ABSTRACT
The pervasiveness of social media has raised considerable concern among health professionals, educators, parents, and researchers about how living a networked life impacts subjective well-being (e.g. Jelenchick et al., 2013). The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests limiting the amount of time children and adolescents spend on social media and other communication technologies because of potential deleterious mental health outcomes. There is even the term “Facebook depression” to refer to a possible link between time spent on Facebook and users’ depression (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). These worries derive from perspectives that time spent online does not constitute quality connection with others and potentially displaces the health benefits of socializing with family and friends offline.
