More Interactions, More Prosociality? An Investigation of the Prosocial Effect of Online Social Interactions Among Adolescents

Abstract

Adolescence is a key stage for prosocial advancement. A plethora of research suggested that the consumption of prosocial-themed media content can facilitate the development of adolescents' prosociality. However, little has examined whether various behaviors of media use may play a role here, such as online social interactions (OSIs). This study aimed at exploring whether and how OSIs, an omnipresent activity we engage in on a daily basis, could enhance prosocial tendencies among adolescents. Empathy and trust were proposed as two possible explanatory variables linking OSIs and prosocial tendencies. A survey was conducted among 533 secondary school students (46.5 percent females; age: 12-18 years old, M_age = 14.82, SD_age = 1.77) in China, assessing their OSIs on Weibo, prosocial tendencies, trust, and empathy. The results confirmed that OSIs are positively associated with adolescents' prosocial tendencies, and this association goes through trust, not empathy. Further, it was found that age serves as a moderator such that the indirect association via trust is significant only for middle and late adolescents, not the early group. The findings provide preliminary evidence and a theoretical basis for further investigation of prosociality development from OSIs. It also opens up a possible direction of adolescents' prosociality promotion in practice.

Keywords: adolescents; empathy; online social interactions; prosocial tendencies; trust.