Reflections of the Digital World on Public Space Perception: A Focus on Istanbul, Türkiye

Abstract

Digital technologies have significantly reshaped individuals’ perceptions of public space and their everyday social practices. This study aims to analyze the impact of digitalization on social behavior through individuals’ perceptions of public space and their usage patterns of digital public services and online communication platforms. Quantitative data were collected in Istanbul, Turkey, the city with the highest rate of digital access in Türkiye, using the computer-assisted telephone interviewing method, based on the scales titled “public space usage and meaning perception” and “digital activity and communication platform usage patterns,” both developed concerning the functional dimensions of public space—commerce, recreation, and social interaction. The validity of the scales was assessed via skewness and kurtosis coefficients. Following the confirmation of the standard distribution assumption, Pearson correlation, simple regression, and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. The findings indicate that the use of digital public services and educational platforms significantly increases the level of social anxiety associated with digital addiction and technostress, yet it does not exhibit a statistically significant relationship with media influence, social isolation, or homogenization/placelessness. In contrast, the use of online communication and entertainment platforms was found to be positively and significantly associated with social isolation, media influence, homogenization/placelessness, technostress, and digital addiction. Additionally, individuals who perceive public space primarily as a site for recreation and open-air activity were found to display higher tendencies toward social isolation, digital addiction, and placelessness. This study offers both theoretical and empirical contributions to understanding how digitalization affects perceptions of public space. It reveals the multilayered impact of digital technologies on spatial belonging, social ties, and behavioral patterns. The findings provide insights relevant to interdisciplinary applications in urban planning, environmental psychology, behavioral geography, digital media studies, and social policy.