Passive Use Of Social Network Site And Self-esteem And Self-concept Clarity:A Moderated Mediation Model

As Social network site (SNS) has become an vital channel for communication and self-expression in the lives of many. The impact of social network site use on individual psychology has received much attention from lots of scholars. As research continues, some scholars begin to classify activities of social network site use into two types:active use and passive use. Previous studies revealed that active use of social network site such as self-presentation and self-disclosure could contribute to increase in social capital, decrease in loneliness as well as increase in self-esteem and life satisfaction, while passive use of social network site had negative effect on affect well-being, life satisfaction and depression. However, less is known about the association between passive use of social network site and self-concept such as self-esteem and self-concept clarity.Passive use of social network site makes individuals exposed to lots of positive information of others, which may lead to upward social comparison. Upward social comparison in turn negatively affects individuals’ self-esteem and self-concept clarity. However, individuals are not equally influenced by upward social comparison for there exists moderating variables in the relationship between upward social comparison and its outcomes. Optimism, as an important individual variable, plays important role in protecting physical and mental health. It may also influence how individuals process information of upward social comparison and alleviate the negative effect of upward social comparison. Thus, the present study aims to explore the mediation of upward social comparison in the association between passive use of social network site and self-esteem as well as passive use of social network site and self-concept clarity, and further test whether the mediation of upward social comparison is moderated by optimism.A survey research method was conducted in which scales for passive use of social network site, upward social comparison on social network site, optimism, self-esteem as well as self-concept clarity were administered to 1208 undergraduate students. Data were collected and analyzed with SPSS 17.0 and SPSS PROCESS written by Hayes. The results indicated:(1) passive use of social network site was positively associated with upward social comparison on social network site, and negatively associated with self-esteem and self-concept clarity; upward social comparison on social network site was negatively related to self-esteem and self-concept clarity; optimism was positively related to self-esteem and self-concept clarity; (2) passive use of social network site had no significant effect on self-esteem, but it could negatively predict self-esteem through the mediation of upward social comparison; (3) passive use of social network site not only had significant effect on self-concept clarity, but also could negatively predict self-concept clarity through the mediation of upward social comparison; (4) both the mediation of upward social comparison in the association between passive use of social network site and self-esteem and in the association between passive use of social network site and self-concept clarity were moderated by optimism, and they were more potent for individuals with low level of optimism; (5) For individuals with high level of optimism, the direct effect of upward social comparison on self-esteem and the mediation of upward social comparison in the association between passive use of social network site and self-esteem were not significant, while the direct effect of upward social comparison on self-concept clarity and the mediation of upward social comparison in the association between passive use of social network site and self-concept clarity were still significant.The present study highlighted the mediation of upward social comparison and and the moderation of optimism in the association between passive use of social network site and self-esteem as well as self-concept clarity. It may contribute to a better understanding of what is the effect of passive use of social network site on self-esteem and self-concept clarity, how passive use of social network site influences self-esteem and self-concept clarity and whose self-esteem and self-concept are more likely to be affected by passive use of social network site. In addition, this study could offer some useful suggestions for protecting and promoting self-esteem and self-concept clarity in the social network era.Finally, the limitations of the present study as well as the future directions were discussed.