Sleep Deprivation, Social Media Addiction, and Associated Factors in Children After Natural Disasters

Natural disasters frequently impact millions of children worldwide and in Türkiye. While direct exposure is heavily studied, this research specifically examined sleep deprivation and social media addiction in children indirectly exposed to earthquakes via digital platforms. A descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional study was conducted with 369 middle school students. Data were collected using a structured Questionnaire, the Child and Adolescent Sleep Deprivation Scale, and the Social Media Addiction Scale for Children to evaluate the interplay between indirect disaster exposure, technological dependency, and sleep architecture. A significant correlation was identified between social media addiction and sleep deprivation among the participants. Notably, using social media to access distressing information about natural disasters emerged as a key contributor to increased sleep deprivation. Conversely, children's active involvement in disaster awareness education, preparedness drills, and proactive actions like assembling an emergency kit were significantly associated with lower levels of both social media addiction and sleep deprivation. Excessive social media exposure to disaster content directly contributes to sleep deprivation in indirectly affected children, creating a compounding cycle of technological dependency and sleep loss. Structured disaster awareness education, preparedness drills, and school nurse-led training on emergency kits and supportive health interventions are strongly recommended to mitigate these psychosocial risks and promote healthy digital habits.