Journal of Information Technology Services (한국IT서비스학회지)

Korea Society of IT Services (한국IT서비스학회)
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What Makes People use Facebook? Focusing on Effect of Upward Comparison and Social Support on Life Satisfaction Mediated by Self-esteem

페이스북 유저의 상향 비교와 사회적 지지가 삶의 만족도에 미치는 영향을 중심으로

  • Received : 2021.10.20
  • Accepted : 2022.03.28
  • Published : 2022.04.30
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Abstract

This study investigates an association among Facebook users' upward comparison (e.g., envy), social support (e.g., favorable comments and like), and life satisfaction, putting their self-esteem as a mediating variable. For this analysis, 1,332 female and male Facebook users in Seoul and other four cities in South Korea were surveyed. Structural equation modeling including confirmative factor analysis were employed as quantitative analysis methods. Results show that Facebook users' upward comparison with other users and social support significantly impact their satisfaction mediated by their self-esteem. Specifically, when users feel envious of other users, this emotion lowers their self-esteem, and subsequently, the self-esteem reduces their satisfaction. On the other hand, sufficient social support for users positively affects their self-esteem, which leads to the increase of their satisfaction. The present study is differentiated from previous studies in that it focuses on Facebook users' emotional changes in the process of sharing massive amounts of posts and finds a stepwise relationship among their feelings, including self-esteem as a mediating variable. Additionally, this study is the first to verify a situation when Facebook users' envy of other users' posts affects the decline in their satisfaction through the mediation of their self-esteem.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by a grant from DongYang University in 2021.

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