Abstract
The current study aims to explore the impact of communication anxiety regulation and the fear of missing out on social media dependency, by specifically focusing on transgender individuals living in Turkey. Even though sexual orientation is not outlawed and legal sex change has been possible since 1988, Turkey stands as one of the most restrictive countries in Europe, when it comes to LGBT+ rights. In that sense, transgender individuals experience various social, political, and economic challenges throughout their lives, which have the potential to shape their relations with social media. Findings suggest that dimensions of communication anxiety regulation and fear of missing out determine social media dependency. Future studies should explore whether intense social media use as a result of communication anxiety and fear of missing out encourage productive activities such as interactive community support, self-help, and information seeking.
Publisher
Health & New Media Research Institute