Social Media Use Intensity and Well-Being: Suppression Effect of Online Social Support and Moderating Role of Social Media Type

Abstract

As social media is deeply integrated into daily life, users’ mental health issues are becoming increasingly prominent. This study, based on the theoretical perspective of the “social media paradox,” explores the impact of social media usage intensity on subjective well-being, as well as the mediating role of online social support and the moderating role of social media types (WeChat vs. Xiaohongshu). Valid data from 809 participants were collected using the Social Media Usage Intensity Scale, the Online Social Support Scale, and the Subjective Well-being Scale, and the mediating and moderated mediating effects were analyzed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results show that: (1) social media usage intensity significantly and negatively predicts subjective well-being; (2) online social support plays a suppression effect between social media usage intensity and subjective well-being, with a significant indirect positive effect, although the direct negative effect is substantially larger; (3) social media type significantly moderates the predictive effect of usage intensity on online social support, with Xiaohongshu users showing greater gains in online support from higher usage intensity than WeChat users, supporting the first-stage moderation effect. The role of online social support in buffering the negative association is limited in offsetting the negative outcomes associated with excessive use, and the moderating role of social media type does not alter the overall pattern in which loss outweighs compensation.