Online networks and subjective well-being

TL;DR

This paper investigates how online networks impact subjective well-being, finding that overall, online networking tends to decrease well-being despite some positive effects through physical interactions.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the negative overall effect of online networking on well-being, highlighting the roles of social trust and physical interactions.

Findings

Negative correlation between online networking and well-being

Positive impact of online networking on physical interactions

Lower social trust associated with SNS use

Abstract

We argue that the use of online networks may threaten subjective well-being in several ways, due to the inherent attributes of Internet-mediated interaction and through its effects on social trust and sociability. We test our hypotheses on a representative sample of the Italian population. We find a significantly negative correlation between online networking and well-being. This result is partially confirmed after accounting for endogeneity. We explore the direct and indirect effects of the use of social networking sites (SNS) on well-being in a SEM analysis. We find that online networking plays a positive role in subjective well-being through its impact on physical interactions, whereas SNS use is associated with lower social trust. The overall effect of networking on individual welfare is significantly negative.