THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND LONELINESS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

COVID-19 salgını sırasında, uzun süreli sosyal izolasyon ve sokağa çıkma kısıtlamaları nedeniyle sosyal medya başlıca sosyal etkileşim ve iletişim aracı haline gelmiş ve bu nedenle sosyal medya kullanımında önemli bir artış yaşanmıştır. Bundan hareketle, sosyal medya kullanımının yalnızlık hissini hafifleterek ruh sağlığı üzerinde olumlu bir etkisi olduğu varsayılmaktadır. Mevcut çalışma, pandemi döneminde sosyal medya kullanımı ile yalnızlık arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmayı ve buna ilişkin bir model önermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu hedef doğrultusunda 178 katılımcıya online anket uygulanmış ve ilgili istatistiksel analizler SPSS 22.0 üzerinde yapılmıştır. Bulgular, sosyal medya kullanımı (sosyal medyada geçirilen zaman, takipçi sayısı, hesap sayısı) ile yalnızlık arasında negatif bir ilişki olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Çalışma sosyal medyanın pandemi sırasındaki sosyal izolasyonun neden olduğu yalnızlığı azaltmak için etkili bir sosyal etkileşim platformu olarak kullanılabileceğini ortaya koymuştur.

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