An Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Media Addiction and Aggression Among 8th-Grade M

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between social media usage levels and aggressive behaviors among eighth-grade middle school students. The study employed a quantitative research design and utilized a correlational survey model. The sample of the study consisted of 774 eighth-grade students studying in public middle schools located in four different districts of Istanbul. As data collection instruments, a demographic information form, the Social Media Addiction Scale for Adolescents developed by Özgenel, Canpolat, and Ekşi (2019), and the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire, originally developed by Buss and Perry and adapted into Turkish by Madran (2012), were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation analysis. The findings of the study revealed a positive, moderate, and statistically significant relationship between students’ social media usage levels and their aggression levels. In terms of the gender variable, male students scored higher only in the physical aggression dimension, whereas female students scored higher in social media addiction, overall aggression, and the anger, hostility, and verbal aggression subdimensions of aggression. The findings suggest that social media usage may be associated with aggressive tendencies among adolescents. In this regard, it is recommended that awareness activities aimed at promoting conscious and balanced social media use among students be increased both in schools and within family environments.