Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-Being

Sharing memes has emerged as a prevalent form of social grooming behavior on digital platforms, yet research has largely focused on the content of internet memes rather than the behavior of sharing them. This study explores whether sharing memes with different humor styles (affiliative, self-enhanci...

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Main Authors: Yueming Luo, Yu-Leung Ng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-06-01
Series:Social Media + Society
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251348922
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author Yueming Luo
Yu-Leung Ng
author_facet Yueming Luo
Yu-Leung Ng
author_sort Yueming Luo
collection DOAJ
description Sharing memes has emerged as a prevalent form of social grooming behavior on digital platforms, yet research has largely focused on the content of internet memes rather than the behavior of sharing them. This study explores whether sharing memes with different humor styles (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor styles) relates to subjective well-being through the mediating roles of online bonding and bridging social capital. Using survey data from a representative sample of 1000 participants in the United States, the findings showed that affiliative and aggressive meme-sharing were positively associated with psychological well-being and positive feelings via enhanced online bonding social capital. The findings could contribute to a deeper understanding of social and psychological implications of engaging with memes in online communication.
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institution Kabale University
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series Social Media + Society
spelling doaj-art-a22b5723b67840ce9ee7b8ccf44cdc322025-08-20T03:45:31ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512025-06-011110.1177/20563051251348922Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-BeingYueming Luo0Yu-Leung Ng1Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong KongHong Kong Baptist University, Hong KongSharing memes has emerged as a prevalent form of social grooming behavior on digital platforms, yet research has largely focused on the content of internet memes rather than the behavior of sharing them. This study explores whether sharing memes with different humor styles (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor styles) relates to subjective well-being through the mediating roles of online bonding and bridging social capital. Using survey data from a representative sample of 1000 participants in the United States, the findings showed that affiliative and aggressive meme-sharing were positively associated with psychological well-being and positive feelings via enhanced online bonding social capital. The findings could contribute to a deeper understanding of social and psychological implications of engaging with memes in online communication.https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251348922
spellingShingle Yueming Luo
Yu-Leung Ng
Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-Being
Social Media + Society
title Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-Being
title_full Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-Being
title_fullStr Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-Being
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-Being
title_short Exploring the Mediating Role of Online Social Capital in the Association Between Sharing Memes Using Four Humor Styles and Subjective Well-Being
title_sort exploring the mediating role of online social capital in the association between sharing memes using four humor styles and subjective well being
url https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051251348922
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AT yuleungng exploringthemediatingroleofonlinesocialcapitalintheassociationbetweensharingmemesusingfourhumorstylesandsubjectivewellbeing