Evaluating Subjective Well-Being in the Network Society

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session II
  In Interactive Paper Session: Communication and Technology Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

This study evaluates whether the network society is a happy society by modeling the methodology of happiness economics, which quantitatively measures the relationship between subjective well-being and its predictors. Using structural equation modeling, the study investigated the effects of two main characteristics of the network society - social network and empowerment - on subjective well-being. To construct a model of well-being, 2199 respondents of the U.S. population were sampled from the 2010-2012 World Values Survey data. Responses to the selected fifteen questions in the survey were then incorporated into the structural equation system to predict one's subjective well-being. SPSS, PRELIS, and LISREL 9.1 were used to perform data analyses under the assumptions of maximum likelihood estimates. Findings from the study demonstrated that: (1) Involvement in a voluntary social network had a negative impact on one's level of subjective well-being; (2) sense of empowerment had a positive effect on subjective well-being.

Author

• Nahoi Koo, U of Southern California - Annenberg School for Communication