Relationship of Loneliness and Social Media Addiction with Gender Differences Among Undergraduate Students and Psychiatric Rehabilitation

Abstract

This study aimed to uncover loneliness and its association with social media addiction among college students and suggest psychiatric rehabilitation interventions. The sample consisted of 50 male and 50 female college students. The scales used were the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and the Tutgun-Ünal and Deniz Social Media Addiction Scale, which consisted of 11 and 14 items, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (t-test). We examined three hypotheses. The first hypothesis showed a positive correlation between social media addiction and loneliness. The second hypothesis could not be confirmed. The second hypothesis stated that female students would score higher on the Social Media Addiction Scale than male students. The third hypothesis could also not be confirmed. The third hypothesis stated that female students would score higher on the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale than male students. The statistical analysis showed that there is a positive and weak correlation between loneliness and social media addiction and that female students would not score high on the social media addiction and loneliness scales compared to male students. With these results, one of the hypotheses was confirmed and two of them were not supported. It was also suggested that psychiatric rehabilitation programs should be more student-centered, regardless of gender.