Open Access

ARTICLE

The longitudinal relationship between active use of social network sites and loneliness: Examining the mediating effects of positive feedback and social support

Jing Wu^1,2,*, Yuan Gao², Quanlu Hao², Zhun Liu³, Weijie Meng¹

1 College of Education, Ludong University, Yantai, 264025, China
2 Department of Psychology, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, 312000, China
3 School of Mathematics Information, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing, 312000, China

* Corresponding Author: Jing Wu. Email:

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2025, 35(6), 871-876. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2025.075981

Received 10 June 2024; Accepted 07 November 2025; Issue published 30 December 2025

Abstract

This study employed a longitudinal approach to investigate how positive feedback and social support mediate the connection between active social network use and feelings of loneliness. A total of 811 college students (females = 58.20%, M_age = 19.15, SD = 0.99) participated in this research study. At T1 time point, students completed the Active SNS Questionnaire. At T2 time point, students completed the online versions of the Positive Feedback Scale, Perceived Social Support Multidimensional Scale, and UCLA Loneliness Scale. T2 online positive feedback influences how T1 actively uses their social network, which relates to T2 loneliness, especially when loneliness levels are low. T2 perceived social support also partly mediates how T1 active social network use influences T2 loneliness, especially when loneliness levels are low. T2 online positive feedback and T2 perceived social support serve a mediating role sequentially in the relationship between T1 active social network use and T2 loneliness. The results of this study indicate that active social network site use can consistently help students receive more positive feedback, perceive more social support, and thus reduce loneliness.

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Keywords

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