AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' SOCIAL MEDIA USE LEVEL AND SOCIAL APPEARANCE ANXIETY IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT VARIABLES

Abstract

The increase in technology and internet usage has brought some new problems in the society, especially among the youth. One of these problems is the social appearance anxiety that develops due to the use of social media. In this study, the relationship between social media usage levels of high school students and social appearance anxiety was discussed with a descriptive approach. The independent variables of the study are social appearance anxiety and demographic variables (gender, school grade, type of school, number of siblings, educational status of parents, family income and academic achievement), while the dependent variable is social media use. "Information Collection Form", Social Media Usage Level Scale" and "Social Appearance Anxiety Scale" were used as data collection tools. The research was conducted with a total of 356 high school students, 215 of whom were male and 141 female students studying at 6 different types of high schools in the 2018-2019 academic year. SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) 16.0 was used for the analysis of the survey. As a result of the correlation analysis between high school students' use of social media and its sub-dimensions with social integration and emotional connection it can be deduced that there is; a) a strong and positive relationship between social integration and emotional connection, b) a moderate and positive relationship between social integration and emotional connection and integration with social routines, c) a moderate and positive relationship between social integration and emotional connection and social appearance anxiety. Families and teachers should be made aware of social media use and social appearance anxiety. Teachers should take a more sensitive approach and be able to provide the necessary guidance to young people. In particular, students with self-esteem problems should be closely monitored and attempts should be made to increase their self-esteem.