Do others’ self-presentation on social media influence individual’s subjective well-being? A moderated mediation model

Nowadays, sharing information on social media is a common phenomenon. However, most previous studies on sharing behavior explored the relationship between self-presentation and subjective well-being from the promulgator’s perspective. We examine a distinct aspect of sharing behavior on social media, namely how others’ self-presentation influences visitor’s subjective well-being. To this end, the present research examined: (1) whether others’ self-presentation affects individuals’ subjective well-being, and (2) how others’ self-presentation affects individuals’ subjective well-being. Two laboratory experiments were conducted to research these questions. Study 1 (N = 100) found that compared to non-self-presentation, others’ self-presentation predicts a lower subjective well-being. The findings answered question 1. Apart from the conclusion of Study 1, to address question 2, Study 2 (N = 153) examined the moderated mediation effect using relative deprivation as mediator and general self-efficacy as moderator to answer question 2. We found that others’ self-presentation on social media could increase individuals’ feeling of relative deprivation and decrease their subjective well-being through upward social comparison, and the mediation effect was moderated by general self-efficacy. Finally, the contributions and implications of the findings are discussed.