Current Psychology

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00658-8

Active Social Network Sites Use and Loneliness: the Mediating Role
of Social Support and Self-Esteem
Shanyan Lin 1,2 & Danni Liu 3 & Gengfeng Niu 4,5 & Claudio Longobardi 2

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
A growing body of research has documented the association between general social network sites use and loneliness, though
results have not clarified whether social media increases or decreases loneliness. The relationships between specific social
network sites use patterns and loneliness, as well as the mechanisms underlying this association, should be further examined.
To address this issue, the current study investigated the mediating roles of social support and self-esteem between active social
network sites use and loneliness. A sample of 390 undergraduate students (Mage = 19.39, SD = 0.95) anonymously completed the
Active Social Network Sites Use Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived
Social Support Scale, and the Emotional and Social Loneliness Scale in their classrooms. Latent variables structural equation
modeling analysis indicated that: (a) active social network sites use was negatively associated with loneliness; (b) social support
and self-esteem could significantly mediate the relationship between active social network sites use and loneliness, which
contained two mediating paths: the simple mediating effect of social support and the sequential mediating effects of social
support and self-esteem. These results coincide with previous research and extend them by examining the effects of how
individuals use social media. Our understanding of how social media use helps to reduce the feeling of loneliness, as well as
the intervention programs that aim to reduce loneliness, may benefit from these findings.

Keywords Active social network sites use . Loneliness . Perceived social support . Self-esteem . Mediating effect

Introduction and Perlman 1982), has been regarded as an important con-

struct in psychological health. As a common interpersonal ex-
Loneliness, defined as a subjectively uncomfortable or unpleas- perience, loneliness has been found to have a wide range of
ant state that results from the contradiction between one’s per- negative impacts on an individual’s psychological development
ceived social network and her/his social expectation (Peplau and adaptation. For example, loneliness is negatively associat-
ed with life satisfaction and self-esteem (Çivitci and Çivitci
2009) and may lead to serious mental and behavioral problems
such as depression and suicide (Chang et al. 2015). Thus, the
* Shanyan Lin
linshanyan92@163.com; linshanyan@snnu.edu.cn influencing factors of loneliness has been a crucial research
theme. Although loneliness is a common feeling among differ-
* Gengfeng Niu
niugf123@163.com ent age groups, the prevalence of loneliness is relatively high
among undergraduate students and it has become a serious risk
1 factor for their well-being and health in China (Chen and Shi
Key Laboratory for Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience of Shaanxi
Province, & School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, 2008). Therefore, much attention has been given to exploring
Xi’an, China the influencing factors of loneliness and its underlying mecha-
2
Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy nisms. Previous studies found that both individual factors (e.g.,
3 self-evaluation) and social-environmental factors (e.g., social
Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University,
Utrecht, The Netherlands support) were important antecedents of loneliness (Zhao et al.
4 2018), which may also be true in the context of the mobile
School of Psychology, Central China Normal University,
Wuhan, China Internet era. With the development of society, especially the
5 development of the information technology industry, re-
Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior,
(Central China Normal University), Ministry of Education, searchers suggest that we should examine loneliness in the
Wuhan, China context of the current mobile Internet era.
 Curr Psychol

Nowadays, social network sites (SNS) have been an impor- (Verduyn et al. 2017). Second, previous studies mainly focused
tant part of our daily life. As the most popular SNS all around on the overall SNS use or the passive way of SNS use (Chen
the world, Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users et al. 2016; Ding et al. 2017; Ryan and Xenos 2011; Sheldon
and over 1 billion daily active users (Facebook statistics 2012; Teppers et al. 2014), more attention should be paid to the
2019); in China, WeChat Moment and QZone, whose users active way of SNS use which remains insufficiently investigat-
accounted for 85.8% and 67.8% of the total 700 million ed. Third, although there was an experimental study suggesting
Chinese Internet users respectively (CINIC 2017), are the the mediating role of social connectedness in the relationship
most popular SNS. The burgeoning popularity of SNSs and between the active way of SNS use (i.e., posting Facebook
the large amount of time that users devote to SNSs motivate us status updates) and loneliness (Deters and Mehl 2013), little
to pay attention to the impacts of SNS use on users’ psycho- is known about other mediating mechanisms underlying this
social adaptation and psychological health. Previous research relationship in different social media platforms. Therefore, the
has examined the associations between SNSs use and users’ current research examined the association between active SNS
well-being (Lin et al. 2018; Verduyn et al. 2017), depression use and loneliness among undergraduate students and the me-
(Tandoc Jr et al. 2015), loneliness (Berryman et al. 2018; diating roles of social support and self-esteem in this
Sheldon 2012; Teppers et al. 2014), body image concerns relationship.
(Marengo et al. 2018), and so on. Unfortunately, the prior
literature has presented inconsistent results. For loneliness, The mediating role of social support and self-esteem
some research suggested that SNS use was negatively associ-
ated with loneliness (Ryan and Xenos 2011; Sheldon 2012), Social support is the experience or perception that someone is
while some other studies revealed that the relationships be- cared for, loved, valued, esteemed, and part of a supportive
tween SNS use and loneliness was positive (Teppers et al., social network of mutual obligations and assistance (Wills
2014) or even nonsignificant (Berryman et al. 2018). These 1991), which is of great significance for an individual’s well-
contradicting findings about loneliness may result from that being and adaptation (Deters and Mehl 2013; Valkenburg et al.
most of the previous research merely focused on the effects of 2006). A large body of previous studies has revealed that low
general SNS use (e.g., frequency and intensity) (Zhou et al. social support is an important antecedent of loneliness (Jackson
2017). Specific ways of SNS use (e.g., active SNS use) should et al. 2002; Kong and You 2013; Perlman and Peplau 1981;
be further examined to get a more clear-cut conclusion on the Zhao et al. 2013). Besides, as an important resource of social
relationship between SNS use and loneliness (Burke et al. network, social support can also be achieved on SNS platforms
2010; Zhou et al. 2017). The current study responded to this because one of the important motives of SNS use is to acquire
call for considering the specific SNS use patterns by investi- and maintain social support (Jung and Sundar 2016; Park et al.
gating the association between active SNS use and loneliness 2009). Evidence from both theoretical derivation and empirical
among undergraduate students, as well as the mediating ef- research suggests a positive relationship between active SNS
fects of social support and self-esteem on this relationship. use and social support. Theoretically, active interpersonal com-
munication is considered a strategy for maintaining a relation-
Active SNS use and loneliness ship, and it is beneficial for acquiring social capital and support
(Canary et al. 1993; Coleman 1988; Crocker and Canevello
SNS provides many functions, and individuals generally have 2008); as an important platform for interpersonal communica-
different motivations for usage. As a particular SNS use form, tion, SNSs provide people with an ideal space for self-
the active SNS use refers to the activities that facilitate direct disclosure and social interaction behaviors, which helps the
information exchanges with other users on SNSs, during which active users get more social support (Frison and Eggermont
new information is often produced (Verduyn et al. 2017). 2016). Empirically, research also supported the positive role
Active SNS use includes not only targeted one-on-one chatting of active SNS use in gaining social support (Lee et al. 2013)
(e.g., sending private messages), but also non-targeted broad- and the influence of the enhanced perceived social support on
casting (e.g., sharing links and posting status updates, Verduyn users’ psychosocial adaptation (e.g., loneliness, depression, and
et al. 2017). Active SNS use is a common use pattern, and its well-being, Deters and Mehl 2013; Sarriera et al. 2012;
influence on individuals’ loneliness should be further investi- Valkenburg et al. 2006). Therefore, active SNS use might in-
gated: First, the main purpose and motivation of using SNS is fluence users’ loneliness through the mediating effect of social
to maintain and/or to expand their social network (Cheung et al. support.
2011; Park et al. 2009), which is not only a feature shared by On the other hand, self-esteem, defined as a “favorable or
both online and offline social interaction behaviors, but also an unfavorable attitude towards the self” (Rosenberg 1965), is
active way to use SNSs. Thus, active SNS use is a typical SNS typically associated with loneliness and its antecedent (Zhao
use form and may build the foundation of the observed nega- et al. 2013) and might also play a mediating role between
tive associations between overall SNS use and loneliness active SNS use and loneliness. In terms of the relationship
Curr Psychol

between self-esteem and loneliness, previous studies indicated aged from 17 to 22 (M = 19.39, SD = 0.95). One hundred and
that self-esteem is an important protective factor against lone- thirty-eight of them were males, and all the participants were
liness (McWhirter et al. 2002; Zhao et al. 2012). For example, SNS users.
Zhao et al. (2012) found that self-esteem could negatively
predict loneliness among undergraduate students. In terms of
the relationship between SNS use and self-esteem, a substan- Measures
tial body of research has confirmed that active SNS use helps
users gain more positive feedback and enhances their self- Active SNS use
esteem level (Gonzales and Hancock 2011; Valkenburg et al.
2006; Yang 2014). Taken together with the evidence for these The Active SNS Use Questionnaire (ASUQ, Ding 2017) was
two paths (active SNS use → self-esteem and self-esteem → used to assess active SNS use frequency. It consists of five
loneliness), it is indicated that self-esteem possibly mediates items which were adapted according to the definition of active
the association between active SNS use and loneliness. SNS use from Verduyn et al. (2015). The examples of these
Moreover, according to the sociometer model of self-esteem items are: “I browse friends’ posts or status and give likes or
(Leary et al. 1995), the self-esteem level is regarded as an comment on them” and “I interact with friends when browsing
inner reflection of a social support level because the self- their SNS profile pages.” Respondents rated their frequency
esteem system functions as a sociometer that monitors the on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = “Never” to
individual’s social relationships. Consistent with this theory, 5 = “Always”. The final score was the mean of all items’
empirical research found that self-esteem plays a mediating scores, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of active
role between social support and loneliness (Kong et al. SNS use. For the current sample, the Cronbach’s α coefficient
2012). At the same time, active SNS use could also influence of ASUQ was 0.74.
self-esteem through the indirect effect of social support (Niu
et al. 2015). Thus, social support and self-esteem might be the
sequential mediators in the relationship between active SNS Social support
use and loneliness.
The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support
Current study and hypotheses (MSPSS) was used to measure perceived social support
(Zimet et al. 1988). The MSPSS is a 12-item, self-reported
The current research examined the relationship between active scale which assesses perceived support from significant others
SNS use and users’ loneliness among Chinese undergraduate (α = 0.80), family members (α = 0.85) and friends (α = 0.87).
students. The mediating roles of social support and self- Respondents were asked to rate their agreement on a 7-point
esteem in this relationship were also tested. Based on the lit- Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = “Very strongly disagree” to
erature review, the current research proposed the following 7 = “Very strongly agree”. Examples of the items are: “There
hypotheses: is a special person who is around when I am in need” and “My
family is willing to help me make decisions”. The final score
Hypothesis 1: Active SNS use negatively predicts users’ was the sum of all items’ scores, with higher scores reflecting
loneliness. a higher level of perceived social support. For the current
Hypothesis 2: Social support mediates the relationship sample, the Cronbach’s α coefficient of MSPSS was 0.92.
between active SNS use and loneliness.
Hypothesis 3: Self-esteem mediates the relationship be-
tween active SNS use and loneliness. Self-esteem
Hypothesis 4: Social support and self-esteem are the se-
quential mediators between active SNS use and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) developed by
loneliness. Rosenberg (1965) was used to assess self-esteem.
Respondents were asked to rate their agreement on a 4-
point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = “Strongly dis-
agree” to 4 = “Strongly agree”. The RSES comprised 10
Method items (e.g., “On the whole, I am satisfied with myself”
and “I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal
Participants plane with others”). The final score was the sum of all
items’ scores, with higher scores representing a higher level
Participants were three hundred and ninety undergraduate stu- of self-esteem. For the current sample, the Cronbach’s α
dents recruited from a university in Xi’an, China. Participants coefficient of RSES was 0.83.
 Curr Psychol

Loneliness mediating effects of perceived social support and self-esteem

between active SNS use and loneliness. By random sampling
The Emotional and Social Loneliness Scale (ESLS) devel- with replacement, there were1000 bootstrap samples chosen
oped by Wittenberg et al. (Wittenberg, 1986, cited in Shaver from the original dataset in the current study to calculate the
and Brennan 1991) was used to measure loneliness. confidence intervals (CI). If the 95% CI does not include zero,
Respondents rated their agreement on a 5-point Likert-type the indirect effects will be regarded as significant (Shrout and
scale ranging from 1 = “Strongly disagree” to 5 = “Strongly Bolger 2002).
agree”. The ESLS comprises 10 items, such as “No one can
make me feel intimate in a long time” (emotional loneliness,
α = 0.71) and “Everyone around me seems like a stranger” Results
(social loneliness, α = 0.72). The final score was the sum of
all items’ scores, with higher scores representing a higher level Descriptive analysis
of loneliness. For the current sample, the Cronbach’s α coef-
ficient of ESLS was 0.80. The descriptive analysis results for all variables (i.e., means,
standard deviations, and the correlation coefficients) are
Procedure shown in Table 1. Active SNS use was negatively correlated
with loneliness (r = −0.21, p < .001) and positively correlated
A convenience sampling technique was used to recruit partic- with social support (r = 0.19, p < .001) and self-esteem (r =
ipants. Three hundred and ninety undergraduate students 0.1, p < .05). Social support was positively correlated with
volunteered to participate in this study with no compensation. self-esteem (r = 0.36, p < .001), and negatively correlated with
The survey was conducted in the quiet classroom environ- loneliness (r = −0.45, p < .001). Self-esteem was negatively
ment, and took about 15 min to complete. Before filling out correlated with loneliness (r = −0.36, p < .001).
the main scales, demographic questions were answered. The
questionnaires were anonymously completed by all respon- Testing for mediated association
dents. The instructions stated that the data were used for re-
search purposes only and that they have the right to exit when- Measurement model
ever they felt uncomfortable about the questions.
In the measurement model, there are four latent variables (i.e.,
Data analysis active SNS use, social support, self-esteem, and loneliness) and
10 observed variables. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed
A two-step analysis procedure of the mediation effects in that the goodness-of-fit for the measurement model was satis-
structural equation modeling with latent variables was used factory: χ2/df = 1.53, RMSEA = 0.04, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.94,
according to the suggestion of Anderson and Gerbing SRMR = 0.05. All the indicators well represented its latent fac-
(1988). In the first step, the goodness-of-fit was calculated to tor respectively, since all factor loadings for the indicators on
examine whether each latent variable in the measurement the latent factors were significant (p < .001) as seen in Fig. 1.
model was well-represented by its indicators. In the second
step, if the goodness-of-fit was satisfactory in the measure- Structural model
ment model, the structural model would be tested by the max-
imum likelihood estimation method in Mplus 7.4. Two-item The direct path coefficient from active SNS use to loneliness
parcels were created for the active SNS use factor and three- was significant (β = −0.26, p < 0.01). A mediated model
item parcels were created for self-esteem factors (Little et al. (Model 1) fitted well with the data: χ2/df = 1.28, TLI = 0.99,
2002). At the same time, since gender and age are important RMSEA = 0.03, SRMR = 0.03, CFI = 0.99, but the residual di-
influencing factors of loneliness (Al-Yagon 2008), they were rect coefficient path from active SNS use to loneliness and the
included in all analyses as control variables. The goodness-of-
fit indices used in the current research are as followed (Hu and Table. 1 Means, standard deviations, and correlations of the variables
Bentler 1999): (1) chi-square statistics; (2) Root Mean Square
Variables M (SD) 1 2 3 4
Error of Approximation (RMSEA); (3) the Akaike
Information Criterion (AIC: Akaike 1987); (4) Comparative 1. ASNSU 2.97 (0.57) –
Fit Index (CFI); (5) Tucker-Lewis index (TLI); and (6) 2. Social support 61.91 (11.08) .19*** –
Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR). 3. Self-esteem 28.19 (3.56) .10* .36*** –
Because the bootstrap method is among the most accurate 4. Loneliness 27.17 (5.85) −.21*** −.45*** −.36*** –
techniques to get the confidence intervals for indirect effect as-
sessment (Mackinnon et al. 2004), it was used to test the Note: ASNSU = active social network site use. *p < .05. ***p < .001
Curr Psychol

Fig. 1 The mediating effects of SE1 SE2 SE3

social support and self-esteem
between active SNS use and .84*** .84*** .75***
loneliness (N = 390). All the fac-
tor loadings are standardized.
ASNSU1and ASNSU2 are two Self-esteem
parcels of active social network- –.24***
ASNSU1 .75*** .90*** Social
ing sites use; SE1, SE2 and
SE3 = three parcels of self-es- Active
teem. *p < .05, **p < .01, .42*** Loneliness
SNS Use
***p < .001
ASNSU2 .74*** .27*** –.48*** .62*** Emotional
Social
support

.96*** .71*** .79***

Others Family Friends

path coefficient from active SNS use to self-esteem were non- Active SNS use and loneliness
significant. Therefore, these two paths were constrained to ze-
ro, and the modified model (Model 2) was retested. Compared The present study found that active SNS use plays an
to Model 1, Model 2 also fitted well with the data: χ2/df = 1.34, important role in users’ loneliness. Specifically, active
TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.03, SRMR = 0.03 CFI = 0.99. There SNS use was negatively associated with their sense of
was no significant difference between Model 1 and Model 2 loneliness. This finding is in line with previous studies
(Δχ2 (2, 390) = 5.457, p > .05), which means removing the that focused on the effects of SNS use on users’ psycho-
nonsignificant paths did not make the model worse. social adaptation (Kim et al. 2013; Deters and Mehl 2013;
Therefore, Model 2 was taken as the final model (see Fig. 1). Sheldon 2012). This result supported hypothesis 1. Active
To further test the indirect effects in the final model SNS use is an important protective factor against loneli-
(see Fig. 1), the bootstrap procedure was used to get the ness. On one hand, this may be due to the asynchronicity
CI for all possible indirect effects. The indirect effect of and accessibility of online communication. Compared to
active SNS use on loneliness mediated by social support the offline communication, users have more time to think
and self-esteem was estimated at −0.03 (95% CI: −0.06 ~ about how to respond in online communication. This
−0.01), as illustrated in Table 2. The 95% CI did not makes the interpersonal communication much easier espe-
include zero, indicating that the active SNS use signifi- cially for some individuals with relatively low social
cantly exerted indirect effects on loneliness via social sup- skills (Kraut et al. 2010). Therefore, SNS provides these
port and self-esteem. Moreover, active SNS use exerted a people with a better platform to communicate and to get
significant indirect effect on self-esteem via social support connected with others, which may finally alleviate their
(Estimated indirect effect: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.06 ~ 0.18), and feelings of loneliness. On the other hand, active SNS use
social support exerted a significant indirect effect on lone- is a specific use pattern in which individuals share inner
liness via self-esteem (estimated indirect effect: –0.10, thoughts, personal feelings, experiences, and information
95% CI: −0.18 ~ −0.05). with others (Mazer et al. 2007). These online self-
disclosures have great benefits in fostering social capital

Discussion Table. 2 Standardized indirect effects and their 95% confidence

intervals
The current research constructed a sequential mediation Model Path Estimated effect 95% CI
model to examine the mediating effect of social support
and self-esteem in the relationship between active SNS use Lower Upper
and loneliness. The findings suggest that the association be-
ASNSU → SS → L −0.13 −0.22 −0.07
tween active SNS use and lower loneliness is explained by
ASNSU → SS → SE 0.11 0.06 0.18
enhanced social support and self-esteem. To the best of our
SS → SE → L −0.10 −0.18 −0.05
knowledge, the current research is one of the first studies to
ASNSU → SS → SE → L −0.03 −0.06 −0.01
date to clarify the mediating mechanisms of social support
and self-esteem in the association between active SNS use Note. ASNSU = active social networking sites use; SS = Social support;
and loneliness. SE = Self-esteem; L = Loneliness; 95% CI = 95% confidence intervals
 Curr Psychol

(Liu and Brown 2014), gaining social support (Frison and comparison orientation (Wang et al. 2017). These two possi-
Eggermont 2016), enhancing users’ attitudes toward ble explanations need further examination in future studies.
themselves (Gonzales and Hancock 2011; Yang 2014), Although the active SNS use cannot exert influence on
and eventually reducing their feelings of loneliness. self-esteem directly, it was indirectly associated with self-
Congruent with the previous research indicating that over- esteem through the mediating role of social support. This re-
all SNS use is negatively associated with users’ loneliness sult is consistent with the sociometer model of self-esteem
(Ryan and Xenos 2011; Sheldon 2012), our findings not (Leary et al. 1995), which suggested that self-esteem is a
only confirmed this relationship between SNS use and sociometer of individuals’ social relationships. The associa-
loneliness but also further presented that active SNS use tion between active SNS use and loneliness was sequentially
may underlie this observed relationship. mediated by social support and self-esteem. This finding re-
vealed the important roles of both individual factors and
social-environmental factors in the relationship between ac-
The mediating role of social support and self-esteem tive SNS use and loneliness. Active SNS users often experi-
ence higher social support, which further helps them have a
Consistent with hypothesis 2, the current research found that more favorable attitude towards themselves and eventually
social support substantially mediated the relationship between reduces their feelings of loneliness. Hypothesis 4 was
active SNS use and loneliness. Specifically, individuals who supported.
tend to use SNS actively are more likely to have a higher level
of perceived social support, which is associated with a lower
level of loneliness. In the first stage of the indirect effect (active Limitations and contributions
SNS use → social support), active SNS use was positively
associated with social support. This result is consistently sup- The findings of the present research should be interpreted in
portive of the view that active interpersonal communication is light of some limitations. First, although the hypothetical
beneficial to acquiring social capital and social support (Canary model of this research was proposed based on both empirical
et al. 1993; Coleman 1988; Crocker and Canevello 2008). evidence and theoretical deduction, the causal relationship
When people actively use SNS, there will be much interper- between variables cannot be established because of the
sonal interaction and communication (Mehdizadeh 2010), cross-sectional nature of this study. Future studies should test
which is a useful strategy for maintaining a relationship the sequential mediation model in longitudinal and/or experi-
(Canary et al. 1993). Consequently, they are more likely to mental design to further contribute to our understanding of the
perceive social support from these well-maintained relation- relationships among specific ways of SNS use, social support,
ships. In the second stage of the indirect effect (social support self-esteem, and loneliness. Second, there might be some oth-
→ loneliness), social support was negatively associated with er possible mediators in the relationship between active SNS
users’ loneliness. This finding is in line with previous research use and loneliness, but the current research only focused on
indicating that social support is a protective factor against lone- self-esteem and social support. Future research can explore
liness (Jackson et al. 2002; Kong and You 2013; Perlman and other mediators (e.g., social capital, self-concept clarity) and
Peplau 1981; Zhao et al. 2013). One possible explanation for moderators (e.g., personality) in this relationship. Finally, our
this is that social support helps individuals maintain strengths in study only focused on a sample of Chinese undergraduate
stressful times (Lee and Goldstein 2016; Thoits 2011), thus students, so the generalizability of our findings to other age
reducing the possibly detrimental consequences (e.g., groups (e.g., the elderly group) and other cultural settings
loneliness, Aanes et al. 2009; Zhao et al. 2013). (e.g., individualism culture) needs to be further investigated.
In addition, the current research found that the pathway Despite these limitations, the current research has some
from active SNS use to self-esteem in the finalized model important contributions. By testing the mediating roles of so-
was not significant, which means the simple mediating effect cial support and self-esteem between active SNS use and lone-
of self-esteem between active SNS use and loneliness is not liness, this study contributes to our understanding of how
significant. This result is inconsistent with hypothesis 3. One active SNS use is indirectly related to users’ loneliness.
possible explanation is that active SNS use is still a relatively Besides, our findings also indicate that an intervention pro-
general use pattern containing many specific user behaviors. It gram which aims to reduce undergraduate students’ loneliness
is one of these specific active use behaviors (e.g., selected self- may benefit from realizing the important associations among
presentation) that have direct impacts on users’ self-esteem active SNS use, social support, self-esteem, and loneliness.
(Gonzales and Hancock 2008, 2011). Another possible expla- Rather than placing a restriction on the time of SNS use,
nation is that the relation between active SNS use and self- helping college students use SNS more actively through inter-
esteem is moderated by some other variables of individual vention programs might be a more practical way to reduce
differences, such as personality (Seidman 2013) and social their feelings of loneliness.
Curr Psychol

Acknowledgements The first author wants to express his sincere grati- CINIC, China Internet Network Information Center (2017). 2016
tude to the unconditional support and encouragement from Mr. Jiazhen Research report on user behavior of social application in China.
Lin and Mrs. Daimei Li. http://www.cnnic.net.cn/hlwfzyj/hlwxzbg/sqbg/201712/
P020180103485975797840.pdf
Funding information This work was supported by the “S-Tech academic Çivitci, N., & Çivitci, A. (2009). Self-esteem as mediator and moderator
support program – Internet psychology project” of S-tech studio of of the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction in adoles-
Tencent Research Institute awarded to Shanyan Lin with no Grant num- cents. Personality and Individual Differences, 47(8), 954–958.
ber, and the MOE (Ministry of Education in China) Project of Humanities Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital.
and Social Sciences [Grant number 19YJC190019]. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95S120.
Crocker, J., & Canevello, A. (2008). Creating and undermining social
support in communal relationships: The role of compassionate and
Compliance with ethical standards self-image goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
95(3), 555–575.
Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of Deters, F. G., & Mehl, M. R. (2013). Does posting facebook status up-
interest. dates increase or decrease loneliness? An online social network ex-
periment. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(5), 579–
Ethical approval All procedures performed in studies involving human 586.
participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institu- Ding, Q. (2017). The impact of social network sites use on adolescents’
tional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki self-evaluation: Base on social comparison theory. (Doctoral disser-
declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. tation). Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.
Ding, Q., Zhang, Y. X., Wei, H., Huang, F., & Zhou, Z. K. (2017). Passive
Informed consent Informed consent was obtained from all individual social network site use and subjective well-being among Chinese
participants included in the study. university students: A moderated mediation model of envy and gen-
der. Personality and Individual Differences, 113, 142146.
Facebook statistics (2019). http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/ (last
access: July 22nd 2019).
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