Relationship between social media addiction, sleep quality, and occupational balance among Generation Z university...

The widespread integration of social media into daily life has raised concerns about its impact on young adults' well-being. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between social media addiction, sleep quality, and occupational balance among Generation Z university students in Türkiye.

The sample included 136 undergraduates born in or after 2000. Data were collected using the Social Media Addiction Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Occupational Balance Questionnaire.

Higher social media addiction scores were weakly associated with poorer sleep quality (r = .219, FDR-adjusted p = .016) and higher occupational balance scores (r = .275, FDR-adjusted p = .003). Social media addiction scores differed significantly according to daily usage duration, with students reporting more than six hours of daily social media use having the highest addiction scores (F = 7.57, p < .001). In the regression analysis, social media addiction remained significantly associated with poorer sleep quality after controlling for age, gender, academic year, and daily social media use duration (β = 0.255, p = .007). However, social media addiction was not a significant predictor of occupational balance after adjustment, whereas sleep quality was significantly associated with occupational balance (β = 0.370, p < .001).

Social media addiction appears to be associated with sleep quality among Generation Z university students, while its relationship with occupational balance seems more complex and should be interpreted cautiously.