The Effect of Social Media Addiction on Depression Level in University Students

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of social media addiction on the level of depression in university students Method: A cross-sectional design was used to this study. The research was conducted between February and August 2020 with 824 university students. Data were collected by an information form, the Social Media Addiction Scale - Student Form and Beck Depression Scale in the study. Results: It was determined that the students got 87.2±21.98 points from Social Media Addiction Scale and their addiction level was moderate, and they got 17.5±8.87 points from Beck Depression Scale and they were moderately depressed. It was determined that social media addiction is an important variable predicting the level of depression (R2: 35.5, p<0.001). Conclusion: It has been determined that as students' social media addictions increase, their depression levels increase.