Social media use and subjective well‐being among middle‐aged consumers in Korea: Mediation model of social capital moderated by disability

• Published date: 01 December 2021
• Author: Hyesun Hwang,Su‐Jung Nam
• Date: 01 December 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12354

SPECIAL ISSUE

Social media use and subjective well-being

among middle-aged consumers in Korea:

Mediation model of social capital moderated by

disability

Hyesun Hwang

1

| Su-Jung Nam

2

1

Department of Consumer Science,

Convergence Program for Social

Innovation, College of Social Sciences,

Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South

Korea

2

Department of Home Economics

Education, College of Education, Jeonju

University, Jeonju, South Korea

Correspondence

Su-Jung Nam, Department of Consumer

Sciences, Convergence Program for Social

Innovation, College of Social Sciences,

Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South

Korea.

Email: bluesj@jj.ac.kr

Abstract

This study investigated the moderating effect of disabil-

ity on the relationship between middle-aged con-

sumers' well-being and their social media use, through

the mediating effect of social capital. The study used

data from the South Korean National Information Soci-

ety Agency's “2018 Information Divide Index Dataset.”

The results showed consumers with disabilities to be

less active on social media, implying that they are

likely to experience restrictions on social media use,

regardless of degree of disability. Degree of disability

had significant moderating effects on the relationship

between social media use and subjective well-being,

mediated by bonding social capital. Although bonding

social capital mediated the relationship between social

media use and well-being for all consumers, the effect

was stronger for consumers with severe disabilities.

KEYWORDS

social capital, social media, well-being

1|INTRODUCTION

Consumers' well-being has long been a major concern in consumer studies (MacDonald and

Douthitt, 1992; Baued et al., 2005). An individual's overall well-being is related not only to their

Received: 21 October 2019 Revised: 7 December 2020 Accepted: 21 December 2020

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12354

Copyright 2021 by The American Council on Consumer Interests

1352 J Consum Aff. 2021;55:1352–1372.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca

personal resources, but also to social and environmental resources (Summers et al., 2012;

Manchanda, 2017). The consumption environment is constantly evolving due to ongoing digital

transformation, and the rapid development of digital technologies has expanded the boundaries

of information available to consumers, and enhanced human productivity. It is also directly

connected to the regulation of consumers' access to today's highly digitalized market and society

(OECD, 2019), implying an impact on well-being related to differences in external resources

available to consumers.

The development of social media was a major turning point for the consumer digital envi-

ronment. Social media offer social networking opportunities where users exchange personal

opinions, feelings, information, and knowledge, which not only increases the accessibility of

useful information, but also fosters social capital by broadening users' worldviews and strength-

ening interpersonal ties (Brandtzaeg, 2012; Ellison et al., 2007; Gil de Zuniga et al., 2012; Lee

and Jung, 2014; Ryu, 2009). Users can connect to a network characterized by interactivity, open

communication, and ease of use regardless of time and place. Due to its productive functional-

ity, social media can be used as social capital in various fields and as a “tool factor”for strength-

ening and visualizing social capital (Lawson-Borders and Kirk, 2005; Ellison et al., 2007). As

Boyd (2008) noted, our society is changing into a public network connected by social media,

and its influence on social capital, as well as on personal communication, has been growing

gradually over time, as a result.

Social media create a virtual arena where individuals can conveniently interact with each

other. In particular, social media can facilitate participation in virtual spaces among people

with disabilities, as well as forming interpersonal relationships that do not rely on revealing

users' disabilities (Hunsinger and Senft, 2013). Social media are tools with which users and con-

sumers with disabilities can overcome impairment and become more integrated into the com-

munity. In this way, social media work to break barriers and facilitate change—a true reflection

of social media, as asserted by Cahill and Hollier (2009).

Most studies have suggested that the participation of consumers with disabilities in social

media can bring about changes in their daily life and subjective well-being, so that they no longer

feel limited by their disability or social handicap, even though they may have a biological and/or

physical impairment (Barnfather et al., 2011; Grace et al., 2014; Hynan et al., 2014; Raghavendra

et al., 2015; Heo and Park, 2016). Consumers with disabilities are more likely to have a low level

of education, be unemployed, or have a low income, and may find it difficult to participate in

social networks as a result of their physical or mental impairment. Consequently, consumers with

disabilities are more likely to feel alienated from the general marketplace (Nam, 2011). However,

through the use of social media, consumers with disabilities can freely meet nondisabled or dis-

abled people with whom they can forge friendships, while deciding whether or not to disclose

their disabilities, resulting in fewer negative or discriminatory experiences in everyday life (Lee

and Jeong, 2012). In the offline world, people with disabilities receive limited benefits from social

activities like making new friends or participating in community activities, due to the inconve-

nience of limited accessibility and mobility (Ballin and Balandin, 2007; Stendal, 2012). However,

through social media, consumers with disabilities are able to not only experience an environment

with easy access to information, without physical limitations, but also the opportunity to converse

with people around them through various means (Vicente and López-Menendez, 2010). There-

fore, social media can provide a new opportunity for social capital expansion for people with dis-

abilities, thereby improving their quality of life.

The current study focused on the potential of social media to change the well-being of con-

sumers, especially that of middle-aged consumers who have experienced social capital

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