An Examination of the Relationship Between UniversityStudents’ Athlete Identity and Social Media Addiction

Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Sporcu Kimliği Ve Sosyal Medya Bağımlılığı Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesi

Serkan Kabak¹ , Samet Zengin^2*

*Correspondence: Samet ZENGİN serkankabak@trabzon.edu.tr   

¹Trabzon University, Trabzon, Türkiye serkankabak@trabzon.edu.tr Orcid: 0000-0002-5622-3903
²Trabzon University, Trabzon, Türkiye Orcid: 0000-0002-5370-5878

Doi:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17424770

https://www.ijoss.org/Archive/issue2-volume3/ijoss-Volume2-issue3-03.pdf

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Received / Gönderim: 15.07.2025 Accepted / Kabul: 18.09.2025 Published / Yayın: 24.10.2025

Abstract

This study was conducted using a descriptive relational survey model to examine the relationship between university students’ athlete identity and social media addiction. The sample group comprised 140 athlete students (55 female, 85 male) studying at the Faculty of Sports Sciences of Trabzon University. Data were collected using the 7-item Athlete Identity Scale developed by Brewer and Cornelius (2001) and the 7-item Social Media Addiction Scale developed by Günüç (2009) and validated by Çömlekçi and Başol (2019).The findings revealed that analyses based on variables such as demographic characteristics, years of sports participation, preferred type of sport, and the social media platforms used to follow news indicated positive and significant relationships among the components of athlete identity (social identity, sport-restrictedness, and negative affectivity). However, no overall significant relationship was found between social media addiction and these components. Statistical analyses showed no significant differences according to variables such as gender, academic department, type of sport, and duration of social media use, except for low-level positive relationships in certain subdimensions.In conclusion, while the study presents results that are consistent with the current literature, it also suggests that athlete identity and social media addiction should be considered as separate psychological constructs. This highlights the necessity for further comprehensive research to examine the determinant factors of both constructs and their relationships with demographic variables across different sample groups and cultural contexts.

Keywords Athlete Identity, Social Media, Student.

Öz

Bu çalışma, üniversite öğrencilerinin sporcu kimliği ile sosyal medya bağımlılığı arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemek amacıyla betimsel ilişkisel tarama modeli kullanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma grubu, Trabzon Üniversitesi Spor Bilimleri Fakültesi’nde eğitim gören 140 sporcu öğrenciden (55 kadın, 85 erkek) oluşmaktadır. Veri toplamada, Brewer ve Cornelius (2001) tarafından geliştirilen 7 maddelik Sporcu Kimliği Ölçeği ile Günüç (2009) tarafından geliştirilen ve Çömlekçi ile Başol (2019) tarafından geçerlik ve güvenilirliği çalışılmış 7 maddelik Sosyal Medya Bağımlılığı Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Bulgular, katılımcıların demografik özellikleri, spor yapma yılı, tercih ettikleri spor türü ve haberleri takip ettikleri sosyal medya platformları gibi değişkenler üzerinden yapılan analizlerde sporcu kimliği bileşenleri arasında (sosyal kimlik, sporla sınırlanmışlık, olumsuz duyuşsallık) pozitif ve anlamlı ilişkilerin bulunduğunu, ancak sosyal medya bağımlılığı ile bu bileşenler arasında genel olarak anlamlı bir ilişki tespit edilemediğini ortaya koymuştur. İstatistiksel analizlerde cinsiyet, bölüm, spor yapma türü ve sosyal medya kullanımı süresi gibi değişkenlere göre anlamlı farklılıklar bulunmamış olup yalnızca belirli alt boyutlarda düşük düzeyde pozitif ilişkiler tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, çalışma mevcut literatürle uyumlu sonuçlar sunmakla birlikte, sporcu kimliği ve sosyal medya bağımlılığının ayrı psikolojik süreçler olarak değerlendirilmesi gerektiğine işaret etmektedir. Bu durum, her iki yapının belirleyici faktörlerinin ve demografik değişkenlerle ilişkilerinin, farklı örneklem grupları ve kültürel boyutlarda yapılacak daha kapsamlı araştırmalarla daha ayrıntılı incelenmesinin gerekliliğini ortaya koymaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler Sporcu Kimliği, Sosyal Medya, Öğrenci.

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