When Does WeChat Usage Decrease Loneliness? A Panel Study Examining the Moderating Roles of Age and Perceived Network Supportiveness

IF 3 2区社会学 Q2 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS

Social Science Computer Review Pub Date : 2023-04-01 DOI:10.1177/08944393221103498

Lianshan Zhang, Xiaodong Yang, E. Jung

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引用次数: 3

Abstract

Moving beyond examining overall social networking site (SNS) use, this study examined the influence of three types of WeChat activities on loneliness, considering the moderating roles of age and perceived network supportiveness on WeChat. Results of a two-wave panel survey with Chinese WeChat users (N = 1202 at Time 1, N = 740 at Time 2) revealed that frequent directed communication, content consumption, and broadcasting on WeChat did not directly influence participants’ loneliness across age cohorts over time. However, the effects of WeChat activities on loneliness were contingent upon a user’s age. Moreover, the positive role of WeChat activities in alleviating loneliness was significant only for users who perceived higher levels of network supportiveness on WeChat. For users who perceived lower levels of network supportiveness, frequent WeChat activities led to increased loneliness over time. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the implications of mobile SNS use on well-being across generations in the longitudinal context.

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微信使用何时能减少孤独感？年龄和感知网络支持度调节作用的小组研究

除了考察社交网站(SNS)的总体使用情况外，本研究还考察了三种社交活动对孤独感的影响，并考虑了年龄和感知网络支持对社交活动的调节作用。一项针对中国b微信用户(时间1时N = 1202，时间2时N = 740)的两波面板调查结果显示，随着时间的推移，微信上频繁的定向交流、内容消费和广播并没有直接影响参与者的孤独感。然而，微信活动对孤独感的影响取决于用户的年龄。此外，微信活动在缓解孤独感方面的积极作用仅对在微信上感知到更高水平的网络支持的用户有显著意义。对于那些认为网络支持程度较低的用户来说，频繁的微信活动会导致孤独感随着时间的推移而增加。这些发现有助于在纵向背景下更细致地理解移动社交网络使用对跨代幸福感的影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Social Science Computer Review 社会科学-计算机：跨学科应用

CiteScore

9.00

自引率

4.90%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Unique Scope Social Science Computer Review is an interdisciplinary journal covering social science instructional and research applications of computing, as well as societal impacts of informational technology. Topics included: artificial intelligence, business, computational social science theory, computer-assisted survey research, computer-based qualitative analysis, computer simulation, economic modeling, electronic modeling, electronic publishing, geographic information systems, instrumentation and research tools, public administration, social impacts of computing and telecommunications, software evaluation, world-wide web resources for social scientists. Interdisciplinary Nature Because the Uses and impacts of computing are interdisciplinary, so is Social Science Computer Review. The journal is of direct relevance to scholars and scientists in a wide variety of disciplines. In its pages you''ll find work in the following areas: sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, psychology, computer literacy, computer applications, and methodology.