WeChat Moments use and self-esteem among Chinese adults: The mediating roles of personal power and social acceptance and the moderating roles of gender and age

The present study examined whether and how specific use behaviors of WeChat Moments, the most popular social network site (SNS) in China, relate to users' self-esteem. Three hundred and twenty-five Chinese adults (53.85% female; Mage = 32.67, SD = 7.70) completed online measures of WeChat Moments use behaviors, personal power, social acceptance, and self-esteem. We found that WeChat Moments use intensity and received likes are positively associated with self-esteem, whereas status updates are negatively associated with self-esteem. We found further that personal power and social acceptance mediate the associations of WeChat Moments use intensity and received likes with individuals' self-esteem. Moreover, gender and age emerged as significant moderators. The current study provides evidence for the association between WeChat Moments use and self-esteem among Chinese adults and contributes to the literature by clarifying the equivocal findings, as well as uncovering the underlying mechanisms of the relationship between SNSs use and self-esteem.