Honest Self-presentation On Social Network Sites And Adolescents' Social Anxiety:The Mediating Effect Of Online Social Capital And Self-esteem

Adolescence is an important period for individuals to develop social functions.However,adolescent groups experience great psychological and physical changes at the same time,which makes social anxiety common among them.Reviewing existing literatures studies,it has been found that most researches about influence factors of social anxiety are generally discussed in three aspects:physical factors(such as genetics,brain structure),social factors(such as family,school,peers),and psychological(i.e.cognition).At present,Social Networking Sites(SNSs)have been adolescents'daily patterns of communication.Social networking sites are social contexts in the online world.They build a new environment of social development for adolescents.The features and the functions of SNSs make SNSs a popular platform for individuals to present themselves.Some researchers have found that the honest self-presentation on SNSs is an active use pattern,which can promote individuals'development of mental health,such as life satisfaction.However,few studies have explored the influence of honest self-presentation on adolescents' social anxiety.Therefore,exploring the possible impact of real self-presentation behavior on SNSs is not only a supplement to previous researches on the affecting factors of social anxiety,but also an extension of the research on the honest self-presentation on SNSs and individuals' psychosocial adaptation.Presenting authentic self-information on SNSs promote development of interpersonal relationships and help individual gain the support from others,which promote the formation of online social capital.What's more,online social capital may help individuals reduce social anxiety.In addition,the individual's true-self information construct a new self-image,which is consistent with the true self.This self-consistence increases the individual's self-affirmation and promotes the increase of the individual's self-esteem.Furthermore,individuals with a high level of self-esteem experience less social anxiety.In addition,the increase in social capital also contributes to the improvement of individuals'self-esteem.Therefore,based on self-presentation theory of social anxiety,social penetration theory,offline/online self-model,needs-satisfaction theory and existing research,this study explore the effect mechanism of honest self-presentation on adolescents' social anxiety from the perspective of online social capital and self-esteem.This study used a cluster sampling method to survey 1368 junior high school students and senior high school students in Wuhan.The data was collected and analyzed with SPSS 22.0 and Amos 21.0.The results showed that:(1)There was a significant negative correlation between honest self-presentation on the honest self-representation on SNSs and adolescents'social anxiety.(2)The honest self-presentation on SNSs has no direct predictive effect on adolescent' social anxiety.(3)The self-representation on SNSs can effect adolescent' social anxiety negatively through the mediating role of self-esteem.(4)The honest self-presentation on SNSs can negatively effect adolescent' social anxiety through the serial mediating role of online social capital and self-esteem.The results of this study help people to understand the factors that influence adolescent' social anxiety from the perspective of honest self-presentation on SNSs,and the effect mechanisms of honest self-presentation and adolescent' social anxiety from the perspective of online social capital and self-esteem.This is beneficial to the intervention of Social anxiety.Finally,the dissertation discussed the deficiencies of this study and proposes future's directions.