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Rethinking social media metrics: Daily interaction valence and well-being in university students
Aseel Sahib1,2, Stephanie L Hardacre2,3, Olivia Evans2
1School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|July 4, 2026
Summary
Positive social media interactions boost student well-being and sense of community. This study highlights the quality of online engagement, not just frequency, impacting university students' mental health.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Communication Studies
Background:
- Student mental health is a growing concern, with social media playing a dual role as support and risk.
- Existing research often uses limited measures, failing to capture nuanced student social media engagement.
- Digital platforms increasingly shape the university social experience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between the valence of university-specific social media interactions and student well-being.
- To test if positive online interactions predict subsequent well-being, mediated by sense of community and social support.
- To examine social class as a potential moderator in this relationship.
Main Methods:
- A daily diary study design was employed with 40 university students, collecting 159 observations.
- Multilevel analyses were used to examine the associations between interaction valence, well-being, sense of community, and social support.
- The study controlled for social class as a moderator.
Main Results:
- Higher positive valence in university-related social media interactions correlated with increased subsequent daily well-being.
- Positive interactions were also associated with a stronger sense of community and greater social support (provided and received).
- No significant mediation effects were found through sense of community or social support, and no indirect effects were observed.
Conclusions:
- The quality of university-related online interactions is significantly linked to student well-being.
- While positive interactions correlate with well-being indicators, the proposed mediation pathways were not supported.
- Future research should explore other potential mechanisms linking online interactions to student mental health.
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