Self‐concept clarity and envy as mediators between upward social comparison on social networking sites and subjective well‐being

Abstract The popularity of social networking sites increases opportunities for upward social comparison, potentially affecting individuals' subjective well‐being. However, research on how this comparison impacts well‐being's sub‐components (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) is scarce. This study, based on social comparison theory and the full theoretical construct of subjective well‐being, explores these relationships and their mechanisms. A total of 970 Chinese youth participants ( M age = 19.42 years, SD = 2.01) completed self‐report measures. The results showed that the independent mediating effect of envy and the chain mediating effect of self‐concept clarity and envy contributed to all three models. In addition, the independent mediating effect of self‐concept clarity only contributed to the model for negative affect. This study emphasizes that the construct of envy mediates the effect of upward social comparison on the sub‐components of subjective well‐being and further demonstrates a strong impact of upward social comparison on negative affect.