The relationship between social media addiction and emotional appetite: a cross-sectional study among young adults in Turkey

Sevim S., GÜMÜŞ D., KIZIL M.

Public health nutrition, cilt.27, sa.1, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 27 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1017/s1368980024000466
  • Dergi Adı: Public health nutrition
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, CAB Abstracts, CINAHL, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, MEDLINE, Public Affairs Index, Veterinary Science Database, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: BMI, Emotional appetite, Social media addiction, Social media usage, Young adults
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

OBJECTIVE: The present study focused on the relationship between addiction to social media (SM) and emotional appetite in young adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional online survey. SETTING: The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) were used, and the duration and frequency of SM tools usage were analysed. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred and twenty-four participants (144 men and 380 women) aged between 18 and 25 years. RESULTS: The mean of SM usage duration of participants was 3·2 ± 2·2 h per d along with a mean of BSMAS score of 16·1 ± 5·9. Concerning emotional appetite, the mean scores for positive and negative aspects of EMAQ were 4·4 ± 1·9 and 3·1 ± 1·2, respectively. The predominant SM tools were YouTube (92·6 %) and Instagram (90·3 %). Notably, a significant association was observed between SM addiction and the frequency of access to YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, with addiction levels increasing as access frequency rose (P < 0·01). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a possible relationship between SM addiction and emotional appetite among young adults. However, further research with more prominent participants and a lengthier follow-up duration is necessary to elucidate how SM tools affect eating behaviour.