Examining the Relationship Between University Students' Social Media Usage Purposes and Social Media Addiction Levels

The widespread integration of social media platforms into daily life has led to increased attention on both the purposes of their use and the potential for addiction resulting from prolonged usage. This study investigates the relationship between university students’ purposes for using social media and their levels of social media addiction. Conducted at a state university in the Western Black Sea Region during the 2022–2023 academic year, the study included 440 university students. Data were collected using two measurement tools. The study aimed to examine differences in students' social media usage purposes and addiction levels based on variables such as gender, grade, and daily internet usage. Findings revealed that students used social media sometimes for academic preparation and frequently for interpersonal interaction. Their overall level of social media addiction was also within the sometimes range. No significant gender differences were found in terms of academic preparation and social media addiction, but a significant difference was observed in interpersonal interaction. Similarly, no significant differences emerged between grade and academic preparation, whereas a significant positive difference was found for interpersonal interaction. First-year students exhibited lower levels of social media addiction compared to students in higher grades. While time spent on the internet did not significantly affect the academic preparation factor, it did show a significant relationship with both interpersonal interaction and social media addiction. A positive correlation was identified between interpersonal communication and academic preparation purposes, and between interpersonal communication and social media addiction. However, no significant relationship was found between social media addiction and academic preparation.