The Relationship Between Social Media Addiction and Hedonic Consumption: The Case of Siirt University

With the acceleration of digitalization, it is observed that social media platforms have become integrated into daily lives. This development necessitates examining the relationship between social media addiction and consumption behaviors. It is aimed to investigate the relationship between social media addiction and hedonic (pleasure-oriented) consumption among university students. The population of the research consists of students at Siirt University, while the sample group comprises 507 associate degree students selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected via online surveys, and the Social Media Addiction Scale and Hedonic Consumption Scale were utilized. In the analysis of the data, SPSS 22.0 and AMOS software were employed. Validity and reliability analyses of the scales were conducted, and the normality of the data distribution was examined. Correlation and regression analyses were used to determine the relationships between variables. The findings indicate that there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between social media addiction and hedonic consumption. The results further reveal that the virtual communication subdimension is significant predictor of hedonic consumption levels. Overall, the findings suggest that social media addiction particularly through its virtual communication dimension enhances hedonic consumption, offering important implications for digital marketing strategies.