Disparities in Life Satisfaction: Examining Social Media’s Differential Effects across Demographics

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of social media usage on life satisfaction. The study uses the globally representative dataset of World Values Survey which covers 66 countries. The analysis covers various subsamples to perform heterogeneity analysis, including whole, male, female, urban, and rural samples. The estimates of the ordinary least square (OLS) model suggest that social media use has a consistent and statistically significant negative association with life satisfaction across all subgroups. For the whole sample, a one-unit increase in social media use is associated with a 0.143-point decrease in life satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10, on average. This negative relationship is more pronounced for males, with a 0.208-point decrease, compared to females, who exhibit a smaller 0.0882-point reduction in life satisfaction. Urban residents also show a stronger negative impact (-0.152) compared to rural residents (-0.127), suggesting that the adverse effects of social media use on life satisfaction are more severe in urban contexts. These findings highlight variations in the strength of the relationship across gender and residency, with males and urban individuals experiencing a greater decline in life satisfaction linked to social media use compared to females and rural individuals. The findings have practical implications for developing evidence-based guidelines that encourage healthier social media habits, fostering a balance between online interactions and real-world connections.