Do instrumental goal pursuit mediate feelings of envy on Facebook and Happiness or subjective well-being?

Different goal pursuits influence the valence of social networking sites (SNS) use, with some uses being more adaptive than others (e.g., aimless scrolling vs. communicating with friends). We use a model of happiness-increasing strategies on happiness and consider the mediating effect of Instrumental Goal Pursuit on the relationship of Envy to Happiness, or subjective well-being, in SNS use. Participants were drawn from an urban English college-level population. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to model relationships. Findings show that, in the context of SNS use, instrumental goal pursuit may not mediate the relationship between envy and happiness. Varying goal features may have a confounding effect on goal instrumentality in increasing happiness. Life satisfaction, purpose, personal circumstances, and personality differences likely have mediating effects on happiness and SNS use. Future studies should explore a more complete model that accounts for other antecedent factors including personality differences and life circumstance that have been shown to influence subjective wellbeing and likely mediate the relationship of instrumental goal pursuit relation to happiness.