关键词: 社交网站；自尊；大学生；线上好友数量；性别差异

Abstract: In recent years, social network sites (SNS) are more and more popular among the Chinese, especially in college students. As a new communication instrument, SNS provides better opportunities for undergraduates to build and maintain a network of online friends, which has a very significant effect on college students psychological development. However, the association between SNS use and selfesteem is still unclear. The aim of this study was to find the effect of SNS use on selfesteem and the further exploration was to investigate the mediating effect of the number of online friends and the gender difference between them.Totally 418 subjects were adopted in the data analysis model. The results indicated that: (1) SNS use, selfesteem and the number of online friends were significantly positively correlated with each other; (2) the effect of SNS use on selfesteem was through the complete mediating role of the number of online friends; (3) the effect of SNS use on selfesteem was moderated by gender, the positive prediction of SNS use on selfesteem was only found in female. From the present study we can draw a conclusion that SNS use was beneficial to selfesteem through the complete role of the number of online friends, but there was a gender difference between them, suggesting that the female Chinese college students may benefit more than the male ones.

Key words: social network sites, selfesteem, college students, number of online friends, gender