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

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• Use types
• Social media addiction
• Subjective well-being
• College students