University of Twente Student Theses
Portraying a Perfect Life : Envy as a Mediator in the Relationship of Social Media and Emotional Wellbeing
Schaffert, Antonia (2022) Portraying a Perfect Life : Envy as a Mediator in the Relationship of Social Media and Emotional Wellbeing.
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| Abstract: | With growing numbers of users, psychologists have been interested in the way usage of various social media sites has affected our lives. Especially with Instagram and TikTok gaining users, more and more young adults are exposed to perfect portrayals of people’s lives in the form of short videos or photos. This can bring about negative affect and make people envious of the lives they aspire to have. The present study therefore focuses on the way social media use affects emotional wellbeing in the form of the balance of positive and negative affect throughout the week. Further, it measures two forms of envy, malicious and benign, how that factor plays into wellbeing, and whether it mediates the relationship between social media use and emotional wellbeing. A survey was conducted throughout the population of young adults and results showed that there is a strong correlation between social media use and emotional wellbeing. Even though envy is not a mediator, malicious envy strongly affects emotional well-being. These findings show that using social media does not necessarily bring about envy, yet there is a consensus that both social media use and malicious envy are correlated with more negative affect throughout a person’s week. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Bachelor) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology BSc (56604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/91474 |
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