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Finding Freudenfreude: Deriving Subjective Well-Being From Passive Observation of a Relational Tie's Happiness via
Alfred Kwabena Obiri1, Deborah Aku Shika Pappoe1, Elvis Kofi Otoo1
1School of Communication, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.
Abstract:
Social media are known for their overly-positive contents posted by diverse network members; but little research has directly explored the effects of individual happy posts on receivers' well-being. Two original online experiments (Study 1: N = 326 adults in English-speaking countries; Study 2: N = 111 undergraduates in the United States) tested the effects of the desirability of a post's content on subjective well-being, as well as direct and moderating effects of the relational tie, and additionally moderated by the perceived selective self-presentation of the post. Results of the 2 (envy: high v. low) × 2 (relational closeness: close v. distant) experiment did not evidence main effects of envy (both benign and malicious) or main or moderating effect of relational closeness; but did provide mixed findings for the main effect of selective self-presentation. Findings are discussed with respect to social comparison theory and extant literature regarding the role of passive social media use on users' well-being.
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