The DOI matches its Crossref record; 35 of the 35 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Social Network Sites and Well-Being: The Role of Social Connection
Open accessAbstract
In the early days of the Internet, both conventional wisdom and scholarship deemed online communication a threat to well-being. Later research has complicated this picture, offering mixed evidence about how technology-mediated communication affects users. With the dawn of social network sites, this issue is more important than ever. A close examination of the extensive body of research on social network sites suggests that conflicting results can be reconciled by a single theoretical approach: the interpersonal-connection-behaviors framework. Specifically, we suggest that social network sites benefit their users when they are used to make meaningful social connections and harm their users through pitfalls such as isolation and social comparison when they are not. The benefits and drawbacks of using social network sites shown in existing research can largely be explained by this approach, which also posits the need for studying specific online behaviors in future research.
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“online social networking site use tends to be related to less internalizing, to the extent that it includes positive interactions, enhances social support, and facilitates social connectedness”
From Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions. (2020) · cites this paper as Clark, Algoe, & Green, 2018
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“tends to be associated with more internalizing in instances when it is excessive, reduces time spent in in-person interactions, and in which interactions are negative or involve social comparisons”
From Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions. (2020) · cites this paper as Clark, Algoe, & Green, 2018
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“the ways in which they use social media can also influence their well-being,60,61”
From Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators (2022) · cites this paper as [61]
In the citing paper
“people use social media for a variety of reasons”
From Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators (2022) · cites this paper as [61]
In the citing paper
“Further, the passive use of social media, in particular (e.g.lurking behaviors; scrolling through others' feeds without actually engaging), has been associated with increased loneliness and lowered well-being [51,52,53 ,54 ,55].”
From Two social lives: how differences between online and offline interaction influence social outcomes (2020) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“Online interaction can harm well-being and reduce sociality if it displaces in-person connections [51,52,53 ,54 ].”
From Two social lives: how differences between online and offline interaction influence social outcomes (2020) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“Online interactions can not only build new connections, but they can also complement and strengthen existing personal connections [51,52,54 ,58].”
From Two social lives: how differences between online and offline interaction influence social outcomes (2020) · cites this paper as [51]
In the citing paper
“the different ways in which people use social media can influence their well-being (e.g., Verduyn et al., 2015; see Clark et al., 2018)”
From Social media use and systemic inflammation: The moderating role of self-esteem (2021) · cites this paper as Clark et al., 2018
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BackgroundSocial media capital and civic engagement: Does type of connection matter?
Lee, Y. (2021) · International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing · doi:10.1007/s12208-021-00300-8 · Cited by 31
Thomson, G., Cook, J., Nowland, R. A., Donnellan, W. J., Topalidou, A., Jackson, L., & Fallon, V. (2022) · Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences · doi:10.1111/scs.13087 · Cited by 24
“Women in our study described how the use of online social support was often important because of the positive and meaningful interpersonal connections that were forged with others [61].”
BackgroundSocial media overload and proactive–reactive innovation behaviour: A TTSC framework perspective
Gao, S., & Zhao, X. (2023) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2023.102735 · Cited by 25
Frielingsdorf, H., Fomichov, V., Rystedt, I., Lindstrand, S., Korhonen, L., & Henriksson, H. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-83951-x · Cited by 28
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Frequency of Text Messaging and Adolescents' Mental Health Symptoms Across 4 Years of High School
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Social Networking Site Use: Implications for Health and Wellness
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Raising the Child—Do Screen Media Help or Hinder? The Quality over Quantity Hypothesis
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Leveraging Informal Learning Pedagogies to Empower Coastal Communities for Disaster Preparedness
Pradhananga, P., Elawady, A., & ElZomor, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Built Environment · doi:10.3389/fbuil.2022.883198 · Cited by 18
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Adversarial Machine Learning on Social Network: A Survey
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“Relatedly, our measure of social media use did not differentiate active versus passive use, which may be an important distinction impacting affective outcomes (Clark et al., 2018; Dienlin & Johannes, 2020).”
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“The theoretical basis for our study was the interpersonal-connection-behaviors framework, which posits that the positive impacts of social networking sites on well-being is related to whether site use advances the user’s need for “acceptance or belonging” (Clark et al., 2018).”
InfluentialLose yourself: Spacious nature and the connected self
van Rompay, T. J. L., Oran, S., Galetzka, M., & den Berg, A. E. V. (2023) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102108 · Cited by 15
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Social Media Use Predicts Greater Liking in In-Person Initial Interactions
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Argentina, P. U. C., Lucciarini, F., Losada, A. V., Argentina, P. U. C., Moscardi, R., & Argentina, P. U. C. (2021) · Avances en Psicología · doi:10.33539/avpsicol.2021.v29n1.2348 · Cited by 14
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“There is empirical support for the interpersonal-connection-behaviors framework (Ahn & Shin, 2013; Al-Saggaf & Nielsen, 2014; Clark et al., 2018; Gonzales, 2014; Kietzmann et al., 2011; Kim & Lee, 2010).”
BackgroundŞireli, Ö., Dayı, A., & Çolak, M. (2023) · Cognitive Processing · doi:10.1007/s10339-023-01155-z · Cited by 12
“…while the use of social media is beneficial in terms of establishing meaningful social connections, the use of problematic social media that has become uncontrolled causes behavioral changes and many negative effects, especially social isolation in people (Song et al. 2014; Clark et al. 2018).”
BackgroundHow social media data are being used to research the experience of mourning: A scoping review
Spiti, J. M., Davies, E., McLiesh, P., & Kelly, J. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0271034 · Cited by 13
“anonymity and invisibility, but they also use SM for self-disclosure because it has the potential to improve their well-being through social connection [15].”
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“In the literature, or when looking at the description of the applications that are associated with an SNS, the definition given to SNS remains unstable, and no common agreement within the scientific community allows us to describe precisely what an SNS is and what an SNS is not [66,67].”
BackgroundSystems of social networks of delinquent young people
Zlokazov, K. V., Gurieva, S. D., & Kawabata, T. (2021) · SHS Web of Conferences · doi:10.1051/shsconf/202110805012 · Cited by 11
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“This is because under these conditions the individual is more likely to experience satisfaction of core needs, particularly those relating to acceptance and belonging, as defined by the ICBF.”
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Social Support, Coping, Life Satisfaction, and Academic Success Among College Students
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“If the degree to which individuals engage in meaningful interactions with other users is indeed a key factor in the positive outcomes of active SNS usage, as proposed by the interpersonal-connection-behaviours framework [20], a useful behavioural measure should be capable of dissociating empirically among these passiv…”
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SNS and the Lived Experiences of Queer Youth
Armstrong, T., & Leong, T. W. (2019) · Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (OzCHI) · doi:10.1145/3369457.3369497 · Cited by 10
“While research shows how adverse mental health outcomes can arise from SNS usage [3, 7, 9, 23], we argue that these adverse outcomes may be heightened for queer people.”
BackgroundLarson, L. (2021) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn26.2.228 · Cited by 11
Internet Use and the Happiness of Rural Residents: The Role of Education and Health
Mei, Y., & Lin, N. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20043540 · Cited by 10
“Social network sites benefit users when they are used to build meaningful social relationships, otherwise, with traps such as isolation and social comparison, social network sites can be detrimental to users [44].”
BackgroundSocial VR : A Promising Platform for Enhancing Mental Wellness among College Students
You, X., Bailey, J. O., Won, A. S., Ahn, S. J., & MacIntyre, B. (2023) · Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/pra2.805 · Cited by 10
“Extensive research has established that positive and supportive social connections can enhance mental health and well-being, while the absence of social connections can have adverse arikari, 2022; Clark et al., 2018; McLouglin et al., 2018; Nabi et al., 2013; Newman & Zainal, 2020).”
BackgroundAndersen, L. M. B., Reavley, N. J., Bøggild, H., & Overgaard, C. (2020) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.13222 · Cited by 12
Hjetland, G. J., Schønning, V., Aasan, B. E. V., Hella, R. T., & Skogen, J. C. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18179163 · Cited by 10
“The relationship between social media and mental health is seemingly very complex, and the impact of social media use likely depends on the specific activities people engage in on social media, who they interact with, how invested they are, their underlying motives, and their personal characteristics [18,19].”
BackgroundThree-item loneliness scale: Exploring the psychometric properties in the Indian context
Garg, N., Sharma, N., & Burgess, J. (2022) · Asian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103323 · Cited by 11
Mental health benefits and opportunities
Hamilton, J. L., Coulter, R. W. S., & Radović, A. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-817319-0.00013-x · Cited by 10
Cemiloglu, D., Alshakhsi, S. A. A., Babiker, A., Naiseh, M., Al‐Thani, D., & Ali, R. (2025) · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1080/10447318.2025.2480909 · Cited by 11
Andersen, A. I. O., Skogen, J. C., Hjetland, G. J., Finserås, T. R., Bøe, T., Colman, I., & Sivertsen, B. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100881 · Cited by 11
GEDİK, Y. (2022) · Stratejik Yönetim Araştırmaları Dergisi · doi:10.54993/syad.1077709 · Cited by 9
Giancola, D., Travers, R., & Coulombe, S. (2023) · Social Media + Society · doi:10.1177/20563051231177970 · Cited by 12
“This is in accordance with the literature suggesting positive potential for relationship building on social media, providing users with feelings of belonging and acceptance (Clark et al., 2018; Nesi, 2020).”
ResultNorcia, A. D., Mascaro, C., Bianchi, D., Szpunar, G., & Cannoni, E. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03679-7 · Cited by 14
Can Social Networks Improve User Subjective Wellbeing?
Uddin, M. A., Mahmood, M., Ostrovskiy, A., & Hwang, H. J. (2021) · Journal of Global Information Management · doi:10.4018/jgim.20210701.oa3 · Cited by 10
“Our findings are consistent with previous research (Clark et al., 2018; Ha et al., 2015).”
BackgroundResultChen, Z., Wu, Y. F., Ma, H., Niu, G., & Wang, W. (2023) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs13050412 · Cited by 9
“Research has shown that SNS usage could be beneficial to mental health if users could build meaningful interpersonal ties through its use [17,18], whereas it would be harmful to self-esteem or well-being if they were inundated by negative interpersonal feedbacks [19].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialNowland, R. A., McNally, L., & Gregory, P. (2024) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.12998 · Cited by 11
Embedding Educational Narrative Scripts in a Social Media Environment
Theophilou, E., Lobo-Quintero, R., Hernández‐Leo, D., Sánchez-Reina, J. R., & Ognibene, D. (2024) · IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies · doi:10.1109/tlt.2024.3409063 · Cited by 8
“In a growing context of interconnection and hypermediality, SM offers users a multitude of opportunities to connect, share content, and interact with others, fostering positive experiences along the way [2], [3].”
BackgroundPatterson, M. S., Francis, A. N., Gagnon, L. R., & Prochnow, T. M. (2023) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2023.2227730 · Cited by 11
“10,11 Conversely, social isolation can be linked to mortality, 5,12–14 and a lack of support can result in and exacerbate physical and mental ailments (e.g., coronary heart disease, depression.”
Gioia, F., & Boursier, V. (2021) · Atlantic Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/15456870.2021.1952205 · Cited by 8
“…with “offline” friends might help to strengthen FtF interactions (Casale et al., 2015; Nguyen, Bin, & Campbell, 2012) and increase perceived social support and subsequent well-being (Clark, Algoe, & Green, 2018; Lee, Noh, & Koo, 2013), representing a potential benefit (Odgers & Jensen, 2020).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialLiving with cystic fibrosis during the COVID-19 pandemic: a social connectedness perspective
Harrigan, M., Bennett, K., Mulrennan, S., & Jessup, M. (2022) · International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being · doi:10.1080/17482631.2022.2062820 · Cited by 8
“nectedness online is indeed possible and associated with improved mental health (Armitage & Nellums, 2020; Clark et al., 2018).”
BackgroundExploring positive impact of social media on employee mental health: A Delphi method
Tan, J. M., Wider, W., Rasli, A., Jiang, L., Tanucan, J. C. M., & Udang, L. N. (2024) · Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies · doi:10.30935/ojcmt/14646 · Cited by 15
Uchino, B. N., Cronan, S. B., & Landvatter, J. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-39903-0_1425 · Cited by 8
Statistical learning approaches to sentiment analysis in the Nigerian banking context
Ogunleye, B. (2021) · Sheffield Hallam University · doi:10.7190/shu-thesis-00471 · Cited by 8
Li, B., Wang, Y., Lu, J.-W., Peng, Y., & Wang, X. (2023) · Journal of Applied Mathematics and Computing · doi:10.1007/s12190-023-01917-0 · Cited by 7
Colella, G. M., Servidio, R. C., Palermiti, A. L., Bartolo, M. G., García-Carrera, P., Ruiz, R. O., & Romera, E. M. (2025) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph22030389 · Cited by 9
Hylkilä, K., Kääriäinen, M., Peltonen, A., Castrén, S., Mustonen, T., Konttila, J., & Männikkö, N. (2025) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-07662-w · Cited by 12
“They use social media to connect with others and to maintain relationships, which are beneficial to users when the purpose is to make meaningful social connections (Clark et al., 2018; Hylkilä et al., 2024).”
Islam, M. A., & Kumar, B. (2019) · World of Media Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies · doi:10.30547/worldofmedia.4.2019.2 · Cited by 7
Read, G. L., Yan, H. Y., Anderson, P. B., Partain, L. P. B., Vaughn, Z., Semivolos, A., Kim, Y., & Gonzales, A. L. (2021) · Information Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2021.1928263 · Cited by 11
“…role in determining whether mediated communication is beneficial and helps to explain the mixed findings that internet communication- especially with strangers- can be detrimental for psychological health (Bessiere et al., 2008; Burke & Kraut, 2016; Clark et al., 2018; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007).”
BackgroundZhao, H., Wang, G., Wang, M., & Zhang, B. (2022) · Entrepreneurship Research Journal · doi:10.1515/erj-2022-0118 · Cited by 7
Mittal, E., & Rani, T. (2023) · Human Systems Management · doi:10.3233/hsm-220132 · Cited by 11
“The positive impact of SNS on well-being could be attributed to the accumulation of diverse information, improving users’ emotions [22, 61].”
Spatio-Temporal Graph Analytics on Secondary Affect Data for Improving Trustworthy Emotional AI
Uddin, M. T., Yin, L., & Canavan, S. J. (2023) · IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing · doi:10.1109/taffc.2023.3296695 · Cited by 7
“Itwillalsoallowustoincorporatewell-knownfindingsfrom differentfields[22],[23],[25]inaffectivecomputing.”
BackgroundContrasting and Predicting Social Media’s Role in Addictive Use and Well-Being
Cemiloglu, D., Babiker, A., Alshakhsi, S. A. A., Naiseh, M., Al‐Thani, D., & Ali, R. (2025) · Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s41347-025-00527-w · Cited by 9
“Some studies view social media as a positive force, offering emotional support and enhancing belongingness (Clark et al., 2017; Halston et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2023).”
Субъективная оценка (не)благополучия населения регионов РФ на основе данных социальных сетей
Shchekotin, E. V., Мягков, М. Г., Goiko, V. L., Kashpur, V. V., & Коварж, Г. Ю. (2019) · Monitoring obŝestvennogo mneniâ: èkonomičeskie i socialʹnye peremeny · doi:10.14515/monitoring.2020.1.05 · Cited by 7
Le, T., Nguyen, M.-T., & Li, S.-T. (2022) · International journal of human computer interactions · doi:10.1080/10447318.2022.2073065 · Cited by 8
“(Clark et al., 2018; Joinson, 2008; Lampe et al., 2006; Ledbetter et al., 2011; Twenge, 2013; Vaezi et al., 2011) H5: SNSs use is positively correlated with reciprocity.”
BackgroundRoper, M., & Tobin, S. J. (2022) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2021.0259 · Cited by 7
“3,25 We also sought to rule out related constructs beyond those tested by Tobin et al. Although they found that their effects were not due to differences in self-esteem, attachment style, or social desirability, they did not consider whether Big Five personality traits might account for their…”
Mental Health and COVID-19: Challenges and Multimodal Clinical Solutions
Masand, P. M., Patkar, A., Tew, C., Hoerner, A., Szabo, S. T., & Gupta, S. (2021) · Journal of Psychiatric Practice · doi:10.1097/pra.0000000000000560 · Cited by 7
Burnell, K., George, M. J., & Underwood, M. K. (2021) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119576457.ch18 · Cited by 7
Perceived-Social Isolation and Cyberbullying Involvement
Piccoli, V., Carnaghi, A., Bianchi, M., & Grassi, M. (2022) · International Journal of Cyber Behavior Psychology and Learning · doi:10.4018/ijcbpl.313948 · Cited by 6
Hossain, E., Cox, A. L., Dowthwaite, A., & Rogers, Y. (2024) · Proc. ACM Hum. Comput. Interact. · doi:10.1145/3653689 · Cited by 5
Metadata
- Authors
- Clark, J. L., Algoe, S. B., & Green, M. C.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
- Corresponding author
- Clark, Jenna L.
- Venue
- Current Directions in Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-12-19
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 32-37
- ISSN
- 0963-7214 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8721
- OpenAlex
- W2776212678
- Cited by
- 451
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 42 · 2025: 65 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 67 · 2022: 85 · 2021: 79 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 44.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Current Directions in Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
- Social Sciences › Communication › Digital Media and Philosophy
- Keywords
- social network sites, well-being, social connectedness, social isolation, social comparison, online communication, technology-mediated communication, online behavior
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