ABSTRACT
Objectives:
This study aimed to investigate the impacts of adolescents’ computer and internet use on their social anxiety and peer relationships.
Materials and Methods:
We carried out this survey research with 380 adolescents. We performed independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and correlation analysis to analyze the data collected using a demographic information form, the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, and the peer relationships scale.
Results:
We found that the boys used the internet and computer more than the girls. While half of the adolescents used the internet and computer for one to five hours a day, those using the internet and computer more than nine hours a day had the highest mean anxiety score. We also concluded that the participants showed signs of restlessness, irritation, and anger when not using the internet and computer and that increased time spent with the internet and computer contributed to their social anxiety. Those taking initiatives to reduce the internet and computer use and having problems with their friends due to the increased use of the internet and computer obtained significantly higher scores on the scales. The findings also revealed that the adolescents who had poor academic achievement and experienced restlessness and anger due to this situation had significantly higher anxiety scores. Besides, social anxiety was negatively correlated with peer relationships.
Conclusion:
Overall, we concluded that adolescents’ levels of the internet and computer use affected their social anxiety and peer relationships and that social anxiety was negatively correlated with peer relationships.