Social media engagement and family caregivers’ perceived positive aspects of caregiving: an inverted U-shape relationship

Abstract

Although the mixed findings regarding social media’s impacts on family caregivers’ well-being imply a non-linear association, scant studies understand this phenomenon from a non-linear perspective. Moreover, limited research understands social media engagement’s effects on family caregivers’ perceived positive aspects of caregiving (PAC), an essential indicator of their well-being. These research scarcities prevent us from helping family caregivers achieve the optimal effect of social media for enhancing their well-being. To bridge the research gaps, this research investigates explicitly the association between family caregivers’ social media engagement and their perceived PAC. With survey data from family caregivers (N = 125), regression analysis results confirm an inverted U-shape relationship between their social media engagement and their perceived PAC. This research enriches existing literature by challenging the traditional belief of solely positive or negative linear effects of social media engagement, offering a possible explanation for the inconsistent results about social media engagement and family caregivers’ well-being.