We will establish a conceptual model of the mechanisms between digital literacies, OSN practices, and well-being, and discover how individuals draw on their linguistic and semiotic repertoires to manage their well-being in OSN. 

The heavy use of online social networking (OSN) among university students can  

• (a) harm their well-being (via social/cultural marginalization, threats to stable relationships, etc.); or  
• (b) enhance it (via enriching communication patterns, enlarging socialization and accessing diverse information sources, etc.).  

Past studies have shown that youths’ digital practices in OSN (e.g., interactions, self-representation and content consumption) are correlated with their well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, personal growth, social integration). However, past studies have not  

• (a) systematically modelled different dimensions of OSN practices, their antecedents (digital literacies) and their subsequent effects (emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing);  
• (b) explored the specific and nuanced emotional, psychological, social, and discursive mechanisms through which OSN practices affect youth well-being. 

Furthermore, previous research has mostly investigated OSN practices’ impacts on a particular type of well-being. The lack of such knowledge will make providing the proper support for maintaining youth well-being in OSN challenging.   

To fill this gap, this mixed-methods study investigates youths’ level of digital literacies, determines the links between digital literacies, OSN practices, and their well-being, and identifies their mechanisms via surveys, interviews and recorded digital practices. Using stratified sampling across Years 1 to 4, we will recruit 960 university students with different backgrounds (local, cross-border mainland Chinese and ethnic minorities) to complete the survey and determine the dimensions of OSN practices and the mechanisms through which they affect well-being, through multilevel structural equation modelling. Next, we will recruit 72 survey participants (across year levels and universities) for the in-depth qualitative investigation via semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and collecting their recorded OSN practices (e.g., screenshots, video/screen recordings or simple texts). We will conduct thematic and nexus analyses to explore the interplays between OSN practices and well-being, and the underlying factors that interpersonally, historically, and discursively shape the interplays.    

We will establish a conceptual model of the mechanisms between digital literacies, OSN practices, and well-being, and discover how individuals draw on their linguistic and semiotic repertoires to manage their well-being in OSN. This will inform curriculum development, intervention efforts, and policy-making to optimize youth well-being in OSN to  

• (a) create a digital environment with socially, culturally and emotionally positive affordances for the youths; and  
• (b) suggest effective intervention efforts to increase individual’s awareness and agency in OSN practices for youths in Hong Kong and beyond.