Social media wellbeing: Perceived wellbeing amidst social media use in Norway

Abstract

Social media use is a topical issue and raises several concerns including online comparison and social media fatigue, which have implications on the perceived wellbeing of users. Thus, this study explores how university students in Norway perceive their wellbeing in respect to their social media usage. To answer this, the study employs a qualitative approach by drawing from a set of 15 in-depth interviews ascertaining how informants perceive their social media use, what ‘balance’ means to their social media connectedness, and how it impacts their subjective sense of wellbeing. The research draws on the theory of mediatization as well as the uses and gratification theory. The mode of analysis rests on an interpretative phenomenological analysis to place findings within the larger context of the role of social media in the daily lives of users. This paper makes a conceptual and empirical contribution. Conceptually, it adds value to how scholarship can theorize wellbeing within social media contexts. Whereas empirically it illuminates how users perceive their wellbeing within the social media landscape and the solutions they propose to balance social media use.