Determination of Social Anxiety Levels of Distance Education University Students

Abstract

The rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide has affected all areas of life. Social media platforms create a new kind of social situation in terms of the presence of nonverbal cues. Emotions associated with social anxiety can be affected during the pandemic, due to possible changes in social interaction and isolation. This study was conducted to determine the social anxiety levels of university students receiving distance education. 670 university students who receiving distance education in the 2020-2021 academic year participated in the study. Study data were collected using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Inventory (LSAS) and The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE). The total score of the students’ LSAS was 94.10 ± .95, and the total score of BFNE was 30.38 ± 9.07. The social situations in which the students experienced the most anxiety were speaking up at a meeting without prior preparation, acting, performing, or speaking in front of an audience, being the center of attention, giving a prepared oral talk to a group. It was concluded that the students considered online education as a safe environment to cope with the fear of negative evaluation. This situation can lead to an increase in the anxiety level of the socially anxious individual and to experience difficulties in real social situations that may occur in the classroom environment when face-to-face education is started. It is recommended to increase the exposure of students with social anxiety to online social situations during the pandemic process.

Keywords

• social anxiety
• distance education
• university students
• pandemic