Why can’t I stop buying? Upward social comparison on social networking sites and online compulsive buying: a latent moderated mediation model

The pervasiveness of social networking sites (SNSs) has led to renewed interest in the topic of online compulsive buying. These platforms possess unique characteristics that facilitate both social comparison and buying behavior. However, little research has explored the relationship between upward social comparison and online compulsive buying in the context of Chinese SNSs. Moreover, little is known about the underlying mechanism mediating and moderating this association. Drawing the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution model (I-PACE) for addictive behaviors, this study developed and examined a moderated mediation model which integrates upward social comparison on SNSs, online compulsive buying, envy, and gratitude to address this gap. The data was collected from 616 college students in China and analyzed using latent moderated structural equation. The results reveal that upward social comparison on SNSs could positively predict online compulsive buying, and envy partially mediates this relationship. Interestingly, gratitude moderates the effects of upward social comparison on envy, that is, envy is a moderated mediator. Specifically, college students with high gratitude experience less envy in upward social comparison compared to those who with low gratitude. These findings are not only valuable for understanding the underlying mechanisms linking social comparison on SNSs and online compulsive buying, but also contribute to the development of psychological intervention programs (e.g., intervention based on gratitude or envy) aiming at reducing people’s online compulsive buying.