How technology addiction affects social anxiety in adolescent girls? A sample of Turkey's southeast

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the how technology addiction affects social anxiety in adolescent girls. Sample of this correlational descriptive study was conducted with 635 female students determined by power analysis in five high schools located in a province. The data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, and Technology Addiction Scale. Total mean score of the adolescent girls was found to be 50.52±20.47 for technology addiction and 41.98±13.71 for social anxiety. It was determined that technology addiction and social anxiety of the adolescent girls were moderate. There was a positive correlation between total mean score of technology addiction and total mean score of social anxiety (p=0.00, r=0.20). In the study, it can be said that as social anxiety increases, technology addiction increases, or as technology addiction increases, social anxiety also increases. It can be recommended for psychiatric nurses to provide necessary trainings to reduce technology addiction and social anxiety and to develop methods for coping with social anxiety in secondary education institutions.