The impact of social media use types and social media addiction on subjective well-being of college students: A comparative analysis of addicted and non-addicted students

• Published in: Computers in human behavior reports 2021-08, Vol.4, p.100122, Article 100122
• Main Author: Zhao, Lei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: College students; Social media addiction; Subjective well-being; Use types
• ISSN: 2451-9588; 2451-9588
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100122

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of different types of social media use on social media addiction and subjective well-being, and the relationship between social media addiction and subjective well-being. Using random sampling, we collected a sample of 370 Chinese college students. According to the scores of social media addiction scale, the respondents were divided into addicted group and non-addicted group. On the basis of literature review, a research model was constructed, which was verified by using the data of total students, addicted students and non-addicted students. The results show that social use and entertainment use have different effects on social media addiction and subjective well-being: entertainment use is more likely to lead to social media addiction, and social use tends to improve subjective well-being. Furthermore, social media addiction has a negative impact on subjective well-being, which is supported in the validation of all three groups.