Abstract
BackgroundExcessive online social network sites (SNSs) use, such as Facebook or WeChat overuse, has become a severe problem and have caused negative consequences. It is especially important to examine what causes excessive WeChat use in the Chinese population. This study explored the critical role of affective states and WeChat use intensity in the relationship between psychological needs satisfaction and excessive WeChat use based on the self-determination theory and the emotional motivation theory.Methods952 Chinese college students aged 18 to 25 completed an online survey that measured psychological needs satisfaction, depression, anxiety, WeChat use intensity, and excessive WeChat use.ResultsPath analysis demonstrated that anxiety, depression, and WeChat use intensity mediated the effect of psychological needs satisfaction on excessive WeChat use. More importantly, the chain mediation model indicated that psychological needs satisfaction could influence excessive WeChat use through the “anxiety—WeChat use intensity” path, but not the “depression—WeChat use intensity” path.ConclusionThe current study could not only contribute to theoretical development, but also guide mental health practice by showing that improving psychological needs satisfaction may restrain excessive WeChat use through regulating affective states and Wechat use intensity.
Highlights
Excessive online social network sites (SNSs) use, such as Facebook or WeChat overuse, has become a severe problem and have caused negative consequences
We mainly focused on two negative affective states, anxiety and depression, which are not clinical variables, just anxiety and depression symptoms of individuals, for the following two reason: First, Fig. 1 The assumed chain mediation model there are an increasing incidence of anxiety and depression among college students in recent years [26, 27]
Psychological needs satisfaction was negatively associated with anxiety (r = − 0.423 p < 0.001) and depression (r = − 0.540, p < 0.001), which was in turn associated with WeChat use intensity (r = 0.155, p < 0.001)
Summary
Excessive online social network sites (SNSs) use, such as Facebook or WeChat overuse, has become a severe problem and have caused negative consequences. Alongside the convenience that SNSs has brought to our social lives, SNSs excessive use has become a severe problem and have caused negative consequences [5] such as cognitive-emotional preoccupation [6], envy [7], depression [8], and addictive behaviors [9]. As one of the most popular use social media to meet their basic psychology and reality life needs, has integrated into theirs’ lives. It is especially important to examine its trigger factors and underlying mechanisms and help them to reduce the negative consequences caused by excessive WeChat use
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