Happy online and in real life too?

Abstract

Research examining the impact of social media use on the wellbeing of digital natives has resulted in a myriad of opposing outcomes indicating both positive and negative effects. In this paper we examine whether there is a boundary between online and offline interpersonal sphere in the cohort of student digital natives and how does it differ between German student populations and U.S.. From data collected in 2013 and 2014 we find that involvement in Social Networking Sites (SNS) results more in positive emotional outcomes than in negative ones. Secondly, we conclude that there is no significant impact of SNS interactions on real life activities. We explain this striking result by focusing on separation of communication activities in online and offline life contexts. We also report on differences between U.S. and German students. The results of our study show that German students tend to separate between online and offline sphere more strongly.