Factors Predicting Life Satisfaction Among Social Media Users

Sosyal Siyaset Konferansları Dergisi, sa.78, ss.47-62, 2020 (TRDizin)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the factors predicting life satisfaction among social media users, such

as loneliness, age, gender, education, unemployment, marital status, trust, and religious involvement. Data

was collected from 1547 social media users using convenience sampling. In the data collection process of

the study, a questionnaire was shared on social media networks after uploading it to Google forms. In the

correlation analysis, life satisfaction was determined to have a statistically significant negative relationship

with loneliness, social media usage time, being unemployed and age. Conversely, a positive correlation was

determined with trust in people, optimism about the future, religious involvement, marital status and female

gender. Of the total respondents, 54.2% thought that social media increases loneliness, 20.3% stated that

the use of social media increased their unhappiness, and 68.3% considered people to be very disrespectful

to each other on social media networks. The predictors of life satisfaction found in the multiple regression

model were loneliness, female gender, having a graduate or postgraduate degree, trusting people, positive

expectation about the future, religious involvement and not being unemployed. Age and internet usage

time did not have a significant effect in the regression analysis.

Keywords

Social media usage, Life satisfaction and loneliness