Evaluating Subjective Well-being in the Network Society |
Nahoi Koo |
Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California |
Correspondence:
Nahoi Koo, Email: nahoikoo@usc.edu |
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Abstract |
This study evaluates whether the network society is a happy society by modeling the methodology of happiness economics, which quantitatively measures the relationship between subjective well-being and its predictors. Using structural equation modeling, the study investigated the effects of two main characteristics of the network society - social network and information flow - on subjective well-being. To construct a model of subjective well-being, 1940 respondents of the U.S. population were sampled from the 2010-2012 World Values Survey data. Responses to the selected thirteen questions in the survey were then incorporated into the structural equation system to predict one's subjective well-being. SPSS, PRELIS, and LISREL 9.2 were used to perform data analyses under the assumptions of maximum likelihood estimates. Findings from the study demonstrated that: (1) Inclusion in social network had a positive impact on one's level of subjective wellbeing; (2) One's access to information had a positive effect on subjective well-being. |
Key Words:
Subjective Well-being, Social Network, Information Flow |
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