The Relationships of SNS Use, Social Achievement Goals, and Life Satisfaction: A Study of Korean College Students

Abstract

Social networking sites (SNS) provide efficient communication. However, SNS use sometimes risks a user’s life satisfaction. Based on the prior findings that one’s social orientation influences the impact of SNS use on life satisfaction, this study examined the pathways to explain how SNS use affects individuals’ life satisfaction through social achievement goals. A main path model and two gender-specified path models were tested using 438 Korean college student samples. The results showed that social development goals mediated the relationships between active SNS use and life satisfaction across all three path models. The social demonstration approach goal was positively predicted by active SNS use in the main model and the male model, but it did not predict life satisfaction in both models. The social demonstration-avoidance goal was positively predicted by active SNS use in the main and female models. Still, it negatively predicted life satisfaction in both models. Implications and directions for future study are discussed.