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. 2021 Dec 3:1-15.
doi: 10.1007/s12144-021-02579-6. Online ahead of print.

Post more! The mediating role of social capital between Instagram use and satisfaction with life

Linda-Elisabeth Reimann  1   2 , Phillip Ozimek  1 , Elke Rohmann  2 , Hans-Werner Bierhoff  2
Affiliations

Post more! The mediating role of social capital between Instagram use and satisfaction with life

Linda-Elisabeth Reimann et al. Curr Psychol. .

Abstract

Since more and more people have begun to use social networking sites (SNSs), research on the use of SNSs is flourishing. This study examines Instagram use and the psychological well-being of the users. It was conducted based on two samples (n 1 = 143 and n 2 = 320) examining the relationship between Instagram use, social capital, and satisfaction with life using online questionnaires. Social capital was divided into bonding and bridging social capital and Instagram use was distinguished depending on an active and passive mode, respectively. Instagram use was measured by a behavioral report - the Instagram Activity Questionnaire (IAQ) - which was developed in accordance with the Facebook-Activity Questionnaire (FAQ; cf., Ozimek & Bierhoff, 2016). The results indicated consistently in both samples the occurrence of positive associations between mode of Instagram use and social capital variables. Furthermore, only bonding social capital - not bridging social capital - was positively correlated to satisfaction with life. A path model showed that the negative association of active Instagram use and satisfaction with life was positively mediated by bonding social capital. These results are discussed based on social capital theory. Limitations of this investigation are pointed out and suggestions for future research are outlined.

Keywords: Instagram use; Satisfaction with life; Social capital; Social media; Well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

We declare that our study was approved by the local ethical committee of the Ruhr University of Bochum. We declare that there are no potential conflicts of interests, and that informed consent was given by all participants.Conflict of InterestNone.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Mediation Model for Both Samples Predicting Satisfaction with Life with Active Instagram Use. Note. β = regression coefficient, dfs1 = 1141, dfs2 = 1318, m = 10,000; F1,141 = 2.24, p = .137, R2 = .13, F1,318 = 1.14, p = .286, R2 = .06; confidence intervals in brackets
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