Sharing brings happiness? Effects of Sharing in Social Media Among Adult Users.

Abstract

Given that sharing is a fundamental activity among social media users, this study explores the associations between sharing activities in social media and their psychological social well-being in two age groups – young and mature adults. We focus on two dimensions of social and psychological well-being which are life satisfaction and loneliness. We examine four social media platforms which are social networking sites, microblogging services, video-sharing sites and photo- sharing sites. The study comprised of 171 adult social media users in Singapore. Data analyses revealed that young adults who participated in more sharing activities in social networking sites reported higher life satisfaction and lower loneliness. Mature adults who participated more in sharing activities on social networking sites reported lower life satisfaction and higher loneliness. Implications and future research directions are discussed.