From Social Networking Site Use to Subjective Well-Being: The Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Mediating Pathways of Prosocial Behavior among Vocational College Students in China

Bryant Pui Hung Hui (), Algae Kit Yee Au, Jacky Chi Kit Ng and Xinmiao Song
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Bryant Pui Hung Hui: Department of Applied Social Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
Algae Kit Yee Au: Department of Applied Social Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
Jacky Chi Kit Ng: Department of Applied Social Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
Xinmiao Song: Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: In view of the growing importance of social networking sites (SNS) to adolescents and the mixed and inconclusive empirical evidence on the relationships between SNS use and their well-being, the present study aimed to investigate the associations of social function use intensity (SFUI) and entertainment function use intensity (EFUI) with adolescent life satisfaction and self-esteem, and examine the mediating roles that general prosocial behavior and school volunteering may play in the links. Drawing from the findings of a self-administered online survey with a valid sample of 3452 adolescents (mean age = 18.21) from 10 vocational colleges across four regions of China, our results demonstrated that there was an indirect positive effect of SFUI on adolescent life satisfaction and self-esteem via two interpersonal pathways of general prosocial behavior and school volunteering. We also discovered that there was an indirect negative effect of EFUI on adolescent life satisfaction and self-esteem via an intrapersonal pathway of school volunteering. Our findings provided empirical support for the differential effects of SFUI and EFUI on adolescent life satisfaction and self-esteem through the interpersonal and intrapersonal pathways, and unpacked the mediating roles of general prosocial behavior and school volunteering in these mechanisms.

Keywords: social networking site use; well-being; prosocial behavior; vocational college; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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