Leisure time internet use and holistic well-being in a sample of young adults in Türkiye: exploring the role of meaning-based coping

BACKGROUND: The presence of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being supports individuals' well-being both in the present and in the future. Therefore, identifying the factors regarding these well-beings is of great importance. The aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of meaning-based coping in the relationship between leisure time internet use and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, while controlling age, gender, marital status and employment status. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study. This study included 568 participants. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 29 years, with a mean age of 21.17 years (SD = 2.99). Participants responded to demographic questions, the Leisure Internet Usage Scale, the Meaning-centered Coping Scale and the Holistic Well-being Measure. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS 27.0. Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 4) was used to examine the mediating role of meaning-based coping. RESULTS: The findings of this study revealed the positive associations between leisure time internet use for social interaction, shopping, multimedia usage, and information and self-improvement, meaning-based coping, hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. This study also indicated the mediating role of meaning-based coping in the link between leisure time internet use and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that young adults who use the internet in their leisure time, in the sample studied, tend to report higher levels of meaning-based coping, which is associated with higher hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. These results suggest that meaning-based coping strategies are associated with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being among individuals who engage in enjoyable and self-improving online leisure activities.