The Relationship Between Technology Addiction and Recreational Tendencies: A Research on University Students

Abstract

In this research, the relationship between recreational activity participation and technology addiction within the scope of social media and gaming activities and their effects on daily life is examined. This study analyzes data collected from 462 students from 103 different departments of 43 universities in Turkey. Universities in Ankara constitutes the majority of dataset. Survey is used as the data gathering method. The results indicate a negative correlation between the activities of reading book, cooking for fun, decorating with flowers, handicrafts, dancing, attending fairsfestivals and theatre, museum visits, yoga and game addiction according to the relationships between technology addiction and the dimensions of recreational activities. However, a positive relation is found between game addiction and the activities of table tennis, camping, skiing, paintball and soccer. A positive relation is also observed between amateur photography and social media addiction. Cultural activities seem to prevent game addiction. By considering the results, activity suggestions for overcoming technology addiction are also offered.