TY - JOUR
T1 - A longitudinal study of the effects of internet use on subjective well-being
AU - Paez, Dario
AU - Delfino, Gisela
AU - Vargas-Salfate, Salvador
AU - Liu, James H.
AU - Gil De Zúñiga, Homero
AU - Khan, Sammyh
AU - Garaigordobil, Maite
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by Grant FA2386-15-1-0003 from the Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development. It was also partially supported by the grant PSI2017-84145-P from the Spanish Ministry of Economy Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) to the first author.Parts of the data (time 1 well-being and social media variables) were used, but analyzed in a completely different manner, in a manuscript currently under review.
PY - 2020/9/2
Y1 - 2020/9/2
N2 - This study examined how internet use is related to subjective well-being, using longitudinal data from 19 nations with representative online samples stratified for age, gender, and region (N = 7122, 51.43% women, M age= 45.26). Life satisfaction and anxiety served as indices of subjective well-being at time 1 (t1) and then six months later (t2). Frequency of internet use (hours online per day) at t1 correlated with lower life satisfaction, r = –.06, and more anxiety, r =.13 at t2. However, after imposing multivariate controls, frequency of internet use (t1) was no longer associated with lower subjective well-being (t2). Frequency of social contact by internet and use of internet for following rumors (t1) predicted higher anxiety (t2). Higher levels of direct (face-to-face plus phone) social contact (t1) predicted greater life satisfaction (t2). In multivariate analyses, all effect sizes were small. Society-level individualism-collectivism or indulgence-restraint did not show a direct effect on outcomes nor moderate individual-level associations. Results are discussed in the framework of the internet as a displacement of social contact versus a replacement of deficits in direct contact; and as a source of positive and negative information.
AB - This study examined how internet use is related to subjective well-being, using longitudinal data from 19 nations with representative online samples stratified for age, gender, and region (N = 7122, 51.43% women, M age= 45.26). Life satisfaction and anxiety served as indices of subjective well-being at time 1 (t1) and then six months later (t2). Frequency of internet use (hours online per day) at t1 correlated with lower life satisfaction, r = –.06, and more anxiety, r =.13 at t2. However, after imposing multivariate controls, frequency of internet use (t1) was no longer associated with lower subjective well-being (t2). Frequency of social contact by internet and use of internet for following rumors (t1) predicted higher anxiety (t2). Higher levels of direct (face-to-face plus phone) social contact (t1) predicted greater life satisfaction (t2). In multivariate analyses, all effect sizes were small. Society-level individualism-collectivism or indulgence-restraint did not show a direct effect on outcomes nor moderate individual-level associations. Results are discussed in the framework of the internet as a displacement of social contact versus a replacement of deficits in direct contact; and as a source of positive and negative information.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85070947637&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85070947637&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15213269.2019.1624177
DO - 10.1080/15213269.2019.1624177
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85070947637
VL - 23
SP - 676
EP - 710
JO - Media Psychology
JF - Media Psychology
SN - 1521-3269
IS - 5
ER -