Social Media Use and Perceived Loneliness Level in Covid-19 Infected Patients and Its Relationship with Depression

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to compare and assess the connections between depression, anxiety, social media dependency, and perceived loneliness levels in individuals who were quarantined due to Covid-19 and those who were not affected by the virus and were not quarantined. Methods: The study involved 189 patients seeking treatment for anxiety and depression at a psychiatry outpatient clinic, with 92 of them being quarantined due to Covid-19 and 97 not being affected by the virus. Participants completed a sociodemographic information form, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Social Media Addiction Form, Perceived Loneliness Scale, and Nomophobia Scale. Results: Quarantined patients exhibited significantly higher anxiety levels and lower perceived loneliness levels compared to those who were not quarantined. Among individuals with Covid-19, there was a moderate and significant correlation between depression and anxiety levels (r = 0.509), a moderate and significant correlation between nomophobia and social media addiction levels (r = 0.580), and a moderate and significant correlation between anxiety and loneliness levels (r = 0.305). Among patients without Covid-19, a weak but significant correlation between nomophobia and loneliness (r = 0.295) and a moderate and significant correlation between nomophobia and social media addiction (r = 0.609) were observed. Conclusion: The study concluded that quarantine was linked to adverse psychological effects, which were also associated with feelings of loneliness and social media usage. These issues could potentially be alleviated by providing accurate information from reliable sources and by limiting social media usage.