When past meets present: the relationship between website-induced nostalgia and well-being

The present research examined whether social media websites increase feelings of nostalgia, and whether this nostalgic reverie promotes psychological and social health. Specifically, in comparison to control conditions, participants exposed to the websites Dear Old Love and Dear Photograph reported...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied social psychology 2015-05, Vol.45 (5), p.282-299
Main Authors: Cox, Cathy R., Kersten, Mike, Routledge, Clay, Brown, Erin M., Van Enkevort, Erin A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Nostalgia
Psychological aspects
Social networks
Social psychology
Websites
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The present research examined whether social media websites increase feelings of nostalgia, and whether this nostalgic reverie promotes psychological and social health. Specifically, in comparison to control conditions, participants exposed to the websites Dear Old Love and Dear Photograph reported greater feelings of nostalgia (Studies 1–3), positive affect (Studies 1 and 3), life satisfaction (Study 1), and relationship need satisfaction (Study 2). Further, mediational analyses revealed that increased thoughts of nostalgia heightened subjective well‐being and social connectedness. Study 3 showed that the relationship between nostalgia and positive affect was specific to the Dear Photograph website and did not generalize to any website focused on close relationships. The implications of this research for nostalgia, internet use, and well‐being are further discussed.
ISSN:0021-9029
1559-1816
DOI:10.1111/jasp.12295