Title |
Comparing the Happiness Effects of Real and On-Line Friends
|
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Published in |
PLOS ONE, September 2013
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0072754 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
John F. Helliwell, Haifang Huang |
Abstract |
A recent large Canadian survey permits us to compare face-to-face ('real-life') and on-line social networks as sources of subjective well-being. The sample of 5,000 is drawn randomly from an on-line pool of respondents, a group well placed to have and value on-line friendships. We find three key results. First, the number of real-life friends is positively correlated with subjective well-being (SWB) even after controlling for income, demographic variables and personality differences. Doubling the number of friends in real life has an equivalent effect on well-being as a 50% increase in income. Second, the size of online networks is largely uncorrelated with subjective well-being. Third, we find that real-life friends are much more important for people who are single, divorced, separated or widowed than they are for people who are married or living with a partner. Findings from large international surveys (the European Social Surveys 2002-2008) are used to confirm the importance of real-life social networks to SWB; they also indicate a significantly smaller value of social networks to married or partnered couples. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Japan | 26 | 26% |
United States | 8 | 8% |
United Kingdom | 3 | 3% |
Australia | 2 | 2% |
Malaysia | 1 | 1% |
Ireland | 1 | 1% |
Mexico | 1 | 1% |
Korea, Republic of | 1 | 1% |
El Salvador | 1 | 1% |
Other | 2 | 2% |
Unknown | 54 | 54% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 94 | 94% |
Scientists | 4 | 4% |
Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 1% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 1% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Canada | 2 | 1% |
United States | 2 | 1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
China | 1 | <1% |
Portugal | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 127 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Bachelor | 21 | 16% |
Student > Master | 19 | 14% |
Researcher | 12 | 9% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 12 | 9% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 11 | 8% |
Other | 26 | 19% |
Unknown | 33 | 25% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 36 | 27% |
Social Sciences | 13 | 10% |
Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 13 | 10% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 5 | 4% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 5 | 4% |
Other | 21 | 16% |
Unknown | 41 | 31% |