International Journal of Social Science and Human Behavior Study
Author(s) : EUI JUN JEONG, HYE RIM LEE, JI HYE YOO
This study examined the effect of SNS use on online and offline well-being through self-disclosure and social capital by separating online from offline variables. Using data from a survey of 1,200 participants, the overall relationships between the variables were explored by analyzing a path model including both online and offline variables (i.e., self-disclosure, social capital, and subjective well-being). Results showed that there are distinctive patterns in their associations between online and offline variables. Although SNS use affected both online and offline self-disclosure, offline self-disclosure influenced only offline social capital, while online self-disclosure affected online social capital. The strongest predictor for online well-being was online bridging social capital, while offline well-being was predicted only by offline bonding social capital. People seem to strongly value emotional support in offline environments whereas weak ties are valued much highly in online space. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.