Sports Engagement to Prevent Social Media Addiction and Augment Life Satisfaction among Early Adults Studying in the Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract

This study explored the effect of sports participation on life satisfaction and social media addiction among university early adults. For this purpose, a cross-sectional research was conducted with 350 participants in total, of whom 175 were athletes and 175 were nonathletes from five higher education institutions. The Bergen’s social media addiction scale, the satisfaction with life scale and general info part were utilized for data collection. Independent T-test showed a clear distinction between athletes and non-athletes in terms of their degrees of social media addiction and life happiness. Particularly, compared to non-athletes, athletes reported lower rates of social media addiction which suggested that participation in sports may function as a safeguard against addiction to social media. Moreover, in terms of life satisfaction, athletes showed higher levels of life happiness in contrast to non-athletes suggesting that sports participation or physical activity can be used as a helpful measure to increase life satisfaction. With a focus on athletes and nonathletes these findings help to clarify the connection between life happiness, addiction of social media and sports participation.