Upward social comparison on mobile social media and depression: The mediating role of envy and the moderating role of marital quality

Background: The use of mobile social media enables individuals to learn about others' lives, which may lead to upward social comparison. Evidence has shown that upward social comparison on mobile social media can have negative effect for individuals' mental health, such as a higher risk of depression. Previous studies on this issue have mainly focused on adolescents and college students, but less on married adults' well-being. Moreover, mechanisms underlying this association have not been well-documented. Methods: A total of 514 Chinese married adults (62% female) were recruited from 26 regions in China. They completed measures of upward social comparison on mobile social media, envy, marriage quality and depression. Results: The results showed a positive association between upward social comparison on mobile social media and depression, which was completely mediated by envy. The direct effect of upward social comparison on depression, and the relation between upward social comparison and envy, were both moderated by marital quality. More specifically that upward social comparison on mobile social media was more strongly associated with depression and envy in adults with lower marital quality. Limitations: This study only focused on the interpersonal factor (i.e., marriage quality) as a moderating variable, not investigating the potential moderating roles of personality factors and other interpersonal factors. In addition, the cross-sectional in design could not examine the causal relationships among the variables. Conclusions: High marriage quality can protect married adults from the adverse effects of upward social comparison on mobile social media.