Investigation of the relationship between digital obesity status and alexithymia in young people aged 10-24

In today's rapidly digitalizing world, concepts such as digital obesity and alexithymia are becoming increasingly important. The aim of this study is to examine the concepts of digital obesity and alexithymia to understand the effects of these phenomena and prevention behaviors. In this way, it is aimed to raise awareness about the effects of digital technologies on health and contribute to individuals developing healthier digital habits. This study carried out a descriptive correlational study with individuals between the ages of 10-24 (n: 391) in schools affiliated with the Ağrı Provincial Directorate of National Education and Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University between May 2023 and July 2023. The SPSS-22 package program and R programming language 4.1.3 were used in the study. It was found that the level of alexithymia increased as the digital obesity status of young people increased (t = 7.978; p = 0.001). Furthermore, it was determined that the Elastic Net Regression method is the best model that can be used to predict the alexithymia level. According to the Shapley value, the most important variable in predicting alexithymia was found to be digital obesity. The study determined that as the level of digital obesity increased, alexithymia also increased. In the fight against digital obesity and alexithymia, educational programs and guidance services can be provided to encourage individuals to develop conscious digital usage habits. Keywords: young people, digital obesity, alexithymia