College Students’ Social Media Use and Digital Well-Being: The Chain Mediating Roles of Social Capital and Digital Trust

Abstract

Background As social media becomes deeply integrated into the daily lives of college students, concerns regarding its impact on psychological health and adaptive digital experiences have intensified. However, Current academic research mainly focuses on offline subjective well-being. Also, empirical research on the mechanisms between social media use and digital well-being is still insufficient. To address these gaps, the present study aims to unpack the sequential chain mediating mechanisms of two distinct forms of social capital and digital trust linking social media use intensity to digital well-being, and further verify the moderating roles of gender and origin in different predictive pathways. Methods This study examined the relationship between social media use intensity and digital well-being among 414 Chinese college students aged 18 to 24. Anonymous structured questionnaires assessed social media use intensity, bonding and bridging social capital, digital trust, and digital well-being. Hayes’ PROCESS macro was applied, with Model 6 for chain mediation analysis and Model 1 to test the moderating effects of individual background factors (gender and origin). Given the cross-sectional design, causal inferences should be made with caution. Results The research results indicate that the intensity of social media use is positively associated with digital well-being through multiple indirect pathways. For college students, higher social media use intensity is concurrently correlated with greater social capital and elevated digital trust, which in turn show positive concurrent associations with digital well-being. Among them, the mediating effect of bridging social capital is more significant than that of bonding social capital. In addition, the gender and origin of college students also play a moderating role in different pathways. Conclusion This study clarifies the positive relationship between social media use and digital well-being among college students by elucidating the different mediating roles of bonding and bridging social capital, digital trust, and the moderating effects of individual background factors. The findings offer theoretical insights for digital well-being research and practical guidance for mental health interventions, campus management, and the promotion of healthy online behaviors among college students.