Photo-sharing app Instagram is the most popular social networking service among Turkish students, according to new survey results released Thursday.

In a report titled "A Study on Young People's Digital Habits," the Media Association in collaboration with the University Media Union interviewed 810 students from 40 universities from April 1 to April 30 this year.

According to the results, 39 percent of respondents said they used Instagram the most while Facebook, which owns Instagram, came in second with 26 percent and Twitter third with 17 percent. Atakan Şeniz, chair of the University Media Union, told a news conference in Istanbul on Thursday: "I don't think anyone is denying the power of digital [media] anymore.

Image-messaging app Snapchat was the fourth most-used multimedia mobile service among Turkish students with 14 percent of them at private universities saying they use it the most out of all social media apps.

Şeniz said Instagram was more popular among female students while Facebook was more popular among males. He said the main reasons why Turkish students use digital media are to stay in touch with their friends, 37 percent; to pass the time, 18 percent; to watch videos, 15 percent and to conduct research, 10 percent.

The survey found that 67 percent of respondents followed other people's social media profiles anonymously. "Female Turkish students stalk more compared to male students," the report said. While two out of four male students admitted having followed someone else's social media profile in secret, three out of four female students admitted having done so, according to the report. Twenty percent of female students have a fake social media account compared to 14 percent of male students in the study, the report said.

It looks like the use of social media is not going to decline anytime soon, as the report also found that 31 percent of both female and male respondents said they perceived themselves to be social media "addicts." Female students in the study not only perceive themselves as more addicted to social media compared to their male counterparts, but also tend to delete their comments and shares more than male students, according to the report.University students generally have personal shares at social media platforms. A large portion of Turkish university students follow national and international developments through social media. Online news websites and Twitter are the two most popular means for getting news. They also think that accessing brands on social media is a good way to find products in a much easier way.