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Social media use and its relationship with well-being : the associations between social media use, need fulfilment, negative side effects, and well-being

Böhmer, J.F. (2022) Social media use and its relationship with well-being : the associations between social media use, need fulfilment, negative side effects, and well-being.

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Abstract:As there is an ongoing debate about whether social media use increases or decreases users’ well-being, the purpose of this study is to find out under which conditions social media use is detrimental and beneficial for its users. Based on the Uses- and Gratification framework, social media use is driven by informational, entertainment, personal identity, and social needs fulfilment. Additionally, literature suggests that social media use has negative side effects, which were sleep disturbances, malicious envy, and social media addiction. Therefore, this study aims at exploring to what extent the fulfilment of users’ needs and negative side effects of social media use mediate the relationship between social media use and well-being. Data from 123 university students showed that social media use is not related to well-being in any direction. Nevertheless, it was found that higher social media use leads to increased need fulfilment. Furthermore, increased social media use leads to social media addiction, which in turn leads to worsened well-being. All three side effects came out to be negative predictors of well-being.
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/91615
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