A study of 450 teenagers in eastern Türkiye found a modest association between problematic social media use and more permissive attitudes towards violence, but no meaningful link with friendship quality.
A new study from eastern Türkiye suggests that teenagers who show more signs of problematic social media use are also more likely to hold attitudes that are more accepting of violence, although the relationship appears to be weak. The research, published in BMC Psychology, found no meaningful link between social media addiction and the quality of peer relationships, challenging the idea that friendship problems are the main pathway through which heavy platform use affects behaviour.
The study drew on survey responses from 450 adolescents aged 13 to 18 at high schools in a provincial centre in eastern Türkiye. Researchers from several Turkish universities asked students to complete questionnaires covering social media addiction, friendship quality and attitudes towards violence. Because the project was cross-sectional, it captured a single moment in time rather than tracking changes over months or years, which means it cannot show whether heavy social media use shapes attitudes towards violence or whether teenagers with more permissive views are simply more drawn to social platforms.
According to the findings reported in BMC Psychology, higher scores for social media addiction were modestly associated with more accepting attitudes towards violence, with the link remaining statistically significant in the researchers’ regression analysis. By contrast, there was no significant relationship between social media addiction and friendship quality, and peer relationships did not appear to predict addiction scores either. The model explained only a small share of the variation in social media addiction, which the authors said points to limited explanatory power.
The researchers described social media addiction as compulsive use that interferes with everyday life, such as an inability to cut back or discomfort when access is restricted. They defined attitudes towards violence as the extent to which a person considers aggression acceptable or justified. Friendship quality, in this context, referred to the degree of support and closeness in teenagers’ peer relationships.
The authors said problematic social media use should be considered alongside wider behavioural and psychosocial factors, not just social ones. They argued that schools could play a useful role through digital literacy lessons and broader programmes aimed at encouraging healthier online habits. Earlier work has linked excessive social media use to poorer mental health and riskier behaviour in young people, while other studies have suggested that online conflict can spill into real-world aggression. Taken together, the emerging research points to a complicated picture in which social media may shape adolescent attitudes and behaviour in different ways, even if friendship quality is not the key driver in this case.
The study also has important limitations. Its reliance on self-reported answers means the results depend on how honestly and accurately teenagers described their own behaviour and attitudes. The sample came from one region of Türkiye, so the findings may not apply everywhere. And because the research measured attitudes rather than actual violent acts, it cannot determine whether the observed association has any direct effect on behaviour.
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