Relationship between social media addiction and exercise behaviors in nursing students

Background Social media addiction is common among university students and may have consequences for their physical activity. This study examines the relationship between nursing students' social media addiction and both their engagement in physical activity and their perceptions of the benefits and barriers of exercise.Methods This cross-sectional study involved 346 nursing students enrolled at three universities in different regions of Türkiye. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS), and the Exercise Benefit/Barrier Scale (EBBS), which measure social media addiction and perceptions of exercise benefits and barriers, respectively. Data were analyzed with t tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and linear regression, with sex, year of study, and body mass index treated as comparison or control variables.Results A weak but statistically significant negative correlation was found between social media addiction and exercise benefit perception (r = - 0.188, p Conclusion Because the design is cross-sectional, these findings reflect an association rather than a causal link: higher social media addiction was weakly related to a less favorable perception of exercise benefits. Approaches that encourage physical activity may be worth evaluating in future longitudinal and interventional studies.