An Analysis of University Students’ Internet Use in Relation to Loneliness and Social Self-efficacy☆

Abstract The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between university students’ internet use and loneliness and social self- efficacy. The sample of the study consists of 507 university students (F=227; M=280). To determine students’ degree of internet use, Young's (1998) ‘Internet addiction Scale’, which was adapted to Turkish by Bayraktar (2001) was used; to determine the degree of loneliness ‘UCLA Loneliness Scale’ was used; and to determine the degree of social self-efficacy, Smith-Betz's (2000) ‘Social Self-efficacy Perception Scale’, which was adapted to Turkish by Palanci (2002) was used. The results of the analysis suggest that there is a meaningful relationship between internet use and loneliness scores, whereas no relationship was observed with social self-efficacy scores. On the other hand, it has been found that students with a higher score on internet use have a higher degree of loneliness when compared to students who have moderate and low degree of internet use.