Subjective well-being and social media use: Do personality traits moderate the impact of social comparison on Facebook?

The purpose of the study was to explore whether personality traits moderate the association between social comparison on Facebook and subjective well-being, measured as both life satisfaction and eudaimonic well-being. Data were collected via an online questionnaire which measured Facebook use, social comparison behavior and personality traits for 337 respondents. The results showed positive associations between Facebook intensity and both measures of subjective well-being, and negative associations between Facebook social comparison and both measures of subjective well-being. Personality traits were assessed by the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory personality questionnaire, which revealed that Reward Interest was positively associated with eudaimonic well-being, and Goal-Drive Persistence was positively associated with both measures of subjective well-being. Impulsivity was negatively associated with eudaimonic well-being and the Behavioral Inhibition System was negatively associated with both measures of subjective well-being. Interactions between personality traits and social comparison on Facebook indicated that for respondents with high Goal-Drive Persistence, Facebook social comparison had a positive association with eudaimonic well-being, thus confirming that some personality traits moderate the association between Facebook social comparison and subjective well-being. The results of this study highlight how individual differences in personality may impact how social comparison on Facebook affects individuals’ subjective well-being. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.