Abstract
With the rapid development of mobile Internet technology, the Internet has taken on an indispensable role in everyday life. There is a continuous debate regarding the relationship between internet use and subjective well-being. In contrast to observing whether one has access to the Internet, this paper focuses on Internet usages such as the frequency of use, range of social interaction, and network centrality. Based on the Chinese nationwide data collected in 2017, the results of the ordinary least squares regression model demonstrate that Internet use has a significant positive association with subjective well-being. In addition, by conducting heterogeneity tests, this study also discovers that Internet usage has different effects on different age groups; middle-aged people benefit from a higher frequency of Internet use and a large-scale network; the youth and the old adults benefit from their organizing communication groups.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Boehm, J., Peterson, C., Kivimaki, M., Kubzansky, L.: A prospective study of positive psychological well-being and coronary heart disease. Health Psychol. 30(3), 259–267 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023124
Castells, M.: The rise of the network society. Wiley-Blackwell (2010). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444319514
Hwang, H., Nam, S.: Social media use and subjective well-being among middle-aged consumers in Korea: mediation model of social capital moderated by disability. J. Consum. Aff. 55(4), 1352–1372 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12354
Kelly, Y., Zilanawala, A., Booker, C., Sacker, A.: Social media use and adolescent mental health: findings from the UK millennium cohort study. Eclinicalmedicine 6, 59–68 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.12.005
Verduyn, P., Ybarra, O., Résibois, M., Jonides, J., Kross, E.: Do social network sites enhance or undermine subjective well-being? A critical review. Soc. Issues Policy Rev. 11(1), 274–302 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12033
Greyling, T.: Internet access and its relationship to subjective well-being in a developing region. South African J. Econ. Manage. Sci. 21(1) (2018). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v21i1.1841
Kross, E., Verduyn, P., Sheppes, G., Costello, C., Jonides, J., Ybarra, O.: Social media and well-being: pitfalls, progress, and next steps. Trends Cogn. Sci. 25(1), 55–66 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.10.005
CNNIC: The 48th statistical report on China’s Internet development (2021). https://www.cnnic.net.cn/n4/2022/0401/c88-1132.html. Accessed 1 Nov 2021
Diener, E., Suh, E., Lucas, R., Smith, H.: Subjective well-being: three decades of progress. Psychol. Bull. 125(2), 276–302 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
Kahneman, D., Krueger, A.: Developments in the measurement of subjective well-being. J. Econ. Perspect. 20(1), 3–24 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1257/089533006776526030
Gerson, J., Plagnol, A., Corr, P.: Subjective well-being and social media use: do personality traits moderate the impact of social comparison on Facebook? Comput. Hum. Behav. 63, 813–822 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.06.023
Portela, M., Neira, I., Salinas-Jiménez, M.D.M.: Social capital and subjective wellbeing in europe: a new approach on social capital. Soc. Indic. Res. 114(2), 493–511 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0158-x
Deeming, C.: Addressing the social determinants of subjective wellbeing: the latest challenge for social policy. J. Soc. Policy 42(3), 541–565 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1017/s0047279413000202
Wadsworth, T.: Marriage and subjective well-being: how and why context matters. Soc. Indic. Res. 126(3), 1025–1048 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-0930-9
Castellacci, F., Tveito, V.: Internet use and well-being: a survey and a theoretical framework. Res. Policy 47(1), 308–325 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.11.007
Keipi, T., Räsänen, P., Oksanen, A., Hawdon, J., Näsi, M.: Exposure to online hate material and subjective well-being. Online Inf. Rev. 42(1), 2–15 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1108/oir-05-2016-0133
Paez, D., et al.: A longitudinal study of the effects of internet use on subjective well-being. Media Psychol. 23(5), 676–710 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1624177
Chang, Y.: Influence mechanism on health disparities based on brain cognition, mass media and lifestyle. Neuroquantology 16(6) (2018). https://doi.org/10.14704/nq.2018.16.6.1543
Jiang, Q., Chen, Z.: Active ageing among silver-haired surfers: An investigation on the mechanisms underlying the effect of the Internet in improving elderly people’s subjective well-being. Modern Commun. (J. Commun. Univ. China) 12, 41–48 (2021). https://doi.org/10.19997/j.cnki.xdcb.2021.12.007
Gerson, J.: Social media use and subjective well-being: an investigation of individual differences in personality, social comparison, and Facebook behavior (2018). https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/20557/. Accessed 1 Feb 2022
Bao, T., Liang, B., Riyanto, Y.: Social media and life satisfaction: Evidence from Chinese time-use survey. SSRN Electron. J. (2019). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3534633
Wheatley, D., Buglass, S.: Social network engagement and subjective well-being: a life-course perspective. Br. J. Sociol. 70(5), 1971–1995 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12644
Best, P., Taylor, B., Manktelow, R.: I’ve 500 friends, but who are my mates? Investigating the influence of online friend networks on adolescent wellbeing. J. Public Ment. Health 14(3), 135–148 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1108/jpmh-05-2014-0022
Kim, J., Lee, J.: The Facebook paths to happiness: Effects of the number of Facebook friends and self-presentation on subjective well-being. Cyberpsychol. Behav. Soc. Network. 14(6), 359–364 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0374
Fowler, J., Christakis, N.: Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. BMJ 337(dec04 2), a2338–a2338 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2338
Chamberlain, N.: 4 ways to @mention in Microsoft Teams to get attention on your posts and replies (2021). https://natechamberlain.com/2021/09/27/4-ways-to-mention-in-microsoft-teams-to-get-attention-on-your-posts-and-replies/. Accessed 15 Dec 2021
Pea, R., Nass, C., Meheula, L., Rance, M., Kumar, A., Bamford, H., et al.: Media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, and social well-being among 8- to 12-year-old girls. Dev. Psychol. 48(2), 327–336 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027030
Steinfield, C., Ellison, N., Lampe, C.: Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: a longitudinal analysis. J. Appl. Dev. Psychol. 29(6), 434–445 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.002
Li, J., Zhou, X.: Internet use and Chinese older adults’ subjective well-being (SWB): the role of parent-child contact and relationship. Comput. Hum. Behav. 119, 106725 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106725
CGSS: Chinese general social survey—Digital chronicle of Chinese social change (2021). http://cgss.ruc.edu.cn/English/Home.htm. Accessed 28 Dec 2021
Wang, J., Liang, D.: The effects of cultural industry on residents’ subjective well-being: an empirical analysis based on CGSS2017 data. J. Tongji Univ. (Soc. Sci. Sect.) 5, 35–46 (2021)
Abdel-Khalek, A.: Measuring happiness with a single-item scale. Soc. Behav. Personal. Int. J. 34(2), 139–150 (2006). https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2006.34.2.139
Blanchflower, D., Oswald, A.: Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle? Soc. Sci. Med. 66(8), 1733–1749 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.01.030
Zhao, X., Li, J.: Contemporary youth’s Internet use and social trust. Youth Stud. 01:19–27+94 (2017). CNKI: SUN: QNYJ.0.2017–01–003
Kavanaugh, A., Reese, D., Carroll, J., Rosson, M.: Weak ties in networked communities. Inf. Soc. 21(2), 119–131 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240590925320
Parker, P., Ciarrochi, J., Heaven, P., Marshall, S., Sahdra, B., Kiuru, N.: Hope, friends, and subjective well-being: a social network approach to peer group contextual effects. Child Dev. 86(2), 642–650 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12308
Fields, J.: We are leaving older adults out of the digital world (2019). https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/05/we-are-leaving-older-adults-out-of-the-digital-world/. Accessed 4 Feb 2022
Acknowledgements
In this study, publicly available datasets were analyzed. This data is available at http://cgss.ruc.edu.cn/English/Home.htm.
This study was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could potentially create a conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Yan, Y., Deng, Y., Igartua, JJ., Song, X. (2023). The Association of Internet Use with Subjective Well-Being: An Empirical Study Based on CGSS 2017. In: García-Peñalvo, F.J., García-Holgado, A. (eds) Proceedings TEEM 2022: Tenth International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality. TEEM 2022. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0942-1_85
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-0942-1_85
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-0941-4
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-0942-1
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)