Lin, Yanqing, Fu, Shaoxiong and Zhou, Xun orcid.org/0000-0003-2093-4508 (2023) Unmasking the bright–dark duality of social media use on psychological well-being:a large-scale longitudinal study. Internet Research. pp. 2308-2355. ISSN 1066-2243
Abstract
Purpose As the number of social media users continues to rise globally, a heated debate emerges on whether social media use improves or harms mental health, as well as the bidirectional relation between social media use and mental health. Motivated by this, the authors’ study adopts the stressor–strain–outcome model and social compensation hypothesis to disentangle the effect mechanism between social media use and psychological well-being. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach To empirically validate the proposed research model, a large-scale two-year longitudinal questionnaire survey on social media use was administered to a valid sample of 6,093 respondents recruited from a university in China. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. Findings A longitudinal analysis reveals that social media use positively (negatively) impacts psychological well-being through the mediator of nomophobia (perceived social support) in a short period. However, social media use triggers more psychological unease, as well as more life satisfaction from a longitudinal perspective. Originality/value This study addresses the bidirectional relation between social media use and psychological unease. The current study also draws both theoretical and practical implications by unmasking the bright–dark duality of social media use on psychological well-being.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Environment and Geography (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 03 Feb 2023 15:30 |
Last Modified: | 26 Feb 2025 00:08 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-05-2022-0320 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/INTR-05-2022-0320 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:196051 |
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Description: Bright-Dark Duality of Social Media Use (Author Accepted Manuscript)
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