Social Network Usage Among Medical Students and Its Relationship with Stress

Year 2024, Volume: 10 Issue: 3, 416 - 425, 19.09.2024

Uğur Bilge , Levent Donmez

https://doi.org/10.53394/akd.1310005

Abstract

Objective: The increasing use of social network sites has become a globally widespread phenomenon. It is also known that medical students are being exposed to several stress factors. This study aims to predict the social networking habits and stress levels of medical students, as well as investigating the relationship between social network usage and stress levels, including personal attributes.
Methods: A questionnaire, involving the perceived stress scale and other characteristics of the participants, was carried out on 1311 medical students, educated at Xxxxxxx University Medical Faculty during the 2017-2018 academic years. This is a cross-sectional study, and the dataset was analysed by logistic regression.
Results: Students who use any one of the three main social network sites (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) were 1203 (91.8%), and there were found to be 108 students who used no social media (8.2%). Of the students, 992 (75.7%) used Facebook, 928 (70.8%) used Instagram and 512 (39.1%) used Twitter. 269 students (20.5%) used Facebook previously and now have stopped using it. A total of 766 (58.4%) students spent more than one hour per day on social media. According to the logistic regression analysis; the academic year of students, gender, unhappiness with being in the medical faculty, feeling lonely, stress coping scores and stable parental relationships were related significantly to stress level. After adjusting other variables, frequent social media users were 1.3 times more stressed than others (OR=1.35; 95% CI=1.05-1.74; p<0.05).
Conclusion: The frequency of social media use in medical students is similar to others in the same age group in other countries, and there seems to be a link between social media use and stress. To improve and support medical education, social media use must be added as a factor in addition to other stress factors already known. Frequent social network users’ psychological, behavioural and physical development should be monitored closely to improve the health of this group.

Keywords

Social networking users, Stress, Medical students

Supporting Institution

This study was supported by The Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Akdeniz University under number TSA-2018-3537

Project Number

TSA-2018-3537

Thanks

Surveyors (Silan Turk, Sule Comlekcioglu, Meryem Sagir, Kadriye Karadag, Ayman Abu Ghdaib, Pelin Cimen, Merve Yilmaz, Burak Ferli, Nursel Eren, Tugba Demir, Bilal Oztas) for data collection

Tıp Öğrencilerinde Sosyal Ağların Kullanımı ve Bunun Stresle İlişkisi

Abstract

Amaç: Sosyal ağ kullanımı tüm dünyada giderek artan bir fenomendir. Tıp öğrencilerinin çeşitli stres faktörlerine maruz kaldığı da bilinmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı tıp fakültesi öğrencilerinde sosyal ağ kullanımı alışkanlıklarını saptamak ve sosyal ağ kullanımı ile öğrencilerin kişisel özellikleri ve stres düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkiyi göstermektir.
Yöntemler: Xxxxxxx Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesinde 2017-2018 eğitim öğretim döneminde eğitim gören 1311 öğrenciye algılanan stres ölçeğini ve katılımcıların diğer özelliklerini içeren bir anket formu uygulanmıştır. Kesitsel özellikte olan bu çalışmada elde edilen veriler lojistik regresyon ile analiz edilmiştir.
Bulgular: Üç temel sosyal ağ sitesinden en az birini kullanan öğrenci sayısı 1203'dü (%91.8). Öğrencilerin, 992'si (%75.7) Facebook, 928'si (%70.8) Instagram ve 512'si (%39.1) Twitter kullanıyordu. Toplam 766 (%58.4) öğrenci sosyal medyada günde bir saatten fazla vakit geçiriyordu. Lojistik regresyon analizi sonuçlarına göre; öğrencilerin kaçıncı sınıfta olduğu, cinsiyeti, tıp fakültesinden memnuniyet durumu, yalnızlık hissi duymaları, stresle başa çıkma becerisi ve anne babanın ayrı olup olmama durumu, bağımlı değişken olan yüksek stresle anlamlı olarak ilişkili faktörlerdi. Diğer değişkenler düzeltildiğinde sosyal medyayı daha sık kullananların stres sıklığı 1,3 kez (OR=1,35; %95GA=1.05-1.74; p<0,05) daha yüksekti.
Sonuç: Tıp Fakültesi öğrencilerinde sosyal medya kullanım sıklığı diğer ülkelerdeki aynı yaş grubundaki topluluklarla benzerdir ve yoğun sosyal medya kullanımı ile stres arasında bir ilişki mevcuttur. Tıp eğitiminin geliştirilmesi ve desteklenmesi için, sosyal medya kullanımının da önceden bilinen stres faktörlerinin yanında ilave bir risk olarak değerlendirilmesi gerekir. Sosyal medyayı daha yoğun kullanan tıp öğrencilerinin ruhsal, davranışsal ve fiziksel gelişimlerinin daha yakından izlenmesi bu grubun sağlığının geliştirilmesi yönünden uygun olacaktır.

Keywords

Sosyal ağ kullanımı, Stres, Tıp öğrencileri

Project Number

TSA-2018-3537

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