THE STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION AND EMOTION REGULATION SKILLS OF GENERATION Z YOUNG PEOPLE STUDYING AT THE UNIVERSITY ACCORDING TO VARIOUS VARIABLES

Abstract

This study was determined as to reveal whether the social media addiction levels and emotion regulation skills of Z generation students who continue their university education differ in terms of various variables, and to examine whether there is a relationship between social media addiction levels and emotion regulation skills. In the research, a personal information form with demographic questions was used as data collection tool, and a questionnaire form including Social Media Addiction Scale and Emotion Regulation Scale in order to determine social media addiction scores and emotion regulation skills. The research consists of Z generation students (N:513) who are studying at the universities determined in Istanbul. This research examines social media addiction and emotional regulation skills of generation Z youth studying at university. The data collected within the scope of the research were coded in the SPSS-25 statistical program and analyzed. The analyzes made are organized in tables and reported in this section. Frequency and percentage calculations were used in the analysis of the data on the demographic characteristics of the Z generation young people studying at the university. In addition, before examining social media addiction and emotional regulation skills according to demographic variables, normality analyzes were carried out with reference to skewness and kurtosis values. Parametric analysis methods were preferred because the data met the assumption of normal distribution during the controls. While examining the participants' social media addiction and emotional regulation skills according to 2-group variables, independent groups t-test; ANOVA analysis was preferred when examining variables containing more than 2 groups. In addition, the relationship between social media addiction and emotional regulation skills was evaluated with Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. No significant relationship was found between the participants' social media addictions and the total score of emotion regulation skills and the dimensions of internal functional emotion regulation, internal dysfunctional emotion regulation, external functional emotion regulation and external dysfunctional emotion regulation. The model established for the effect of participants' emotion regulation skills on social media addiction is not significant. In this context, the independent variables of the research do not predict social media addiction as a whole, and it has been determined that the internal functional emotion regulation, internal dysfunctional emotion regulation, external functional emotion regulation and external dysfunctional emotion regulation dimensions of emotion regulation skills do not independently affect social media addiction.