Flourishing And Internet Use: Perspective Taking As A Moderator

Abstract

The current research explored the impact of internet usage on flourishing along with the role of perspective taking as a moderator. The sample comprised of 200 participants collected online through convenience sampling technique. The age range of the sample was between 18-25 years (M=21.54, SD=1.89). Three scales were employed to carry out the research, namely Perspective Taking Scale of Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980), Flourishing Scale (Diener, 2009) and Internet Addiction Test (IAT; Young, 1998). Results revealed that internet usage negatively impacted flourishing, whereas, perspective taking moderated this relationship. The results suggest that excessive internet use results in lower flourishing and being exposed to media content may create more empathy and perspective taking for the person being watched which also reduces scores on flourishing. The results reveal that one should limit the time spent on internet and should focus on real life social interactions