Online communication with strong ties and subjective well-being in Japan

Recent developments in communication technologies have changed how people connect and interact with each other. This study investigates whether and how online communication with strong ties (mobile phone and social networking service [SNS]) enhances subjective well-being in Japan. Study 1 examined whether the correlation between happiness and mobile phone use was mediated by the number of offline and online friends. Study 2 assessed the associations between the Japanese relationship-oriented value “interdependent self-view,” life satisfaction, and the use of SNS. Results indicate that only the use of LINE (an instant messaging application), which is the most popular SNS in Japan, was significantly correlated with life satisfaction and interdependent self-view. The number of friends (offline and online) mediated the effect of LINE use on life satisfaction. Interdependent self-view was significantly correlated with the frequency of LINE use, homogeneity of LINE friends, and life satisfaction. These results indicate that the use of a dominant online communication method with strong ties is significantly correlated with subjective well-being, and this significant correlation is mediated by the number of offline and online friends.