan KR, Smith RD, Wilson W. (1991). The Brief Social Phobia Scale. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 52(Suppl), 48–51.
-
Demir Gökmen B. (2023). Sağlık Öğrencilerinde Teknoloji Bağımlılığı, Benlik Saygısı ve Savunma Mekanizmaları Arasındaki İlişki. Sakarya Üniversitesi Holistik Sağlık Dergisi, 6(2), 240-255.
-
Demirci K, Akgönül M, Akpinar A. (2015). Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 85-92.
-
Ekinci NE, Yalcin I, Ayhan C. (2019). Analysis of loneliness levels and digital game addiction of middle school students according to various variables. World Journal of Education, 9(1), 20-27.
-
Enez Darcin A, Kose S, Noyan CO, Nurmedov S, Yılmaz O, Dilbaz N. (2016). Smartphone addiction and its relationship with social anxiety and loneliness. Behaviour & Information Technology, 35(7), 520-525.
-
Evli M, Şimşek N, Işıkgöz M, Öztürk Hİ. (2023). Internet addiction, insomnia, and violence tendency in adolescents. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 69(2), 351-361.
-
Göldag B. (2020). The Relationship between the digital game dependence and violence tendency levels of high school students. International Education Studies, 13(8), 118-129.
-
Gupta S, Gupta S, Kumar S. (2024). Influence of ınternet addiction and academic procrastination on academic achievement of secondary & senior secondary school students. The International Journal of
Indian Psychology, 12(2), 1293-1308.
-
Ime Y, Akyıl Y, Caglar A. (2024). The examination of the relationships among digital addiction, loneliness, shyness, and social anxiety in adolescents. Annals of Psychology, 40(2), 236-241.
-
Kanat S. (2019). The relationship between digital game addiction, communicationskills and loneliness perception levels of university students. International Education Studies, 12(11), 80-93.
-
Kesici A, Tunç NF. (2018). The Development of the Digital Addiction Scale for the University Students: Reliability and Validity Study. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 6(1), 91-98.
-
Khan S, Atta M, Malik NI, Makhdoom IF. (2021). Prevalence and relationship of smartphone addiction, nomophobia, and social anxiety among college and university late adolescents. ılkogretim/elementary
Education Online, 20(5), 3588-3595.
-
Konan N, Durmuş E, Türkoğlu D, Ağıroğlu Bakır A. (2018). How is smartphone addiction related to interaction anxiety of prospective teachers?. Education Sciences, 8(4), 186.
-
Meng SQ, Cheng JL, Li YY, Yang XQ, Zheng JW, Chang XW, et al. (2022). Global prevalence of digital addiction in general population: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 92, 102128.
-
Mohamed ZK, ElNahas GM, Hatata HAM, El-Serafi DM, Mahmoud DAM. (2023). Smartphone addiction and its relation to social phobia in female university students. Middle East Current Psychiatry, 30(1), 74.
-
Mujica AL, Crowell CR, Villano MA, Uddin KM. (2022). Addiction by design: Some dimensions and challenges of excessive social media use. Medical Research Archives, 10(2).
-
Peper E, Harvey R. (2018). Digital addiction: Increased loneliness, anxiety, and depression. NeuroRegulation, 5(1), 3-3.
-
Ran G, Li J, Zhang Q, Niu X. (2022). The association between social anxiety and mobile phone addiction: A three-level meta-analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 130, 107198.
-
Rahayu FS, Nugroho LE, Ferdiana R, Setyohadi DB. (2020). Research trend on the use of IT in Digital Addiction: An investigation using a systematic literature review. Future Internet, 12(10), 174.
-
Savolainen I, Oksanen A, Kaakinen M, Sirola A, Paek, HJ. (2020). The role of perceived loneliness in youth addictive behaviors: Cross-national survey study. JMIR Mental Health, 7(1), e14035.
-
Sedek SSS. (2021). Innovative solutions for awareness campaign of social media addiction and its consequences. International Design Journal, 11(2), 131-156.
-
Statista (2024a). Number of internet and social media users worldwide as of January 2024. Erişim tarihi: 09.04.2024, Internet and social media users in the world 2024 | Statista
-
Statista (2024b). Number of internet users worldwide from 2005 to 2023. Erişim tarihi: 09.04.2024, Number of internet users worldwide 2023 | Statista
-
Videbeck SL. (2020). Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders. Videbeck SL, editor. Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; p: 516-558.
-
Weigle PE, Shafi RM. (2024). Social media and youth mental health. Current Psychiatry Reports, 26(1), 1-8.
-
Yaman Aktaş Y, Karabulut N, Arslan B. (2022). Digital addiction, academic performance, and sleep
disturbance among nursing students. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 58(4), 1537-1545.
Zenebe Y, Kunno K, Mekonnen M, Bewuket A, Birkie M, Necho M, et al. (2021). Prevalence and associated factors of internet addiction among undergraduate university students in Ethiopia: a community university-based cross-sectional study. BMC Psychology, 9, 1-10.