Serbest Zamanın Dijital Problemi: Yalnızlık ve İnternet Kumar Bağımlılığı İlişkisi

Öz

Amaç: Serbest zaman aktiviteleri çıktıları açısından olumlu deneyimleri ifade etse de teknolojinin insan yaşamına olan etkileri doğrultusunda olumsuz deneyimleri de ulaşılabilir hale getirmiştir. Bu etkilerle yaşamın her alanında ilişki içerisinde olan beliren yetişkinlik dönemindeki bireyler literatürde farklı yaş grupları içerisinde ele alınmaktadır. Bu çalışmada ise 18-25 yaş aralığında beliren yetişkin dönemindeki bireylerde yalnızlık ve internet kumar bağımlılığı ilişkisinin incelenmesi amaç olarak belirlenmiştir. Yöntem: Çalışmada nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden ilişkisel tarama modelinden yararlanılmıştır. Yaşları 18-25 yaş aralığında olan 104 kadın ve 115 erkek katılımcı kolayda örnekleme yöntemiyle çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Araştırma katılımcılarının büyük bir çoğunluğunun (%76,7) gelir durumunun iyi olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bulgular: Araştırma bulguları beliren yetişkinlik dönemindeki katılımcıların, cinsiyet değişkeni açısından yalnızlık boyutunda anlamlı farklılık yaratmadığını göstermektedir. Ancak internet kumar bağımlılığı motivasyon ve bağlılık boyutları ise erkek katılımcılar lehine anlamlı farklılık içermektedir. Gelir durumu değişkeni ise beliren yetişkin dönemindeki bireyler için yalnızlık ve internet kumar bağımlılığı açısından anlamlı farklılık yaratmamıştır. Sonuç: Sonuç olarak beliren yetişkin dönemindeki bireylerin yalnızlık ve internet kumar bağımlılığı arasında pozitif yönde düşük düzeyde ilişki tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte yalnızlık durumu, internet kumar bağımlılığı boyutlarını ifade eden motivasyon, bağımlılık ve olumsuz duyguları etkilemektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Serbest Zaman
• Yalnızlık
• İnternet Kumar Bağımlılığı

The Digital Problem of Leisure: The Relationship Between Loneliness and Internet Gambling Addiction

Öz

Purpose: While leisure activities represent positive experiences in terms of outcomes, technology's impact on human life has also made negative experiences accessible. Individuals in emerging adulthood, who are in contact with these impacts in every aspect of life, are discussed in the literature within different age groups. This study aims to examine the relationship between loneliness and internet gambling addiction in emerging adults aged 18-25. Method: The study utilized a correlational survey model from quantitative research methods. 104 female and 115 male participants aged 18-25 were included in the study using convenience sampling. A large majority of the participants (76.7%) were found to have a good income level. Results: The research findings show that gender does not create a significant difference in the loneliness dimension among emerging adult participants. However, the motivation and commitment dimensions of internet gambling addiction show a significant difference in favor of male participants. Income level did not create a significant difference in terms of loneliness and internet gambling addiction for emerging adults. Conclusion: In conclusion, a low-level positive correlation was found between loneliness and internet gambling addiction in emerging adults. However, loneliness affects the motivation, addiction, and negative emotions that characterize internet gambling addiction.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Leisure
• Loneliness
• Internet Gambling Addiction

Kaynakça

1. American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5 Task Force. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5™ (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
2. Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469
3. Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press.
4. Bardak, F., & Alkar, Ö. Y. (2016). Üniversite öğrencilerinin sosyal ağları kullanım amaçlarına göre internet bağımlılığı ve yalnızlık düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi. Journal of Dependence, 17(2), 55-65.
5. Barry, D. T., Maciejewski, P. K., Desai, R. A., & Potenza, M. N. (2007). Income differences and recreational gambling. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 1(3), 145-153. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0b013e318125088f
6. Başoğlu, U. D., Yağcı, İ., & Seydioglu, C. (2024). Reasons for Gambling in University Students, Loneliness? A study on sports science students. Research in Sport Education and Sciences, 26(3), 138-149. https://doi.org/10.62425/rses.1492155
7. Beller, J. (2024). Social inequalities in loneliness: Disentangling the contributions of education, income, and occupation. Sage Open, 14(3), 21582440241281408. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241281408
8. Botterill, E., Gill, P. R., McLaren, S., & Gomez, R. (2016). Marital status and problem gambling among Australian older adults: The mediating role of loneliness. Journal of gambling studies, 32(3), 1027-1038. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9575-5

9. Chen, L. J., & Chung, S. K. (2007). Loneliness, social connectedness, and family income among undergraduate females and males in Taiwan. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 35(10), 1353-1364. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2007.35.10.1353
10. Chóliz, M. (2016). The challenge of online gambling: the effect of legalization on the increase in online gambling addiction. Journal of gambling studies, 32(2), 749-756. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-015-9558-6
11. Churchill, S. A., & Farrell, L. (2018). The impact of gambling on depression: New evidence from England and Scotland. Economic Modelling, 68, 475-483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2017.08.021
12. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2021). Araştırma tasarımı: Nitel, nicel ve karma yöntem yaklaşımları. Çev. Ed. Engin Karadağ. Ankara: Nobel Yayıncılık.
13. Çuhadar, A. (2025). Boş Zamanın Doğru Kullanımı: İnternet Kumar Bağımlılığını Önlemede Rekreasyonel Sporun Önemi. Sportive, 8(2), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.53025/sportive.1727840
14. Drakeford, B. P., & Hudson-Smith, M. (2015). Mobile gambling: Implications of accessibility. Journal of Research Studies in Business & Management, 1(1), 3-28.
15. Durak, M. & Senol-Durak, E. (2010). Psychometric qualities of the UCLA loneliness scale-version 3 as applied in a Turkish culture. Educational Gerontology, 36(10-11), 988-1007.
16. Edgren, R., Castrén, S., Jokela, M., & Salonen, A. H. (2016). At-risk and problem gambling among Finnish youth: The examination of risky alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, mental health and loneliness as gender-specific correlates. Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 33(1), 61-80. https://doi.org/10.1515/nsad-2016-0005
17. Egaña-Marcos, E., Collantes, E., Diez-Solinska, A., & Azkona, G. (2025). The Influence of Loneliness, Social Support and Income on Mental Well-Being. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 15(5), 70. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15050070
18. Escario, J. J., Blanco, J. E. E., Giménez-Nadal, J. I., & Wilkinson, A. V. (2024). Differences in the maximum proportion of spent income devoted to online gambling among adolescents due to conflictual relationships. Telematics and Informatics, 92, 102162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2024.102162
19. M. Gainsbury, S., Hing, N., Delfabbro, P. H., & King, D. L. (2014). A taxonomy of gambling and casino games via social media and online technologies. International gambling studies, 14(2), 196-213. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2014.890634
20. Gainsbury, S. M. (2015). Online gambling addiction: the relationship between internet gambling and disordered gambling. Current addiction reports, 2(2), 185-193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-015-0057-8
21. Giménez Lozano, J. M., & Morales Rodríguez, F. M. (2022). Systematic review: Preventive intervention to curb the youth online gambling problem. Sustainability, 14(11), 6402. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116402
22. Griffiths, M. (2007). Gambling addiction on the Internet. Internet addiction: A handbook and guide to evaluation and treatment, 91-111. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118013991.ch6
23. Griffiths, M., & Parke, A. (2008). Internet gambling. In Encyclopedia of internet technologies and applications (pp. 228-234). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59140-993-9.ch033
24. Hagfors, H., Kaakinen, M., Savolainen, I., Vepsäläinen, J., & Oksanen, A. (2025). Lonely gamble–A longitudinal study of loneliness, gambling to escape and problem gambling. Journal of behavioral addictions, 14(2), 972-981. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00025
25. Hakansson, A., & Widinghoff, C. (2020). Gender differences in problem gamblers in an online gambling setting. Psychology research and behavior management, 681-691. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S248540
26. Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of behavioral medicine, 40(2), 218-227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-010-9210-8
27. Heinrich, L. M., & Gullone, E. (2006). The clinical significance of loneliness: A literature review. Clinical psychology review, 26(6), 695-718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.04.002
28. John, A., Lee, S. C., Wardle, H., McManus, S., & Dymond, S. (2019). Exploring problem gambling, loneliness and lifetime suicidal behaviours: a cross-sectional study using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2007. Report 2 for GambleAware.
29. Karakoç, E., & Taydaş, O. (2013). Bir serbest zaman etkinliği olarak üniversite öğrencilerinin internet kullanımı ile yalnızlık arasındaki. Selçuk İletişim, 7(4), 33-45.
30. Karaibrahimoğlu, A., Kişioğlu, A. N., Çoban, B., Yıldırım, A., & Yılmaz, S. D. (2021). Validity and reliability study of online gambling addiction scale (OGAS). Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, 8(3), 186-193. https://doi.org/10.5152/ADDICTA.2021.21006
31. Karaibrahimoğlu, A., Batmaz, K., Kaçmaz, E., Öztop, R., Kişioğlu, A. N., Uskun, E., & Önal, Ö. (2023). The relationship of online gambling addiction and loneliness: A University case from Turkiye. Medical Journal of Süleyman Demirel University, 30(3), 410-423. https://doi.org/10.17343/sdutfd.1314985
32. Ko, C. H., Yen, J. Y., Chen, C. C., Chen, S. H., & Yen, C. F. (2005). Gender differences and related factors affecting online gaming addiction among Taiwanese adolescents. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 193(4), 273-277.
33. Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. (2012). Internet gambling addiction. In Encyclopedia of cyber behavior (pp. 735-753). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-0315-8.ch062
34. McCormack, A., Shorter, G. W., & Griffiths, M. D. (2014). An empirical study of gender differences in online gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 30(1), 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-012-9341-x
35. McQuade, A., & Gill, P. (2012). The role of loneliness and self-control in predicting problem gambling behaviour. Gambling Research: Journal of the National Association for Gambling Studies (Australia), 24(1), 18-30.
36. Liu, H., Zhang, M., Yang, Q., & Yu, B. (2020). Gender differences in the influence of social isolation and loneliness on depressive symptoms in college students: a longitudinal study. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 55(2), 251-257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-019-01726-6
37. Pabayo, R., Patel, P., Patte, K. A., & Leatherdale, S. T. (2024). Income inequality and the odds of online gambling among a large sample of adolescents in Canada. Journal of gambling studies, 40(1), 289-305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-023-10194-2
38. Price, A. (2022). Online gambling in the midst of COVID-19: a nexus of mental health concerns, substance use and financial stress. International journal of mental health and addiction, 20(1), 362-379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00366-1
39. Savolainen, I., Oksanen, A., Kaakinen, M., Sirola, A., & Paek, H. J. (2020). The role of perceived loneliness in youth addictive behaviors: Cross-national survey study. JMIR mental health, 7(1), e14035. https://doi.org/10.2196/14035
40. Serna, C., García-Perales, J., & Martínez, I. (2023). Protective and risk parenting styles for internet and online gambling addiction. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2023(1), 6674541. https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/6674541
41. Sirola, A., Kaakinen, M., Savolainen, I., & Oksanen, A. (2019). Loneliness and online gambling-community participation of young social media users. Computers in Human Behavior, 95, 136-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.01.023
42. Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics. Boston: Pearson.
43. Tapia-Muñoz, T., Staudinger, U. M., Allel, K., Steptoe, A., Miranda-Castillo, C., Medina, J. T., & Calvo, E. (2022). Income inequality and its relationship with loneliness prevalence: A cross-sectional study among older adults in the US and 16 European countries. PLoS One, 17(12), e0274518. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274518
44. Trevorrow, K., & Moore, S. (1998). The association between loneliness, social isolation and women's electronic gaming machine gambling. Journal of gambling studies, 14(3), 263-284. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022057609568
45. Trivedi, R. H., & Teichert, T. (2018). Attitudes, beliefs and impulsivity in online gambling addiction. International Gambling Studies, 18(2), 327-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459795.2018.1466188
46. Villalba-García, C., Griffiths, M. D., Demetrovics, Z., & Czakó, A. (2025). The relationship between loot box buying, gambling, internet gaming, and mental health: Investigating the moderating effect of impulsivity, depression, anxiety, and stress. Computers in Human Behavior, 166, 108579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108579
47. Vuorinen, I., Savolainen, I., Sirola, A., & Oksanen, A. (2024). The impacts of stress and loneliness on gambling and gaming problems: A nationwide longitudinal study. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 70(7), 1325-1332. https://doi.org/10.1177/002076402412646
48. Yanguas, J., Pinazo-Henandis, S., & Tarazona-Santabalbina, F. J. (2018). The complexity of loneliness. Acta Bio Medica: Atenei Parmensis, 89(2), 302. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v89i2.7404
49. Yeşilay, Türkiye Kumar Raporu (2025). Erişim Linki: https://www.yesilay.org.tr/assets/uploads/pdf/turkiye-kumar-raporu-2025.pdf Erişim Tarihi: 7.1.2026
50. Zhong, G., Du, J., & Zhao, M. (2024). Understanding and addressing the challenges of online gambling addiction in mainland China. General Psychiatry, 37(2), e101477. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2023-101477
51. WHO, Gambling, (2024). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/gambling Erişim Tarihi: 9.1.2026
52. Wiseman, H., Guttfreund, D. G., & Lurie, I. (1995). Gender differences in loneliness and depression of university students seeking counselling. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 23(2), 231-243. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069889508253008