The Double-Edged Sword of Social Comparison on Social Networking Sites : Effects on Subjective Well-Being

Title data

Diel, Sören ; Hall, Kristina ; Mützel, Caroline:
The Double-Edged Sword of Social Comparison on Social Networking Sites : Effects on Subjective Well-Being.
In: Proceedings of the 29th European Conference on Informations Systems (ECIS). - Marrakech, Morocco , 2021

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Abstract in another language

Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become integral parts of billions of individuals' everyday lives, enabling users to determine and evaluate themselves through social comparison processes permanently. Despite several studies on user behavior and its' psychological consequences, research on the relationship between SNS-use, social comparison, and subjective well-being (SWB) has postulated relevant yet ambiguous results. To close this research gap, we developed and empirically tested a conceptual model (n = 651 SNS-users). Our results reveal strong associations between social comparisons, rumination, reflection, identity distress, identity clarity, self-esteem and SWB. Furthermore, we identify that rumination, identity distress, identity clarity, and self-esteem mediate the relationship between SWB and social comparison of abilities but not opinions. Besides providing critical theoretical and practical contributions through this study, the findings open the road to a new and enhanced comprehension of how self-determining processes impact human beings' thinking and behavior in information systems like SNS.