Examining Facebook Use, Self-compassion and its Interactions With Subjective Well-being

Sammanfattning: The use of social network services (SNS) has exponentially grown especially among younger generations. Facebook (FB) use today constitutes a part of many university students’ everyday life. At the same time, research interest for self-compassion has grown tremendously. High self-compassion is associated with high subjective well-being (SWB), while high FB use has shown association with lower SWB. The effect of interaction between FB use and self-compassion in predicting SWB has thus far not been tested. This study examined if FB use correlated with SWB, if self-compassion correlated with SWB, and if the level of self-compassion had a moderating effect between FB use and SWB. A survey containing measures of frequency and duration of FB use, Self-Compassion Scale - Short Form, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and Satisfaction With Life Scale was administered to Swedish university students (N = 231, M age = 24.84, SD = 5.9). A hierarchal regression analysis was used to test if FB use and self-compassion interacted to predict SWB. The regression analysis showed that only self-compassion significantly predicted SWB. This study suggests that frequency and duration of FB use might not be enough to predict SWB. Future research could benefit from mapping more precisely what kind of FB use is beneficial or non-beneficial for user well-being. Also, future research could benefit from considering type of FB use in interaction with the level of self-compassion in predicting SWB.