Can Social Networking Sites Alleviate Depression? The Relation between Authentic Online Self-Presentation and Adolescent Depression: a Mediation Model of Perceived Social Support and Rumination

Abstract

Ample evidence suggests that authentic self-presentation enhances personal well-being including reduced depression in the offline context, but it is unclear yet whether depression can be reduced by authentic self-presentation in the social networking sites (SNSs) environment. The present study investigated whether authentic self-presentation would predict reduced depression in the SNSs context. Further, we explored whether perceived social support and rumination would mediate the link between authentic self-presentation on SNSs and depression. A sample of 365 middle school students completed measures regarding demographics, authentic self-presentation on SNSs, depression, perceived social support, and rumination. The results indicated that: (a) authentic self-presentation on SNSs would predict reduced depression; (b) both perceived social support and rumination mediated the association between authentic self-presentation on SNSs and depression in an unparalleled fashion; and (c) perceived social support and rumination sequentially mediated the relation between authentic self-presentation on SNSs and depression. Implications of taking SNSs as an alternative way to detect and alleviate adolescent depression are discussed.