Psychosocial effects of SNS use: A longitudinal study focused on the moderation effect of social capital

As represented by Facebook depression and alone together, the effects of SNS use on a person's psychosocial well-being have been highlighted of late, but it is still unclear if SNS use adversely affects the users in psychosocial terms. In addition, there have been few studies that verified the moderating role of social capital in the relationship between SNS use and psychosocial factors. Using the one-year longitudinal panel data of 477 subjects, the current study tested the effects of SNS use and network size on psychosocial well-being factors (i.e., depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction). To clarify the accumulative effects of the variables on one another, the concept of reciprocal influences was also applied in the analysis. The results show different results of SNS use according to the degree of social capital. For the lower-social-capital group, a vicious circle was observed: depression augmented SNS use, but the increase of SNS use reinforced the degree of depression. Conversely, for the higher-social-capital group, a virtuous circle was found: SNS use increased the network size, and the increased network size strengthened the degree of life satisfaction. These results imply that social capital is a key factor in explaining and predicting the effects of SNS use. The theoretical contributions and practical implications of the study based on the empirical findings are discussed herein. Effects of SNS use and social capital on psychosocial factors were tested.Social capital was a key in explaining and predicting the effects of SNS use.For the lower-social-capital group, a vicious circle was observed.Depression augmented SNS use, but the increased SNS time reinforced depression.For the higher group, network size enforced by SNS increased life satisfaction.

[1]  Soonjae Kwon,et al.  Use of Social-Networking Sites and Subjective Well-Being: A Study in South Korea , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[2]  Dmitri Williams,et al.  On and Off the 'Net: Scales for Social Capital in an Online Era , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[3]  P. Kendall,et al.  Understanding anxiety and depression: Their relation to negative and positive affective states. , 1989 .

[4]  Feng-Yang Kuo,et al.  Can Blogging Enhance Subjective Well-Being Through Self-Disclosure? , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[5]  T. Albrecht,et al.  SOCIAL SUPPORT AND LIFE STRESS , 1984 .

[6]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[7]  A. Rubin.  Media uses and effects: A uses-and-gratifications perspective. , 1994 .

[8]  J. Cheung.  Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other , 2013 .

[9]  Phyllis Schumacher,et al.  Loneliness and social uses of the Internet , 2003, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[10]  Danah Boyd,et al.  Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship , 2007, IEEE Engineering Management Review.

[11]  G. S. O'Keeffe,et al.  The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families , 2011, Pediatrics.

[12]  Leonard Reinecke,et al.  The reciprocal effects of social network site use and the disposition for self-disclosure: A longitudinal study , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[13]  Robert E. Kraut,et al.  Internet paradox. A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? , 1998, The American psychologist.

[14]  Pavica Sheldon,et al.  The Relationship Between Unwillingness-to-Communicate and Students' Facebook Use , 2008, J. Media Psychol. Theor. Methods Appl..

[15]  I. Kawachi,et al.  Commentary: Reconciling the three accounts of social capital. , 2004, International journal of epidemiology.

[16]  Dhavan V. Shah, Nojin Kwak, R. Lance Holbert.  "Connecting" and "Disconnecting" With Civic Life: Patterns of Internet Use and the Production of Social Capital , 2001 .

[17]  M. Slater.  Reinforcing Spirals: The Mutual Influence of Media Selectivity and Media Effects and Their Impact on Individual Behavior and Social Identity , 2007 .

[18]  E. Diener,et al.  Subjective well-being. , 1984, Psychological bulletin.

[19]  D. C. Shin,et al.  Avowed happiness as an overall assessment of the quality of life , 1978 .

[20]  M. Moreno,et al.  "Facebook depression?" social networking site use and depression in older adolescents. , 2012, The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

[21]  M. Woolcock,et al.  Health and Wealth: Health by Association? Social Capital, Social Theory, and the Political Economy of Public Health , 2005 .

[22]  Sheldon Cohen,et al.  Positive Events and Social Supports as Buffers of Life Change Stress , 1983 .

[23]  J. Helliwell,et al.  The social context of well-being. , 2004, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[24]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  Connection strategies: Social capital implications of Facebook-enabled communication practices , 2011, New Media Soc..

[25]  Samuel R. Friedman,et al.  Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects , 1968 .

[26]  Thomas V. Pollet,et al.  Use of Social Network Sites and Instant Messaging Does Not Lead to Increased Offline Social Network Size, or to Emotionally Closer Relationships with Offline Network Members , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[27]  Christopher E. Beaudoin,et al.  The Impact of a Health Campaign on Health Social Capital , 2004, Journal of health communication.

[28]  T. Joiner,et al.  Contagious depression: existence, specificity to depressed symptoms, and the role of reassurance seeking. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[29]  Andrew K. Przybylski,et al.  Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[30]  Lindsay H. Shaw,et al.  In Defense of the Internet: The Relationship between Internet Communication and Depression, Loneliness, Self-Esteem, and Perceived Social Support , 2002, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[31]  Lisa Wise,et al.  The effects of personality traits, self-esteem, loneliness, and narcissism on Facebook use among university students , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[32]  N. Ellison,et al.  Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis , 2008 .

[33]  Masahiro Yamamoto,et al.  Did Social Media Really Matter? College Students' Use of Online Media and Political Decision Making in the 2008 Election , 2010 .

[34]  Jonathon N. Cummings,et al.  Internet Paradox Revisited , 2002 .

[35]  J. Horrigan.  Online communities: Networks that nurture long-distance relationships and local ties , 2001 .

[36]  M. Kyle matsuba,et al.  Searching for Self and Relationships Online , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[37]  Keith N. Hampton,et al.  CORE NETWORKS, SOCIAL ISOLATION, AND NEW MEDIA , 2011 .

[38]  D. Russell.  UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): reliability, validity, and factor structure. , 1996, Journal of personality assessment.

[39]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  The Benefits of Facebook "Friends: " Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[40]  Edson C. Tandoc,et al.  Facebook use, envy, and depression among college students: Is facebooking depressing? , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[41]  A. Agresti,et al.  Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences , 1979 .

[42]  Dhavan V. Shah,et al.  "Connecting" and "Disconnecting" With Civic Life: Patterns of Internet Use and the Production of Social Capital , 2001 .

[43]  Sidney J. Blatt,et al.  Interpersonal relatedness and self-definition: Two prototypes for depression , 1992 .

[44]  Heejo Keum.  The Influences of Social Media Use on Social Capital and Psychological Wellbeing , 2011 .

[45]  Stephen G. West,et al.  Structural equation models with non-normal variables: Problems and remedies , 1995 .

[46]  Robert LaRose,et al.  Loneliness as the Cause and the Effect of Problematic Internet Use: The Relationship between Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being , 2009, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[47]  P. Resnick.  Beyond Bowling Together: SocioTechnical Capital , 2001 .

[48]  P. Adler,et al.  Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept , 2002 .

[49]  M. Browne,et al.  Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit , 1992 .

[50]  Junghyun Kim,et al.  The Facebook Paths to Happiness: Effects of the Number of Facebook Friends and Self-Presentation on Subjective Well-Being , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[51]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  Friend Networking Sites and Their Relationship to Adolescents' Well-Being and Social Self-Esteem , 2006, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[52]  R. Putnam.  Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital , 1995, The City Reader.

[53]  Judith Donath,et al.  Public Displays of Connection , 2004 .

[54]  J. Helliwell.  Social Capital, the Economy and Well-being , 2001 .

[55]  Richard E. Lucas,et al.  Subjective Weil-Being: Three Decades of Progress , 2004 .

[56]  Jessica Greenebaum.  Managing Impressions , 2012 .

[57]  Ran Wei,et al.  Staying connected while on the move , 2006, New Media Soc..

[58]  D. Moskowitz,et al.  On the dynamic covariation between interpersonal behavior and affect: prediction from neuroticism, extraversion, and agreeableness. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[59]  Steven R. Asher,et al.  Loneliness and Peer Relations in Childhood , 2003 .

[60]  L. Berkman,et al.  Social ties and mental health , 2001, Journal of Urban Health.

[61]  Cliff Lampe,et al.  It's Complicated: Facebook Users' Political Participation in the 2008 Election , 2011, Cyberpsychology Behav. Soc. Netw..

[62]  D. Kahneman,et al.  Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being , 2006 .

[63]  E. Carmines,et al.  Analyzing models with unobserved variables: analysis of covariance structures , 1981 .

[64]  P. Bentler,et al.  Comparative fit indexes in structural models. , 1990, Psychological bulletin.

[65]  Lindsay T. Graham,et al.  A Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences , 2012, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[66]  Brandon Van Der Heide,et al.  Too Much of a Good Thing? The Relationship Between Number of Friends and Interpersonal Impressions on Facebook , 2008, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[67]  Fenne große Deters,et al.  Does Posting Facebook Status Updates Increase or Decrease Loneliness? An Online Social Networking Experiment , 2013, Social psychological and personality science.

[68]  A. Spirito,et al.  The children's depression inventory: a systematic evaluation of psychometric properties. , 1984, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[69]  Patti M. Valkenburg,et al.  Online Communication and Adolescent Well-Being: Testing the Stimulation Versus the Displacement Hypothesis , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[70]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[71]  L. Tucker,et al.  A reliability coefficient for maximum likelihood factor analysis , 1973 .

[72]  Ian Hughes,et al.  Internet Technology and Social Capital: How the Internet Affects Seniors' Social Capital and Wellbeing , 2008, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[73]  Gary G Berntson,et al.  Loneliness in everyday life: cardiovascular activity, psychosocial context, and health behaviors. , 2003, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[74]  Homero Gil de Zúñiga,et al.  Social Media Use for News and Individuals' Social Capital, Civic Engagement and Political Participation , 2012, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[75]  Nestor L. Lopez-Duran,et al.  Facebook use and depressive symptomatology: Investigating the role of neuroticism and extraversion in youth , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[76]  Kimberly R Goldner.  Self disclosure on social networking websites and relationship quality in late adolescence , 2008 .

[77]  Malcolm R. Parks.  Making Friends in Cyberspace , 1996, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[78]  S. Blatt,et al.  Two primary configurations of psychopathology. , 1983 .

[79]  Nicole B. Ellison,et al.  Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment , 2006, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[80]  Gordon W. Cheung,et al.  Evaluating Goodness-of-Fit Indexes for Testing Measurement Invariance , 2002 .

[81]  Robert D. Putnam,et al.  Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community , 2000, CSCW '00.

[82]  P. Converse,et al.  The Quality of American Life: Perceptions, Evaluations, and Satisfactions , 1976 .

[83]  福井 孝宗,et al.  書評 Sherry Turkle "Alone Together : Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other" , 2012 .

[84]  Leysia Palen,et al.  Twitter adoption and use in mass convergence and emergency events , 2009 .

[85]  A. Bandura.  Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory , 1985 .

[86]  R. Larsen,et al.  The Satisfaction with Life Scale , 1985, Journal of personality assessment.

[87]  Jong-Eun Roselyn Lee,et al.  Who wants to be "friend-rich"? Social compensatory friending on Facebook and the moderating role of public self-consciousness , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[88]  Sherry Turkle,et al.  Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other , 2011 .

[89]  Ronald Fischer,et al.  Testing measurement invariance across groups: applications in cross-cultural research. , 2010 .

[90]  Robert S. Weiss,et al.  Reflections on the present state of loneliness research. , 1987 .

[91]  Martha R. Anderson.  A study of the relationship between life satisfaction and self-concept, locus of control, satisfaction with primary relationships, and work satisfaction. , 1977 .

[92]  Tom L. Roberts,et al.  Proposing the online community self-disclosure model: the case of working professionals in France and the U.K. who use online communities , 2010, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[93]  A. Bandura.  Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication , 2001 .

[94]  Kerk F. Kee,et al.  Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students’ Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation 1 , 2009 .