A network analysis of Facebook use and well-being in relation to key psychological variables : replication and extension

Studies exploring the relationship between Facebook use and well-being have yielded inconsistent findings. Investigating the intermediate mechanisms seems to be of crucial importance to gain insight into the positive and negative consequences of Facebook use. A recent study illustrated the importance of taking into account social comparison and self-esteem, as these constructs are central to theories about the link between Facebook use and risk for affective disorders. Extending these findings will be key to increase our knowledge on possible risk and/or protective intermediate mechanisms. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study (n = 459) to investigate the position of attention control and social capital in this previously reported network. Our results provide a conceptual replication of Faelens, Hoorelbeke, Fried, De Raedt, and Koster (2019). In addition, our findings suggest that attentional control does not play a central role in the relationship between Facebook use and well-being. However, (bridging) social capital uniquely connected the variables related to Facebook use with our indicators of vulnerability for affective disorders via social comparison and contingent self-esteem. Possible explanations are discussed