Observe or Engage that is the Question: How to Unravel the Positive Effect of Prosociality on Social Media

Annika Baumann ()
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Annika Baumann: Weizenbaum Institute

A chapter in People, Society, and Ethical Challenges of Information Systems, 2026, pp 99-115 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Within the offline context, research provides evidence that observing prosocial media content and active engagement in prosocial behavior benefit individuals’ well-being. However, it is unclear to what extent such effects hold also true in the context of social media. Building on the theoretical lens of elevation and based on a study with 299 participants, we use consistent partial least squares structural equation modeling to investigate to what extent the observation and engagement in prosocial behavior on social media impacts users’ positive affect, subjective happiness, loneliness, and humanity-esteem. Our results show that the mere observation of prosocial content is insufficient to benefit well-being, and users need to engage in such actions to unfold the uplifting effect of prosociality within the digital sphere.

Keywords: Prosocial behavior; Social media; Well-being; Elevation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:lnichp:978-3-032-08486-6_8

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-08486-6_8

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