TRAIT MINDFULNESS, FACEBOOK USE, LIFE SATISFACTION, AND WELL-BEING

Abstract

Facebook use is a regular part of the daily lives of many college students. The initial research in this area indicates that social media can be both beneficial and harmful to overall well-being, with some studies indicating that factors such as how social media is used may play an important moderating role between social media use and well-being outcomes. Given the prevalence of Facebook use in daily life, it is important for counseling psychologists to understand the relationship of Facebook use to well-being and life satisfaction. Research indicates that a higher level of dispositional mindfulness might be particularly helpful in fostering positive outcomes of social media use, but no previous studies have directly addressed this question with college students. This study used a correlational design to investigate the relationships among trait mindfulness, Facebook use, life satisfaction, and well-being in college students. Participants were 101 undergraduate students from Kansas and Colorado. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationships among the variables. Findings indicated no relationship between Facebook use and measures of well-being, and replicated previous findings that level of mindfulness is positively associated with measures of life satisfaction and well-being. Mindfulness did not serve as a moderating variable in predicting well-being and life satisfaction. Implications for practice and research are discussed.