302

Chapter 26
Internet Use and
Psychological Well-Being
Chiungjung Huang
National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan

ABSTRACT
The direction of the correlation between Internet use and psychological well-being is debatable. The
displacement hypothesis indicates the correlation is negative, as Internet use for communication replaces
face-to face-interaction. Conversely, the augmentation hypothesis suggests that the correlation is posi-
tive because Internet use for communication complements existing social interaction. While previous
empirical findings about the relationship between Internet use and psychological well-being have been
diverse, two previous meta-analyses and the present meta-analysis about the use of social network-
ing sites and psychological well-being supported neither position, and found no relationship between
Internet use and psychological well-being. Investigation of causal predominance between Internet use
and psychological well-being, increased attention to measurement problems of social networking site
use and older adults, and consideration of effects of indicators and moderators should be addressed in
future research.

INTRODUCTION et al. (1998). Two different perspectives regarding

The association between Internet use and psy-
chological well-being, including self-esteem,
depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction, is
an intriguing topic in computer-mediated com-
munications. The association is described as the
Internet paradox in the pioneering work of Kraut
the effect of Internet use have been proposed by
researchers. The displacement hypothesis (Lee,
2009; Shklovski, Kraut, & Rainie, 2004) claims
that time spent using a given medium replaces
that spent using other mediums. Online interac-
tion thus detrimentally replaces face-to face-
interaction, and Internet use negatively affects

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-0315-8.ch026

Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited.
Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being
psychological well-being. The second position
is the augmentation hypothesis advanced by the
same researchers (Lee, 2009; Shklovski, Kraut,
& Rainie, 2004) that using certain mediums can
facilitate the use of others. For example, Internet
use for communication enhances genuine social
interaction and thus promotes psychological well-
being. Although numerous researchers (Cooper,
2003; Huang, 2010; Moody, 2001) have examined
this link, they obtained inconsistent findings.
The exponential increase in the number of
Facebook users has made the use of social network
sites and psychological well-being an increas-
ing popular research focus. A new phenomenon
dubbed “Facebook depression” describes indi-
viduals who display depressive symptoms after
heavy use of social networking sites (O’Keeffe
et al., 2011). Such phenomenon has increased
awareness of the risks associated with the use of
social networking sites.
OVERVIEW
Whether the effect of Internet use on psycho-
logical well-being is beneficial or detrimental
is debatable. To address this issue, Kraut et al.
(1998) examined the influence of Internet use
on psychological well-being for a sample of 169
first-time Internet users and found that Internet
use negatively affected psychological well-being.
The Internet paradox refers to the positive effects
of heavy Internet use on communication. Since
the publication of the Internet paradox, further
research has been replicated. For example, Kraut
et al. (2002) reported that the negative effects of
Internet use for first-time Internet users described
in their original research dissipated during a 3-year
follow-up study. Kraut et al. (2002) also investi-
gated 406 new computer and television purchasers
via a longitudinal survey between 1998 and 1999,
and reported that participants generally displayed
positive effects of Internet use on psychological
well-being. However, better psychological well-
being was associated with individuals that had
adequate social support; while worse outcomes
were associated with those without such support.
As Kraut et al. (1998) sampled first-time users,
the sample was more likely to include individu-
als with low Internet self-efficacy, who in turn
were likely to encounter difficulties in using the
Internet that could trigger depression. LaRose
et al. (2001) indicated that Internet self-efficacy
mediated the relationship between Internet use
and psychological well-being. To test this pos-
sibility, they sampled 171 undergraduate students
and found a low correlation between Internet use
and depression (r = -.02) and mediation effect of
Internet self-efficacy was not supported. Wästlund
et al. (2001) tested the Internet paradox in differ-
ent national settings using 500 Swedish students.
Their study reached two main conclusions. First,
younger individuals tend to use the Internet more
heavily and experience lower psychological well-
being than older people. Second, no connection
exists between Internet use and psychological
well-being.
Internet Use and
Psychological Well-Being
Studies examining the relationship between
Internet use and psychological well-being have
frequently used cross-sectional designs. These
cross-sectional designs have identified diverse cor-
relations between Internet use and psychological
well-being. For example, Cooper (2003) surveyed
a sample of 26 boys and identified a moderate and
positive correlation between time spent online and
depression measured by a Children’s Depression
Inventory of.47. Moody (2001) sampled 166
undergraduate students and found a negative and
weak correlation (r = -.175) between frequency
of Internet use and social loneliness.
However, such cross-sectional studies are lim-
ited because the age effect is confounded with the
cohort effect and development trajectories were
not examined. Some longitudinal studies thus were
303

conducted to address these issues. As mentioned
previously, Kraut et al. (1988) used a 3-wave
design to examine the longitudinal relationship
between Internet use and psychological well-being
for a sample of 169 first-time users. Kraut et al.
(1988) found that the correlation between prior
loneliness and later Internet use was -.09 and that
between prior Internet use and subsequent loneli-
ness was.15. Furthermore, the correlation between
prior depression and later Internet use was.07 and
that between prior Internet use and later depression
was.15. Prior Internet use thus appeared to be caus-
ally predominant over Internet use. Willoughby
(2008) used a 2-wave design with 2-year interval
to examine longitudinal relationship Internet use
and well-being for a sample of 1,591 Canadian
students with a mean age of 14.82 years old at
study inception. The correlation between prior
well-being and later Internet use was.15. However,
the relationship between prior Internet use and
later well-being was not reported, and thus the
causal predominance between Internet use and
psychological well-being cannot be examined.
The relationship between Internet use and
psychological well-being has been examined in
various cultural and national settings. For ex-
ample, Amichai-Hamburger and Ben-Artzi (2003)
examined the relationship between Internet use
and loneliness for 85 students from Israel and
found the correlations of loneliness with the use
of the Internet for social, information and leisure
purposes were.15,.09, and -.14, respectively. Fur-
thermore, Leung (2002) examined the relationship
between ICQ use and loneliness for a sample of
576 college students from Hong Kong and found
that the correlation between frequency of ICQ use
and loneliness was -.09 while that between the
amount of time of ICQ use and loneliness was
-.05. Matanda et al. (2004) surveyed a sample of
158 adults from Australia and found that the cor-
relations of loneliness with total Internet use, and
with the use of the Internet for communication,
304
Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being
entertainment, information, and commerce pur-
poses were.10,.07, -.02,.28, and.08, respectively.
Given the diverse empirical findings and theo-
retical perspectives related to the displacement
and augmentation hypotheses, Huang (2010)
meta-analyzed 39 cross-sectional studies and
1 longitudinal study, yielding 43 independent
samples involving 21,258 participants. The mean
correlation between Internet use and psychologi-
cal well-being was r = -.04 under random-effects
assumptions. All moderator effects, including
Internet use indicator, psychological well-being
indicator, measure of quality of Internet use, and
participant gender and age, were insignificant.
Owing to the low correlation between Internet
use and psychological well-being, Internet use
was unrelated to psychological well-being.
Internet Use and Psychological
Social Interaction
Empirical findings indicate that interpersonal
communication is the main application of the
Internet (Kraut et al., 1996). Accordingly, the use
of the Internet for communication has changed
social interactions with friends and family. From
the perspective of the displacement hypothesis,
Internet use replaces real life social interaction
and thus weak ties replace close ties. On the other
hand, close ties can be enhanced by Internet use
for communication from the perspective of the
augmentation hypothesis. To examine the effect
of Internet use on social interaction, Katz and
Aspden (1997) compared the membership rates
of religious, leisure, and community organiza-
tions between Internet users and non-users and
found no statistically significant differences.
Furthermore, Internet use increased involvement
in existing social ties. On the other hand, Stern
(2009) supported the displacement hypothesis in
a survey of a random sample of 1,315 participants
living in the Western United States that found an
association between increased use of the Internet
Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being
for communication and reduced face-to-face inter-
actions. Additionally, Lee (2009) sampled 1,312
adolescents and found the displacement hypothesis
was partially supported for adolescent-parent
interactions, while the augmentation hypothesis
was supported for peer interactions. Furthermore,
online communication benefited individuals with
strong social ties more than those without such ties.
Cross-cultural evidence also revealed mixed
findings regarding the relationship between In-
ternet use and social interactions. For example,
Mesch (2001) examined the relationship between
Internet use and social relationships for a sample
of 927 adolescents from Israel, and found Internet
use did not replace social involvement but frequent
Internet users tended to feel more socially isolated.
The augmentation hypothesis was supported by
Räsänen and Kouvo (2007) who surveyed 2,000
Finnish, 2,054 British, 1,503 French, and 1,207
Italian participants and found that Internet use
was positively related to sociability in all four
European countries, and that the magnitude of
the correlation depended on sociodemographic
variables.
As the findings of primary research were in-
consistent, Shklovsik, Kiesler, and Kraut (2004)
conducted a meta-analysis that identified 8 cross-
sectional and 8 longitudinal studies published
between 1995 to 2003 and yielded 48 correlation
coefficients involving 35,578 participants. Shk-
lovsik et al. (2004) found that the weighted mean
correlation between Internet use and social interac-
tion was r = -.02, with a 95% confidence interval
of -.03 to -.01. The study design (cross-sectional
versus longitudinal) did not affect the correlation
between Internet use and social interaction. Owing
to the low overall correlation between Internet use
and social interaction, Internet use once again was
unrelated to social interaction.
Use of Social Networking Sites
and Psychological Well-Being
Use of social networking sites has increased rap-
idly since the early 2000s. For example, Facebook
went public in 2004 and now has over 500 million
active users (facebook.com, 2011). Kujath (2011)
indicated that social networking sites have two
features that differentiate them from previous
computed-mediate communication mediums: lack
of anonymity and existing acquaintances compris-
ing the majority of online friends. As existing
interpersonal relationships can be maintained via
social networking sites, their use may promote user
psychological well-being. Because of the unique
features of social networking sites, increased
numbers of investigations have examined the re-
lation between the use of social networking sites
and psychological well-being, and have obtained
inconsistent results. For example, Mehdizadeh
(2010) sampled 100 students and found a moderate
and negative correlation between time spent on
Facebook and self-esteem measured by Rosenberg
Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1986) of -.432.
Conversely, Valenzuela, Park, and Kee (2009)
surveyed life satisfaction using Satisfaction with
Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) and Facebook
use for a sample of 2,603 students and found a
positive correlation of.198. Owing to the variable
findings regarding the use of social networking
sites and psychological well-being, meta-analysis
was conducted to determine the overall correla-
tion and identify potential moderating effects of
these relationships.
To identify relevant studies, the PsycINFO and
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases was
searched using terms related to social networking
sites (namely, social media, Facebook, MySpace,
online social network*, and social network* site*)
and psychological well-being (self-concept, self-
esteem, self-worth, depress*, loneliness, and life
satisfaction) through April, 2011. The included
studies are indicated by asterisks in the refer-
ences. Fifteen studies comprising 17 indepen-
305

dent samples involving 11,003 participants were
included. Of these, 3 were doctoral dissertations
and 12 were journal articles. Fourteen studies used
cross-sectional designs and Steinfield, Ellison, and
Lampe (2008) adopted the longitudinal approach.
Table 1 lists the country where the research was
performed, sample size, mean age, type of well-
being assessed, measure of well-being, social
networking sites assessed, and correlation between
social networking site use and psychological
well-being. Seven studies focused on Facebook,
6 focused on social networking sites in general,
1 focused on CU2 (a popular social networking
site in the Netherlands), and 1 focused on instant
messaging and social networking sites. Nine
studies were conducted in the United States, 2
each in Australia and Canada, and 1 each in the
Netherlands and South Korea. Four samples did
not report participant mean age, while for the
remaining 13 samples the mean age was 21.12
years old (range 14-46 years). Moreover, the av-
erage sample size was 464.06 participants (range
35-2,603 participants).
This study used Pearson product-moment cor-
relation coefficient r as an effect size. For self-
esteem and life satisfaction, a positive correlation
coefficient indicated a conducive effect since
heavy use of social networking sites was associ-
ated with high self-esteem and life satisfaction.
When depression and loneliness were used to
measure psychological well-being, a positive
correlation coefficient indicates a detrimental
effect since high use of social networking sites
was associated with high depression and loneli-
ness. To calculate the mean correlation across
positive (self-esteem, life satisfaction) and nega-
tive (loneliness and depression) indicators of
psychological well-being, the directions of the
correlations between depression and use of social
networking sites, and between loneliness and use
of social networking sites, were reversed. Con-
sequently, a positive correlation indicates a ben-
eficial effect, as heavy use of social networking
sites was associated with relatively high self-es-
306
Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being
teem or life satisfaction, or low depression and
loneliness. Each r was weighted by sample size
to calculate the mean correlations.
Under fixed effect assumptions, only within-
study variability was allowed. Since the assump-
tion of fixed-effect models was implausible, the
random-effects model that assumed that both
sampling error and random components explain
correlation variation was used to calculate the
mean correlation. The effect sizes ranged from -.43
to.20. The sample size weighted mean correlation
was -.02, with a 95% confidence interval of -.10
to.07. Consistent with findings by Huang (2010),
the relationship between the use of social network-
ing sites and psychological well-being was weak.
Owing to the small correlation between psycho-
logical well-being and use of social networking
sites, it was concluded that social networking
sites were not related to psychological well-being.
Moderator analyses were conducted to explain
the systematic variability in the correlation coef-
ficients between social networking sites use and
psychological well-being. Table 2 lists the number
of correlation coefficients, mean correlation, 95%
confidence interval and tests of between-group
variation. The mean correlation for studies con-
ducted in the USA was r = -.01 while that for
studies conducted outside the USA was r = -.04.
The between-study variability represented by QB
indicates true heterogeneity in population correla-
tions. Since QB was statistically insignificant, the
correlations between the use of social networking
sites and psychological well-being did not differ
between the USA and other countries. Coding
multiple effect sizes for various indicators of psy-
chological well-being from the same participant
sample yielded 25 effect sizes. Of these 25 data
points, 12 effect sizes focused on self esteem, 7
on life satisfaction, 5 on loneliness, and 1 on de-
pression. Since QB was statistically insignificant,
the psychological well-being indicator did not
affect the correlation between the use of social
networking sites and psychological well-being.
A negative but insignificant correlation existed
Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being
between use of social networking sites and self-
esteem, r = -.05; between social network sites
and life satisfaction, r =.05; and between social
network sites and loneliness, r = -.07. Caution is
necessary in interpreting the moderator effects of
the psychological well-being indicator and study
location as the number of correlation coefficients
was too small. Consequently, findings related
to the moderator analyses should be considered
suggestive rather than definitive.
FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
Investigation of the Causal
Predominance between Internet
Use and Psychological Well-Being
Most studies examining the relationship between
Internet use and psychological well-being have
used cross-sectional designs. This methodologi-
cal limitation caused failure to establish causal
predominance between Internet use and psy-
chological well-being. Few investigations have
examined the casual ordering of Internet use and
psychological well-being. Because of the effects
of low psychological well-being and prevalence
of Internet use for communication, understanding
causal predominance between Internet use and
psychological well-being is helpful when design-
ing intervention programs. If low psychological
well-being increases Internet use, enhancing
psychological well-being can decrease Internet
use. Conversely, if Internet use adversely affects
psychological well-being, simply improving psy-
chological well-being and ignoring high Internet
use will not address the problem.
This study proposes four possible models.
The first hypothesis suggests that Internet use is
causally predominant over psychological well-
being. Internet use thus is viewed as impacting
psychological well-being, while psychological
well-being does not affect Internet use. If longitu-
dinal studies were used to test this model, a relative
strong correlation between prior Internet use and
subsequent psychological well-being as compared
to the correlation between prior psychological
well-being and subsequent Internet use would
support this model. The second possible hypoth-
esis claims that psychological well-being drives
Internet use, and thus psychological well-being
determines Internet use and Internet use is not
considered a primary determinant of psychologi-
cal well-being. The second position is supported
when the correlation between prior Internet use
and subsequent psychological well being is weaker
than the correlation prior psychological well-being
and later Internet use. The third hypothesis is a
reciprocal-effects model, which holds that prior
Internet use affects subsequent psychological
well-being, and prior psychological well-being
impacts Internet use. The reciprocal model is
supported given the correlation between prior
Internet use and subsequent psychological well-
being, and between prior psychological well-being
and subsequent Internet use is comparable. The
fourth hypothesis is that Internet use is unrelated
to psychological well-being. This position is sup-
ported when the longitudinal correlation between
Internet use and psychological well-being is low.
Future investigations should adopt longitudinal
designs to examine the causal predominance of
Internet use and psychological well-being.
Attention to Measurement
Inconsistency of Social
Networking Sites Use
Inconsistency in measuring the intensity of social
networking site use may explain the inconsistent
research findings. Some instruments asked respon-
dents to indicate time spent on social networking
sites via open-ended questions or Likert scales.
Steinfield, Ellison, and Lampe (2008) measured
the intensity of social networking site use via
both amount of time spent on social networking
sites and number of online friends. Meanwhile,
Barker (2009) measured both time spent on
307

social networking sites and number of visits to
such sites. To explain the diverse findings about
the relationship between social networking sites
use and psychological well-being, future studies
should examine whether differential indicators
of Internet use display different relations with
psychological well-being.
Increased Attention to Older Adults
Most computer-mediated communication has fo-
cused on student populations and so more research
on older adults is needed. For example, 14 of the
15 studies included in the present meta-analysis
focused on adolescents or college students. Correa
et al. (2010) was an exception and surveyed 959
adults with a mean age of 46 years old. Chen and
Persson (2000) suggested that life tasks, social
beliefs and values, and cognitive capacities differ
between young and older adults. Hence, research
findings based on younger samples may not be
able to be generalized to older adults. Since user
age may moderate the relationship between use
of social networking sites and psychological well-
being, increased research attention should be paid
to older adults. Such research might illuminate
whether the relationship between use of social
networking sites and psychological well-being
varies with life stage.
Investigation of the
Effect of Indicators of
Psychological Well-Being
Psychological well-being has been represented
using numerous psychological constructs, includ-
ing self-esteem, loneliness, depression, and life
satisfaction. This inconsistency in the represen-
tation of psychological well-being may create
difficulties in drawing general conclusions from
the relevant studies and also explain the diversity
of the findings. Nevertheless, multiple indicators
of psychological well-being have theoretical and
methodological advantages, such as their useful-
308
Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being
ness in testing whether certain psychological well-
being indicators are associated with Internet use.
Internet use may have differential correlations with
different indicators of psychological well-being.
It is also possible that noticeable differences ex-
ist in the relationship between Internet use and
positive indicators of psychological well-being
(namely, self-esteem and life satisfaction) versus
that between Internet use and negative indica-
tors of psychological well-being (loneliness and
depression). Future research should examine the
effect of indicators of psychological well-being
on the relationship between such well-being and
Internet use. The findings may yield insights into
how to enhance different indicators of psychologi-
cal well-being.
Consideration of Moderator Effects
on the Relationship between Internet
Use and Psychological Well Being
The displacement and augmentation hypotheses
describe the bivariate correlation Internet use and
psychological well-being. While the association
between Internet use and psychological well-being
is low, the magnitude of this relationship may vary
among individuals with different characteristics.
That is, moderators may affect the relationship
between Internet use and psychological well-
being. For example, Kraut et al. (2002) proposed
the rich-get-richer hypothesis that Internet use was
associated with better psychological well-being for
individuals with sufficient social support, while
a negative effect existed for individuals lacking
social support. The rich-get-richer hypothesis
proposed that social support moderated the rela-
tionship between Internet use and psychological
well-being. In contrast, the social compensation
hypothesis (Lee, 2009) contended that Internet
use exerted a positive effect particularly for so-
cially anxious individuals. That is, social anxiety
moderates the relationship between Internet use
and psychological well-being. Studies of potential
moderator effects are required to identify diverse
Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being
or conflicting findings about the relationship be-
tween Internet use and psychological well-being.
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Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being

APPENDIX

Table 1. Studies of the Relationships between use of social networking sites and psychological well-being

Study Country Age N Well-being Measure SNSs r

Baker & Oswald USA 19.19 207 loneliness UCLA Loneliness Scale Facebook .04
(2010)
Baker & White Australia 14.36 139 self-esteem Rosenberg Self-Esteem SNSs .17
(2010) Scale
Barker (2009) USA 18 734 self-esteem NA SNSs .085
Correa et al. (2010) USA 46 959 life satisfac- Satisfaction with Life IM & -.09
tion Scale SNSs
Gentzler et al. USA 19.46 211 loneliness UCLA Loneliness Scale SNSs .045a
(2009)
Kalpidou et al. USA 18.31 35 self-esteem Rosenberg Self-Esteem Facebook -.09
(2010) #1 Scale
Kalpidou et al. USA 20.91 35 self-esteem Rosenberg Self-Esteem Facebook -.31
(2010) #1 Scale
Lee et al. (2011) South Korea 21.3 217 life satisfac- Satisfaction with Life SNSs -.00
tion Scale
Lou (2009) USA NA 222 Loneliness, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Facebook -.15, .13b
self-esteem Rosenberg Self-Esteem
Scale
Mehdizadeh (2010) Canada 22.21 100 self-esteem Rosenberg Self-Esteem Facebook -.432
Scale
Schwartz (2010) Canada 21 213 self-esteem, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Facebook -.121, .133b
loneliness Scale, UCLA Loneliness
Scale
Spraggins (2009) USA 20 350 life sat- Satisfaction with Life SNSs -.134, .281,
isfaction, Scale, UCLA Loneliness .281, -.299b
loneliness, Scale, CES-D, Rosenberg
depression, Self-Esteem Scale
self-esteem
Steinfield et al. USA NA 288 self-esteem, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Facebook -.05, .25 a, b
(2008) #1 life satisfac- Scale, Satisfaction with
tion Life Scale
Steinfield et al. USA NA 477 self-esteem, Rosenberg Self-esteem Facebook .01, .03 a, b
(2008) #2 life satisfac- Scale, Satisfaction with
tion Life Scale
Valenzuela et al. USA NA 2603 life satisfac- Satisfaction with Life Facebook .198 a
(2009) tion Scale
Valkenburg et al. Netherlands 14.8 881 self-esteem, Harter’s Self-Perception CU2 .07, .06b
(2006) life satisfac- Profile for Adolescents,
tion Satisfaction with Life
Scale
Wilson et al. Australia 19.07 201 self-esteem Coopersmith Self-Esteem SNSs .02 a
(2010) Inventory
Note The directions of correlations between depression and use of social networking sites and that between loneliness and use of social
networking sites were not reversed in this table. NA = not available.
a Effect sizes are based on correlations obtained from the authors.
b Multiple psychological well-being indicators were used and therefore multiple effect sizes were coded.

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Table 2. Moderator analyses

Indicator k Mean 95% CI QB

Upper Lower
Country .16
USA 11 -.01 -.12 .11
Non-USA 6 -.04 -.21 .13

Indicator of PWB 2.25

Self-esteem 12 -.05 -.15 .05
Life satisfaction 7 .05 -.09 .19
Loneliness 5 -.07 -.27 .12
Indicator of PWB = indicator of psychological well-being.
Note. The direction of correlations between depression and use of social networking sites and that between loneliness was reversed in this
table.

314
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