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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In the citing paper
“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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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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