Social Media Usage Experiences of Young Adults during the COVID 19 Pandemic through Social Cognitive Approach to Uses and Gratifications

Abstract

Since social media is a powerful information transfer and sharing tool in this modern world, it has become more used especially during the pandemic. It may be important to examine the use experiences of individuals in order to understand the impact of social media on individuals during the pandemic period. For this reason, the aim of the study is to examine the experiences of social media use in the pandemic of young adults who use social media actively in detail with thematic analysis. The study group of the research consists of 52 young adults between the ages of 20 and 25 studying at the university. In line with the thematic analysis, four main themes are found: "reasons for using social media", "shares", "social comparison", "self-regulation and addiction". Each theme is explained in the context of the relevant literature.