Social Media Addiction and Social Skills: Implications for Societal Learning Systems, Technology, Social Economy, and Societal Challenges

This study aims to examine the relationship between social media addiction and social skill levels of university students from the perspective of social learning systems, systems thinking and social economy. Furthermore, the objective is to reveal how these dynamics are related to larger challenges at the societal level. Social media addiction has emerged as an important factor shaping individuals’ social interactions, social participation and personal development. The population of the study consists of students studying at a university in Turkey, and the sample consists of 394 university students selected by convenience sampling method. The research was conducted using the relational survey model, with the data being collected through scales. The research was conducted using the relational survey model, with the data being collected through scales. The findings indicate that individuals experience a decline in social skill levels with the increase in social media use. Furthermore, an examination of the impact of demographic characteristics on this relationship utilized independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA analyses, revealing that female students exhibited higher levels of social media addiction, while male students demonstrated higher levels of social skills. Moreover, the findings underscore the notion that social media addiction is not merely an individual problem, but rather a phenomenon that exerts influence on learning systems, social interactions and economic factors at the societal level. The impact of social media use on societal challenges and individual development can be more effectively understood through the utilization of a systems thinking approach. The current study offers significant implications for the manner in which social media addiction and social skills are shaped in the context of social learning systems, technology and the social economy and explores the social effects of social media addiction and suggests effective interventions in the fields of education, policy and social work. Systems thinking helps to understand addiction in a broad context.