What’s the optimal usage pattern? Latent profile analysis of Chinese young adults’ social networking site use and its association with subjective well-being

Contributing to the active debate about how the use of social networking site (SNS) affects mental health, this study uses a person-centered approach to examine the relationship between SNS use and components of subjective well-being. Unlike previous research that primarily employed variable-centered approaches and focused on the active-passive use dichotomy, this study considered a range of SNS activities across different communication contexts (private vs. public) and audiences (e.g., friends vs. strangers) to identify distinct user profiles. A latent profile analysis among Chinese young adults (N = 1,075, Mage = 20.43) revealed five latent profiles: Minimal users (9.1%), Moderate users (22.2%), High explorers (19%), Private communicators (36.5%), and Advanced engagers (13.2%). These profiles were significantly associated with well-being. Advanced engagers reported the highest life satisfaction and positive affect, along with low negative affect. In contrast, Private communicators showed lowest life satisfaction and relatively low positive affect, though they also experienced less negative affect. Moderate users and High explorers experienced more negative affect, whereas Minimal users reported the lowest positive affect. These findings reveal heterogeneous user styles among Chinese SNS users and further suggest that active use may contribute to well-being, but only when it combines both public and private communication within existing social networks.