{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.018822393822393823, 'fraction_numerical': 0.006274131274131274, 'mean_word_length': 5.73051948051948, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
WeChat usage during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: the mediating role of online self-disclosure on quality of friendship and well-being

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate university students’ WeChat usage during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in relation to the mediating role of online self-disclosure on their quality of friendship and well-being A model is proposed to explain how students’ interactions occur during the lockdown and the mediatory role which self-disclosure plays in influencing their socio-psychological markup Design/methodology/approach: The research model was tested empirically through a survey conducted online with 600 research participants, comprising of university students in China Findings: Results in structural equation modeling show that WeChat interaction significantly correlates with the quality of friendship, online self-disclosure but not significantly correlates with well-being, but an indirect relationship was found out in the mediation analysis There is also a significant relationship between online self-disclosure, quality of friendship and well-being Mediation analysis shows that online self-disclosure mediates the relationship between interactions on WeChat and quality of friendship;it also mediates the relationship between WeChat interaction and well-being In all, the results achieved in this study will significantly help provide more insights in comprehending the nuances attached to some socio-psychological aspects of WeChat and how its usage affects people during the period of crisis Originality/value: Theoretically based investigation of WeChat usage among university students and its relationship with online self-disclosure, quality of friendship and well-being is still quite scarce, thereby underscoring the needs and significance of a theoretically based study in this regard This study tested the credibility and validity of the proposed model in the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in China, which is one of the first in recent times © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited