The Relationship between Social Media Addiction, Social Appearance Anxiety, and Alexithymia in Adolescents

The increasing use of social media today has raised the risk of social media addiction among adolescents. Although there are studies examining the level and effects of social media addiction in adolescents, research addressing its relationship with social appearance anxiety or alexithymia is limited. This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted to determine the relationship between social media addiction, social appearance anxiety, and alexithymia in adolescents. The sample consisted of 756 adolescents aged 15-17. After obtaining institutional approval, ethical committee approval, and participant consent, data were collected by using the Adolescent Introductory Information Form, the Social Media Addiction Scale for Adolescents (SMASA), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), and the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAAS-A). Descriptive statistical analyses, correlation, and regression analyses were used to evaluate the data. The average age of the adolescents included in the study was 16.04 ± 0.74 years, and 57.8% were female. The mean score on the Social Media Addiction Scale was 22.35 ± 7.68; on the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale, 39.63 ± 15.09; and on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale total score, 52.38 ± 8.78. A moderately positive correlation was found between the Social Media Addiction Scale and the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale scores (p< 0.05). The total score of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale showed a moderate positive correlation with both the Social Appearance Anxiety and Social Media Addiction scale scores (p< 0.05). It was also found that social media addiction and social appearance anxiety significantly predicted total alexithymia scores among adolescents (p< 0.05). Based on these findings, it is recommended that pediatric nurses conduct education, counseling, and intervention programs for adolescents.