INTERNATIONAL 8th USBİLİM EDUCATION, ECONOMY, MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CONGRESS
EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND BODY PERCEPTION: THE CASE OF GERZE VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
Yayıncı:
Akademik Paylaşım Platformu Publishing House - APP Publications
Social media generally refers to third-party internet-based platforms that focus on social interactions, community-based input and content sharing among a community of users, with content created solely by its users and not licensed from third parties (Asur & Huberman, 2010). Overuse of social media leads to low work performance, unhealthy social relationships, sleep problems, lack of satisfaction, jealousy, anxiety and depression (Sun & Zhang, 2021). Many studies suggest that habitual social media use can lead to addiction and therefore negatively affect students' school performance, social behaviour and interpersonal relationships. As a result of addiction, the user is highly engaged in online activities motivated by an uncontrollable desire to browse social media pages and disrupts their lifestyle (Pellegrino et al., 2022). The word body can be defined as body perception when the words image, image, ego or boundary are brought (Uskun and Şabaplı, 2013). Body perception is the state of evaluating one's own body positively or negatively. Body perception may vary according to the society and personality (Mezarcı, 2018). Body perception is defined as the evaluation of positive and negative feelings towards the parts of one's own body and their functions by oneself (Aslan, 2004). Body perception plays an important role in terms of people's psychological health (Küçük, 2007). Body perception emerges from the periods when the individual begins to distinguish himself/herself from those who are not his/her own and it is constantly developing and changing throughout life. In fact, the individual encounters the view that physical characteristics are important at a very early age (Tezcan, 2009). Body perception is also closely related to one's own personality. It is thought that insecurity, having a depressive personality and perfectionist personality structure are associated with negative attitudes towards body perception (Bektaş, 2004). Social media are virtual communication and sharing networks. The social environment of the individual is effective in the formation of body perception (Yazıcı & Özel, 2017). According to a study conducted, it was observed that the body perception of individuals using social media showed a significant difference according to marital status, age group, economic status, general mood, self-identity and the number of followers on social media. Ideal body perception is reflected to individuals through social media. Those who spend more time on social media tend to compare their own reality with the reality reflected by others, and this can create inadequacy, lack of self-confidence and dissatisfaction with their physical appearance (Oktan & Şahin, 2010). In this study, the body perception scale developed by Secord and Jourand (1953), which was used in the study conducted by Tayhan (2023) in which the relationship between social media addiction and body perception was examined, and the body perception scale developed by Hovardaoğlu (1993), whose Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted, and the social media addiction scale of university students developed by Tutkun Ünal and Deniz (2015) will be used. The population of the study consists of university students in the age group who spend more time on social media than other age groups. The sample of the study consists of Gerze Vocational School students. This study will reveal the social media addiction attitudes and body perceptions of Gerze Vocational School students. The results of the study will be discussed with similar studies in the literature.
