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© 2020 Oshio et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

This study examined the association between the use of social networking sites (SNS), perceived social support (PSS), and life satisfaction (LS), focusing on the mediating effect of PSS on the association between SNS use and LS. To this end, we used data (N = 15,574) obtained from a population-based, nationwide internet survey conducted in Japan. First, we confirmed that the number of SNS friends was positively associated with life satisfaction for all age groups: young (15–29 years), middle-aged (30–59 years), and old (60–86 years). However, the association was mixed if there were 100 or more SNS friends. Second, our structural equation modeling analysis underscored the mediating effect of PSS on the association between the number of SNS friends and LS for all age groups. Specifically, PSS mediated 36.5% (standard error [SE]: 8.6%), 39.8% (SE: 6.3%), and 40.3% (SE: 11.4%) of the association for the young, middle-aged, and old groups, respectively, if we defined SNS use as having 10 or more SNS friends. The mediating effect of PSS consistently contributed to the positive association between SNS use and LS regardless of the number of SNS friends, suggesting that SNS use has the potential to enhance subjective well-being via its positive impact on PSS.

Details

Title
Association between the use of social networking sites, perceived social support, and life satisfaction: Evidence from a population-based survey in Japan
Author
Oshio, Takashi; Kimura, Hiromi; Nishizaki, Toshimi; Omori, Takashi
First page
e0244199
Section
Research Article
Publication year
2020
Publication date
Dec 2020
Publisher
Public Library of Science
e-ISSN
19326203
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2471160047
Copyright
© 2020 Oshio et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.