Psychological Development and Education ›› 2021, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (4): 576-583.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2021.04.14

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The Relationship between the Intensity of WeChat Use and College Students' Self-esteem: The Role of Upward Social Comparison and Closeness to Friends

KONG Lian, CUI Xinyue, TIAN Lumei   

  1. School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358
  • Published:2021-07-26

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Abstract: In order to explore the relationship between the intensity of WeChat use and college students' self-esteem and the mechanism underlying this relationship, 330 undergraduates' experiences in WeChat use and their self-esteem were surveyed using a series of questionnaires to test a moderated mediation model. The results showed that:(1) the intensity of WeChat use was significantly negatively related to college students' self-esteem, which was mediated significantly by their upward social comparison; (2) closeness to friends played a moderating role in the relationship between upward social comparison and self-esteem:when the levels of closeness to friends were lower, higher levels of upward social comparison were significantly associated with lower levels of self-esteem, whereas no significant relationship was found between upward social comparisons and self-esteem when higher levels of closeness to friends. The results suggest that more upward social comparison during WeChat use is a risk factor of lower self-esteem among college students, but high level of closeness to online friends can alleviate this risk.

Key words: the intensity of WeChat use, self-esteem, upward social comparison, closeness to friends

CLC Number: 

  • B844
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