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Technology Addıctıon of Indıvıduals Enrolled in A Gym and Related Factors

Research | DOI: https://doi.org/10.31579/2690-8794/222

Technology Addıctıon of Indıvıduals Enrolled in A Gym and Related Factors

  • Sefa LÖK 1
  • Neslihan LÖK 2*

1Prof. Dr. Selçuk University Faculty of Sport Sciences, Konya, Turkey.

2Assoc. Dr. Selçuk University Faculty of Nursing, Konya, Turkey.

*Corresponding Author: Neslihan LÖK, Assoc. Dr. Selçuk University Faculty of Nursing, Konya, Turkey.

Citation: Sefa Lök, Neslihan Lök, (2024), Technology Addıctıon of Indıvıduals Enrolled in A Gym and Related Factors, Clinical Medical Reviews and Reports, 6(6); DOI:10.31579/2690-8794/222

Copyright: © 2024, Neslihan LÖK. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: 11 July 2024 | Accepted: 23 July 2024 | Published: 06 August 2024

Keywords: sports; individuals; technology addiction

Abstract

Objective: This study will be conducted to determine the technology addiction and related factors of individuals enrolled in a gym.

Method:This study was planned as a descriptive correlational study. The sample of the study consisted of 169 individuals actively attending a gym in Selçuklu district of Konya province.  Personal information form and Technology Addiction Scale prepared by the researchers questioning socio-demographic characteristics were used to collect the data. The data of the study were evaluated using SPSS for Windows 22.0 (Statistical Package for Social Science) statistical package program. The results were evaluated at 95% confidence interval and p<0.05 significance level.

Results: The mean age of the individuals was 26.98±8.23, 68% were male, 39.1% had postgraduate education, 86.4% were single, 40.2% had good income, 44.4% had good health, 52.1% did not have any chronic disease and 80.5% actively participated in sports. The mean technology addiction score of the students was 52.49±14.78. When the level of technology addiction was evaluated, it was determined that 46.7% were low level addicted, 38.5% were moderately addicted and 14.8% were highly addicted. 

Conclusion: As a result, it was determined that doing sports actively protects individuals from technology addiction. In terms of technology addiction, males, those with a high level of education, i.e., those with a master's degree, those who are married and those who perceive their health as good constituted the risk group.

Introduction

"Addiction, as a concept, is the irresistible desire for an object, person, or entity, or to be under the control of other wills. Psychological addiction, one of the types of addiction, is the constant repetition of a certain behavior; it basically evokes a feeling of satisfaction" [6].  Technology addiction is the unconscious, uncontrolled and obsessive spending of time on social media, games, online shopping sites and applications with the advent of the smartphone. This time spending also isolates the person from social life. Technology addiction is a type of impulse control disorder in which a person encounters the harmful effects of technology as a result of excessive use of computers, internet, video games and mobile devices [7]. Sport has become a phenomenon that young people are removing or reducing from their lives day by day with the motivation to use technology tools for longer periods of time. There are many studies in the literature on the benefits of sports for the development of learning and social adaptation behaviors as well as the protection of physical and psychological health and development. Although technology addiction is thought to affect young people who are born into technology and make new technologies a part of their lives, it also affects adult individuals [11,8].Stating that people who do regular sports experience less stress and improve their quality of life, experts say that sporting activities, which are a natural anti-depressant, provide a natural protection against depression, thus preventing harmful habits. Experts point out that when our body is physically relaxed, our quality of life also increases [10]. While experts say that people who regularly do sports experience less stress, they point out that even one hour of walking activity every day has numerous physiological benefits, from cardiovascular health to Alzheimer's disease, from strengthening the immune system to weight control. Experts report that sporting activities, which are a natural anti-depressant, provide a natural protection against depression and prevent the tendency towards harmful habits caused by emptiness, and also report that when our body is physically relaxed, the quality of life increases [9,1]. In addition, it is reported that regular sports both keep the individual's body vigorous and protect it from all forms of addiction [5]. This study will be conducted to determine the technology addiction and related factors of individuals enrolled in a gym. 

Research Questions

1.What are the sociodemographic characteristics of individuals enrolled in the sports center?

2. Does the level of technology addiction vary according to the socio-demographic characteristics of individuals enrolled in the sports center?

Method

Type of Research

This study was planned as a descriptive relational study.

Location and Characteristics of the Study

The study was conducted in a sports hall in Selçuklu district of Konya province.

Study Group of the Research

The sample size was calculated in the G*Power 3.1.9.2 analysis program. It was calculated as 169 with an effect size of 0.276498, 95% power, 5% margin of error, taking into account the average total technology addiction score in the study of Körpe and Küçük (2021).   

The inclusion criteria of the study consisted of individuals aged 18 years and over and literate. 

Data Collection Technique and Tools

The data of the study were collected in a sports center in Selçuklu district of Konya province between 15 May -30 May 2023. The questionnaires will be collected by face-to-face interview technique.  In the collection of data; personal information form and Technology Addiction Scale prepared by the researchers questioning socio-demographic characteristics were used.

Technology Addiction Scale (TAS): The scale developed by [3] consists of 24 items and 4 sub-dimensions. The scale, which was prepared in a five-point Likert format, aimed to determine the level of technology addiction. In the scale, question items are graded as 1 "never", 2 "rarely", 3 "moderately often", 4 "very often", 5 "always". In the evaluation of the scale, the total score is obtained by summing the responses to the items. When interpreting the mean total score of the scale, 0-24 is considered as "Not dependent", 25-48 as "Low dependent", 49-72 as "Moderately dependent", 73-96 as "Highly dependent" and 97-120 as "Fully dependent". Cronbach's alpha values of the sub-dimensions of the scale are as follows: Online Game Addiction; 0,897, Social Network Addiction; 0,786, Websites Addiction; 0,861, Instant Messaging Addiction; 0,806 [3].

Evaluation of Data

The data of the study were evaluated using SPSS for Windows 22.0 (Statistical Package for Social Science) statistical package program. Number of units (n), percentage (%), mean±standard deviation (mean (SD)) values were used as summary statistics. The normal distribution of the data was evaluated by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Q-Q graph. Independent two-sample t-test and one-way ANOVA test were used for normally distributed data. The results were evaluated at 95% confidence interval and p<0>

Ethical Dimension

Ethical permission for the research was obtained from the Ethics Committee of a university (Decision no: 161). Informed voluntary consent of the individuals was obtained before starting the study. The principle of "Informed Consent" was fulfilled by briefly explaining the purpose of the research, its duration and the procedures to be performed during the research in a language they could understand, the principle of "Autonomy" by stating that individuals could withdraw from the research at any time, and the principle of "Confidentiality and Protection of Privacy" by saying that individual information would be protected after being shared with the researcher.

Results

The mean age of the individuals was 26.98±8.23, 68% were male, 39.1% had postgraduate education, 86.4% were single, 40.2% had good income, 44.4% had good health, 52.1% did not have any chronic disease and 80.5 % actively participated in sports. The mean technology addiction score of the students was 52.49±14.78. When the level of technology addiction was evaluated, it was determined that 46.7% were low-level addicted, 38.5% were moderately addicted and 14.8% were highly addicted. 

When technology addiction was evaluated according to the sociodemographic characteristics of the individuals, it was seen that males were more technology addicted than females and the difference was statistically significant (p<0>0.05) (Table 1).

Variables

Technology Addiction Scale Total

Mean±SD

Test Value, p
Gender  
Woman49,90±15,44

t:1,028

p:0,02*

Male54,24±14,46
Educational Status  
High school50,82±13,91

F:3,741

p:0,03*

University51,51±15,67
master degree54,51±14,58
Marital status  
Married57,60±15,73

t:1,496

p:0,04*

Single50,00±14,62
Perceived Income Level  
Good71,34±7,14

F:2,741

p:0,24

Middle70,09±7,13
Bad69,81±8,46
Perceived Health Level  
Good54,03±13,88

F:3,992

p:0,02*

Middle52,77±15,01
Bad49,31±15,67
Presence of chronic disease  
Yes53,00±14,04

t:1,078

p:0,09

No52,03±15,49

F: One Way Anova, t: t test, *p<0>

Table 1: Evaluation of Technology Addiction Scores of Students According to Sociodemographic Characteristics

Discussion

Technology addiction is the obsessive spending of time on social media, games, online shopping and applications, and consequently isolating oneself from social life. Technology addiction, one of the most common problems of the modern age, is spreading rapidly, especially among children. For parents and educators, the symptoms and methods of combating this condition are of vital importance.  In our study, the technology addiction of individuals practicing sports was evaluated by some sociodemographic variables. The mean technology addiction score of the students was 52.49±14.78. It was observed that most of them were low-level technology addicts.  In this study, the technology addiction level of individuals who do sports was found to be low. In the study conducted by Aagaard (2021), the technology addiction level of individuals was found to be low. In the study of [10], the level of technology addiction was also found to be low. The study findings of [1,10]were similar to our current study findings in this respect. When technology addiction was evaluated according to the sociodemographic characteristics of individuals, it was found that men were more technology addicted than women. [5] found that the technology addiction level of men was higher than that of women. [11] reported that women were less technology addicted than men.  The study findings of Gugliandolo et al. and Tarafdar et al. were similar to our current study findings in this respect. It was observed that there was a statistically significant difference between educational level and technology addiction, and the difference was due to postgraduate graduates. In the study of [9], it was reported that those with a high level of education had a high level of technology addiction. The study finding was similar to our current study finding in this respect.  It was observed that married people were more addicted to technology than singles. [2]found that the technology addiction level of married people was higher than singles.  Similarly, Madlock and [8] found that the technology addiction level of married people was higher than that of singles.  The findings of Adarkwah and Huang and Madlock and Hessling studies were similar to the findings of the current study in this respect. It was observed that there was a statistically significant difference between perceived health level and technology addiction, and the difference was due to those who perceived their health as good. [4] reported that those who perceived their health well had a high level of technology addiction. The study finding was similar to our current study finding in this respect.

Conclusion

As a result, it was found that doing sports actively protects individuals from technology addiction. In terms of technology addiction, males, those with a high level of education (i.e. graduate degree), those who were married and those who perceived their health as good constituted the risk group. In addition, the level of physical activity was found to be quite low. 

References

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