The effect of positive and negative emotional responses towards digital influencers on digital well-being: An examination from the perspective of self-efficacy and psychological resilience in the social media environment

This study aims to examine the effects of positive and negative emotional responses experienced by users towards digital influencers (virtual influencers) in the social media environment on individuals' digital well-being. In today's digital ecosystem, social media users develop various emotional responses through influencer content, and these reactions can directly or indirectly affect individuals' psychological well-being. The research adopts the concepts of self-efficacy and psychological resilience as a critical framework to understand the dynamics of this relationship. The study hypothesizes that positive emotional responses play a supportive role in digital well-being, while negative emotional responses can have negative effects. Furthermore, it is proposed that individuals' self-efficacy perceptions and psychological resilience levels serve as moderator/intermediary variables that strengthen these interactions or mitigate their negative effects. Within this framework, the research proposes a conceptual model to better understand social media users' digital experiences and optimize digital well-being from the perspective of psychological resilience and individual efficacy. The findings of the study are expected to make significant contributions to applied areas such as the design of digital marketing strategies, user-focused improvement of social media platforms, and the development of individual psychological support mechanisms. Consequently, this study offers a significant contribution to the literature that examines the effects of emotional responses on psychological well-being in the social media and digital influencer ecosystem from a holistic perspective.