Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfaction

Introduction: The rise of online social networking has transformed how individuals interact, raising concerns about its impact on privacy, loneliness, and life satisfaction. This study explores the direct and indirect relationships among these variables, with a focus on institutional (vertical) and...

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Main Authors: Tarik N. MOHAMED, Rania A. MOURAD, Muhammad AZZEDIN
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Edizioni FS 2024-12-01
Series:Journal of Health and Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journalhss.com/wp-content/uploads/10.192042024BTWN5.pdf
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author Tarik N. MOHAMED
Rania A. MOURAD
Muhammad AZZEDIN
author_facet Tarik N. MOHAMED
Rania A. MOURAD
Muhammad AZZEDIN
author_sort Tarik N. MOHAMED
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: The rise of online social networking has transformed how individuals interact, raising concerns about its impact on privacy, loneliness, and life satisfaction. This study explores the direct and indirect relationships among these variables, with a focus on institutional (vertical) and peer (horizontal) privacy concerns, social and emotional loneliness, and overall satisfaction among college students. Methods: This study analyzed A sample of 778 college students 39.7% are females participated in this study. A conceptual model was tested to examine the effects of social networking use on privacy concerns, loneliness, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among these variables. Results: Findings revealed that increased social networking use was positively associated with privacy concerns at the institutional level (β = −.242, p < .01) and peer level (β = −.205, p < .001). Institutional privacy concerns uniquely mediated life satisfaction, highlighting their relevance in structured settings like universities. Furthermore, social networking use predicted higher emotional loneliness and lower life satisfaction, indicating that online interactions may fail to address deeper emotional needs. However, no significant relationship emerged between social networking use and social loneliness, suggesting that broader social needs may depend on offline interactions. Discussion: These results demonstrate the role of social networking in shaping college students’ well-being. While online platforms offer connections, they may also heighten privacy concerns and emotional loneliness, impacting life satisfaction. Institutional privacy concerns play a critical mediating role, highlighting the importance of privacy in academic settings.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-8701b9e6f274491d8a7bae8282af11932025-01-24T11:03:57ZengEdizioni FSJournal of Health and Social Sciences2499-22402499-58862024-12-0194520534Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfactionTarik N. MOHAMED0Rania A. MOURAD1Muhammad AZZEDIN2nterdisciplinary Research Center for Intelligent Secure Systems (IRC-ISS), KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: tarik@kfupm.edu.saDepartment of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, Sohag University, Sohag, Egypt. E-mail: rn_atif90@yahoo.comDepartment of Neurology, Col. Ali Omar Askar, Espiaa, Libya. E-mail: mazzedin@gmail.com Introduction: The rise of online social networking has transformed how individuals interact, raising concerns about its impact on privacy, loneliness, and life satisfaction. This study explores the direct and indirect relationships among these variables, with a focus on institutional (vertical) and peer (horizontal) privacy concerns, social and emotional loneliness, and overall satisfaction among college students. Methods: This study analyzed A sample of 778 college students 39.7% are females participated in this study. A conceptual model was tested to examine the effects of social networking use on privacy concerns, loneliness, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among these variables. Results: Findings revealed that increased social networking use was positively associated with privacy concerns at the institutional level (β = −.242, p < .01) and peer level (β = −.205, p < .001). Institutional privacy concerns uniquely mediated life satisfaction, highlighting their relevance in structured settings like universities. Furthermore, social networking use predicted higher emotional loneliness and lower life satisfaction, indicating that online interactions may fail to address deeper emotional needs. However, no significant relationship emerged between social networking use and social loneliness, suggesting that broader social needs may depend on offline interactions. Discussion: These results demonstrate the role of social networking in shaping college students’ well-being. While online platforms offer connections, they may also heighten privacy concerns and emotional loneliness, impacting life satisfaction. Institutional privacy concerns play a critical mediating role, highlighting the importance of privacy in academic settings. https://journalhss.com/wp-content/uploads/10.192042024BTWN5.pdfcollege studentsemotional lonelinesslife satisfactionsocial networkingprivacy concernswell-being
spellingShingle Tarik N. MOHAMED
Rania A. MOURAD
Muhammad AZZEDIN
Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfaction
Journal of Health and Social Sciences
college students
emotional loneliness
life satisfaction
social networking
privacy concerns
well-being
title Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfaction
title_full Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfaction
title_fullStr Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfaction
title_full_unstemmed Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfaction
title_short Between likes and lows: Exploring how social networking, privacy, and loneliness shape college students’ satisfaction
title_sort between likes and lows exploring how social networking privacy and loneliness shape college students satisfaction
topic college students
emotional loneliness
life satisfaction
social networking
privacy concerns
well-being
url https://journalhss.com/wp-content/uploads/10.192042024BTWN5.pdf
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