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The dark side of social networking sites: An exploration of the relational and psychological stressors associated with Facebook use and affordances
... When people live in such an era of digital media, it makes sense that the number of people using digital technologies will grow. Researchers have suggested that the rapid popularization of digital technology (e.g., computers, smartphones) has potentially negative effects on people's physical and mental health (e.g., stress, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance; Karsay et al., 2019;Lee et al., 2014;Thomée et al., 2007Thomée et al., , 2011Vahedi & Saiphoo, 2018;Wacks & Weinstein, 2021), and they have suggested that the negative mental health status might be associated with perceived stress, overload, or fatigue during digital technology use (Fox & Moreland, 2015;Xiao & Mou, 2019). Some concepts, such as social media fatigue (Xiao & Mou, 2019), information overload (Reinecke et al., 2017), Facebook-induced stress (Fox & Moreland, 2015), and mobile entrapment (Hall, 2017), technostress (Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008) have been used to describe these phenomena. ...
... Researchers have suggested that the rapid popularization of digital technology (e.g., computers, smartphones) has potentially negative effects on people's physical and mental health (e.g., stress, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance; Karsay et al., 2019;Lee et al., 2014;Thomée et al., 2007Thomée et al., , 2011Vahedi & Saiphoo, 2018;Wacks & Weinstein, 2021), and they have suggested that the negative mental health status might be associated with perceived stress, overload, or fatigue during digital technology use (Fox & Moreland, 2015;Xiao & Mou, 2019). Some concepts, such as social media fatigue (Xiao & Mou, 2019), information overload (Reinecke et al., 2017), Facebook-induced stress (Fox & Moreland, 2015), and mobile entrapment (Hall, 2017), technostress (Ragu-Nathan et al., 2008) have been used to describe these phenomena. Researchers have recently summarized these concepts and defined them collectively as digital stress (Steele et al., 2020). ...
... Researchers have recently summarized these concepts and defined them collectively as digital stress (Steele et al., 2020). Digital stress has been found to be associated with mental health (Campisi et al., 2012;Fox & Moreland, 2015;Kushlev et al., 2019;Matthes et al., 2020;Reinecke et al., 2017;Steele et al., 2020). For example, Reinecke et al. (2017) revealed that in individuals aged 14-85 years, communication overload and internet multitasking will increase perceived stress, which then induces burnout and anxiety. ...
People suffer from stress or digital stress when using information communication technology. Smartphones are the most widely used smart device among adolescents. However, few tools have been developed to capture smartphone stress. This preregistered study aims to clarify and define the concept of smartphone stress based on previous literature regarding digital stress and to develop a smartphone stress scale for adolescents. This study integrated qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore the structure of smartphone stress and develop a smartphone stress scale. First, we theoretically proposed the smartphone stress item pool based on current theories of digital stress and the definition of smartphone stress. Then, we conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews (N = 41) to revise the items in the item pool. Lastly, we finalized the scale based on the data collected from three independent samples of adolescents (Nsample1 = 1,088, Nsample2 = 879, Nsample3 = 176). The results revealed six dimensions of smartphone stress among adolescents: unsatisfactory information and communication, unmet recreational motivation, online learning burden, social concerns, useless and overloaded notifications, and online verbal attacks. The content validity was confirmed and the scale showed robust reliability (α = .851 to .959), stability (test-retest reliability = .717 to .681, p < .001), and validity (construct validity: χ2 = 2,811.967, df = 399, CFI = .966, TLI = .963, RMSEA = .075; correlations with anxiety and depression were .431 to .462, p < .001). The developed scale is reliable in measuring smartphone stress in adolescents. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
... This direct relationship is consistent with the conceptualization of Facebook addiction. The unregulated excessive use of Facebook is driven by the inflicted social pressure to attend to meaningless social interaction, and this investment occurs at the expense of users' emotional well-being (Fox & Moreland, 2015). As a result, the temporary emotional relief from excessive Facebook use reinforces a dependency on the online platform (Andreassen, 2015), because this temporary emotional relief does not address the underlying cause of the experienced negative affect, which is the illustrated emotional strain from meaningless interaction and immediate attention to Facebook (Fox & Moreland, 2015). ...
... The unregulated excessive use of Facebook is driven by the inflicted social pressure to attend to meaningless social interaction, and this investment occurs at the expense of users' emotional well-being (Fox & Moreland, 2015). As a result, the temporary emotional relief from excessive Facebook use reinforces a dependency on the online platform (Andreassen, 2015), because this temporary emotional relief does not address the underlying cause of the experienced negative affect, which is the illustrated emotional strain from meaningless interaction and immediate attention to Facebook (Fox & Moreland, 2015). In this light, it is evident that the conceptual relationship between Facebook addiction and the severity of depression is more meaningful than the stated conceptual relationship between the duration of use and depression (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). ...
... As indicated previously, addictive Facebook use hinders the recovery process of clinical patients (Brailovskaia et al., 2019a(Brailovskaia et al., , 2019b as the unregulated, excessive use of this online platform conflicts with their compliance with the prescribed interventions (Brailovskaia, Rohmann, et al., 2019). In addition, the momentary emotional relief from instant, addictive use of Facebook (Andreassen, 2015;Fox & Moreland, 2015) occurs at the expense of users' self-regulation abilities (Brailovskaia et al., 2018). The findings clearly indicate that addictive use of Facebook is potentially detrimental to depressed users' emotional well-being. ...
This research aimed to examine the relationships between Facebook addiction, depressive experiences (self-criticism and dependency), and the severity of depression. To increase the validity of the findings, this longitudinal research with two waves was conducted with a sample of depressed Facebook users. This research has successfully recruited 250 Facebook users in Malaysia who have been diagnosed with depression. This longitudinal survey with two waves was conducted with a gap of six months, measuring the respondents’ addictive tendencies toward Facebook, depressive experiences, and the severity of depression. Overall, this research found that Facebook addiction escalates the severity of current and upcoming states of depression. Without the time lag, Facebook addiction escalates the sense of self-worthlessness, as reflected by depressive experiences, which eventually manifest into depression. These indirect effects did not last over six months, rendering Facebook addiction a direct predictor of the upcoming state of depression. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed in this manuscript.
... This term is typically tied to technology and related to technology-based behavior (Bright, Kleiser & Grau, 2015), as people feel compelled to constantly check Internetenabled devices to ensure that the experience they are having is not inferior to the one they could be having at some other place and point in time. Lack of access to social media information leads to FoMO (Fox & Moreland, 2015), where people are increasingly second-guessing the choices they make on how to spend their time (Cheever, Rosen, Carrier & Chavez, 2014). ...
... One recent study (Cheever et al., 2014) examined the negative effects of wireless mobile devices on college students, identifying the anxiety participants experienced when they did not have access to their wireless mobile device as a component of FoMO. Additionally, Fox and Moreland (2015) found that, despite the negative psychological and relational experiences often felt by using the social network site Facebook, participants often felt pressured to continue using Facebook because of FoMO; availability and accessibility of the social mediated technology motivates users to check the social network site regularly to combat such feelings. ...
... Fourth, people with increased FoMO were more likely to have posted on social media about one-time sporting events and entertainment events. Thus, it appears tendencies to use social media could be positively correlated with elevated levels of FoMO, substantiating earlier research (see Cheever et al., 2014;Fox & Moreland, 2015). Moreover, future research could investigate which social media formats are incorporated within these second-screen experiences. ...
The current study employed a national sample in order to investigate the phenomenon of fear-of-missing-out (FoMO), the apprehension associated with the fear that other people are having a pleasurable experience that one is not a part of. The current study investigated the role that FoMO plays in TV viewing habits, particularly binge-watching and the consumption of one-time megaevents. Results indicated that FoMO predicts the pace at which people choose to watch TV, social media use as it relates to TV, and whether they are likely to watch some one-time TV programs—such as sporting events like the Super Bowl.
... Mao and DeAndrea (2019) suggest that perceived affordances of anonymity and visibility in organizations affected subsequent prohibitive voicing intentions. Furthermore, several studies suggested that ICT affordances may be (cognitively) demanding (Freytag et al., 2021) and present drawbacks (Fox & Moreland, 2015), regardless of whether they are actualized through individual technology usage behaviors. ...
... For instance, visibility may convey a certain pressure as we make judgments and learn about normative expectations based on the communication and actions we see of others. In the context of personal relationships, visibility provided by public social media (e.g., Facebook) is perceived as stressful as it enables others to monitor content without one's awareness and increases social comparison (Fox & Moreland, 2015). Similarly in an organizational context, seeing the achievements of others may create a stressful pressure to increase one's own performance, and learning about co-workers' TASW practices may lead other employees to do the same. ...
... The persistence of information may also increase the possibility that workers will be held accountable for their communication long after its initial publication, creating a form of accountability (Treem, 2015). Studies on public social media (e.g., Facebook) have found that users may associate persistence with stress as negative information can be accessible online for a long period of time and is difficult to remove permanently (Fox & Moreland, 2015). ...
This study examines the longitudinal relationship between two affordances of organizational information and communication technologies (ICTs)—that is, visibility and persistence—and individuals’ subjective stress and technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW). We propose that visibility and persistence associated with organizational ICTs are often more aptly construed as probabilities for action, rather than merely possibilities for action. The hypotheses are tested using latent change structural equation modeling drawing on two-wave survey data from 437 employees of a global industrial logistics company headquartered in a Nordic country. The findings highlight that visibility is associated with increases in TASW, but not in subjective stress, while persistence is associated with decreases in TASW and subjective stress. We suggest that visibility may pressure workers into extending their workdays, while persistence may operate as an important resource for employees reducing subjective TASW and stress as well as intra-individual changes in TASW and stress over time.
... [10][11][12] Individuals can become overwhelmed with a fear of missing out (FoMO) on what others are doing, which can lead to comparisons with others and feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, and anxiety. 10,11,13,14 In addition, studies have shown that privacy concerns associated with disclosure of personal data may negatively affect users' intention to continue using SNSs. 8 This study explores positive and negative factors affecting SNS continuance intention by utilizing the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and rational choice theory (RCT). ...
... 27 In addition, FoMO can foster a condition of persistent psychological flux in which the individual's FoMO drives SNS use, which in turn increases their FoMO. 12,57 Even though FoMO has been found to have the potential to cause psychological distress, [10][11][12]14 it is an undeniable force that pulls many individuals to use SNSs. Therefore, discontinuing SNS usage would result in an overwhelming desire to return. ...
... With respect to the perceived cost of non-usage, FoMO, was found to have a strong positive impact on individuals' attitudes toward SNS continuance. While consistent with past studies, [10][11][12]14 it should be noted that the impact of FoMO on attitude was found to be weaker than that of both enjoyment and learning. ...
Social network services (SNSs) have attracted more than 4.3 billion users worldwide. However, many feel SNSs have had an overall negative impact on society. This study utilizes the theory of reasoned action and rational choice theory to explore factors impacting SNS continuance. In addition, the study explores the moderating effect of commitment (i.e., whether an individual is considering leaving their SNS), on factors impacting continuance intention. Using 492 responses collected using MTurk, findings indicate that perceived benefits (i.e., enjoyment and learning) and the costs of non-usage (i.e., fear of missing out (FoMO)) positively impact an individual’s attitude toward SNS continuance while the cost of usage (i.e., privacy concerns) has a negative effect. Also, commitment was found to significantly affect the impact of FoMO on attitudes toward continuance. This study makes several significant contributions both to theory and practice related to individuals evolving perspectives on SNS usage.
... Context collapse can be defined as a collapse of conventional social boundaries between diverse social groups that restricts the information flow from one social context to another (Boyd, 2010;Duguay, 2016;Hogan, 2010). The identity people construct in a given social context depends on the social norms governing that particular social context (Fox and Moreland, 2015;Fox and Ralston, 2016). However, an SNS where youth might encounter one's parents, teachers, coworkers, friends, and many other associates represents an online space of context collapse where many social settings come together (Dennen & Burner, 2017). ...
... Generally, we present ourselves as desired by others in a given social context, through the social interactions we have with them. Consequently, the identity constructed in a given social context depends on the social norms that govern that particular social context (Fox and Moreland, 2015;Fox and Ralston, 2016). Symbolic interaction provides a theoretical perspective for studying how individuals interpret other people in their lives and how this process of interpretation leads to different behaviour in specific situations (Benzies and Allen, 2001). ...
Despite the versatility and longevity of Facebook as a Social Networking Site (SNS) in comparison to Instagram, the Daily Active Users count and the average time spent per day have dropped significantly during the recent past. The observed drop in the popularity of Facebook is confounding from a marketing perspective since Facebook appears to provide more benefits and values than Instagram. Hence, using symbolic interaction as a theoretical lens, in this paper we engage in a discussion on how identity construction complexities on SNSs with greater context collapse, such as Facebook, could contribute to users' preference for SNSs having smaller communities with less context collapse, such as Instagram. A qualitative study was carried out with the participation of 14 informants in the age group between 18-34 years. The data were collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that the greater context collapse on Facebook has created discomfort for youth in constructing identities. Theoretically, this explains how the unclear, and at times, conflicting 'universes of discourse' operating on Facebook impose complexities to navigating user behaviour. Further, the lesser context collapse on Instagram which provides a more cohesive 'universe of discourse' allows the youth to construct a more expansive identity that conforms to community norms. This study theoretically accentuates the repercussions of developing and managing undifferentiated SNSs catering to the mass market, which makes it difficult for users to navigate the expectations of diverse audiences.
... Businesses may be overestimating not just consumers' comfort with sharing their personal data, but also the extent to which they feel they receive fair value in exchange (Conroy, Milano, Narula, & Singhal, 2014). By applying the CPM theory, this study explores the tension between users' information privacy concerns (Alashoor, Han, & Joseph, 2017;Bellman et al., 2004;Hazari & Brown, 2013;Proudfoot, Wilson, Valacich, & Byrd, 2018) and the benefits associated with social media use-such as supporting self-presentation, social relationships, entertainment, and information sharing (Blatterer, 2010;Debatin, Lovejoy, Horn, & Hughes, 2009;Fox & Moreland, 2015;Quinn, 2016;Sundar & Limperos, 2013). Importantly, we examine this tension in relation to people's attitudes towards marketers using their publicly available social media data; thus, we hypothesize: H1: Consumers' perceived risks of using social media have a negative relation with the comfort with marketers using their publicly available social media data. ...
The ready access to and availability of social media has opened up a wealth of data that marketers are leveraging for strategic insight and digital marketing. Yet there is a lack of professional norms regarding the use of social media in marketing and a gap in understanding consumers’ comfort with marketers’ use of their social media data. This study analyzes a census-balanced sample of online adults (n=751) to identify consumers’ perceptions of using social media data for marketing purposes. The research finds that consumers’ perceived risks and benefits of using social media have a relationship with their comfort with marketers using their publicly available social media data. The research extends the applicability of communication privacy management theory to social media and introduces marketing comfort—a new construct of high importance for future marketing research. Marketing comfort refers to an individual’s comfort with the use of information posted publicly on social media for targeted advertising, customer relations, and opinion mining. In the context of the construct development, we find that targeted advertising is the strongest contributing component to marketing comfort, relative to the other two dimensions: opinion mining and customer relations. By understanding what drives consumer comfort with this emerging marketing practice, the research proposes strategies for marketers that can support and mitigate consumers’ concerns so that consumers can maintain trust in marketers’ digital practice
... However, there is potential to misuse Facebook, leading to harms in psychological health, interpersonal connections, and academic or job performance 4 . Problematic use of Facebook (PUF), which is part of the more general problematic use of Internet (PUI), comprises an important area of research worldwide, as it explores negative social, financial, academic, work-related, physical, and psychological health impacts that are associated 5,6 . Social media and Internet usage were relatively high even prior to the pandemic 7 . ...
Problematic use of Internet (PUI) and problematic use of Facebook (PUF) has been linked to escalating behavioral health issues among university students and has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study estimated the prevalence of and explored associated factors for PUI and PUF among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken among 1101 Bangladeshi university students between November and December 2020. The Internet Addiction Test and Facebook Addiction Scale were used to assess PIU and PUF, respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to adjust for confounders. Among the participants, PUI and PUF were found in 39.3% and 37.1%, respectively. The multiple linear regression model indicated PUI was significantly associated with participants residing in a village, arts majors, those unsatisfied with their major, having mediocre parental relationships, failure in romantic relationships, physical comorbidities, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, using social media, and downloading movies/TV series. PUF was significantly associated with village residence, lower income, arts majors, failure in romantic relationships, longer use of the Internet, using the Internet for purposes other than education, and downloading movies/TV series. Both PUI and PUF have been prevalent among Bangladeshi university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal & exploratory studies are warranted in the future to identify causal factors for PUI and PUF and appropriate interventions should be designed quickly for this population.
... It is argued that frequently checking smartphones is linked to the development of Fear of Missing Out, or FOMO, whereby individuals have a tendency to continuously follow other individuals, groups and news they are curious about to see whether they have shared anything new (Hato, 2013;Gokler et al, 2016;Przybylski et al., 2013). This leads to extreme behaviors with individuals not wanting to miss out on anything regarding the people and/or groups they are connected with and as a result frequently checking their smartphones (Fox & Moreland, 2015;Dossey, 2014;Hato, 2013). ...
The pattern of interaction and communication among young people is currently changing more towards digital communication with virtual social networks. Unfortunately, not many studies have been conducted to determine the relationship between the communication behavior patterns of social media networks and the fear of missing out. This study aims to determine whether there is an influence of student self-regulation on the variable level of internet addiction and fear of missing out on information. This research was conducted using a survey method, taking a sample of 208 active students at the University of PGRI Yogyakarta, the sample was taken using a simple random sampling technique from a population of 480 students, the data were analyzed using a simple linear regression technique. The results showed that self-regulation had no significant effect on the level of fear of missing out, but had a significant effect on the internet addiction variable. For further reasons and causes of these findings are described in the discussion.
... Therefore, the use of social media to create a sense of community among LGBTQ youth should be encouraged. However, some of these SNSs have also facilitated cyberbullying or discrimination and victimization based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, which has led to psychological distress and worse mental health outcomes among LGBTQ youth (Varjas et al., 2013;Fox and Moreland, 2015;McConnell et al., 2017;Abreu and Kenny, 2018). ...
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a significant change in the way healthcare is dispensed. During the pandemic, healthcare inequities were experienced by various sections of society, based on gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The LGBTQ individuals were also affected by this inequity. There is a lack of information on this topic especially in the developing countries. Hence this issue requires further exploration and understanding. Previous literature briefly explored the mental, physical, and emotional turmoil faced by the LGBTQ community on a regular basis. They feared rejection by family and friends, bullying, physical assault, and religious biases. These issues prevented them from publicly speaking about their sexual orientation thereby making it difficult to collect reliable data. Although they require medical and psychological treatment, they are afraid to ask for help and access healthcare and mental health services. Being mindful of these difficulties, this article explores the various underlying causes of the mental health problems faced by LGBTQ individuals, especially, in the Indian subcontinent. The article also examines the status of healthcare services available to Indian sexual minorities and provides recommendations about possible remedial measures to ensure the well-being of LGBTQ individuals.
... Conflicts can also more easily spread in a network with high association. Fox and Moreland (2015) write: "No matter the topic, Facebook's visibility and connectivity allow private conflicts to become public and also enable other network members to comment on it or take sides, further fanning the flames and often producing offline relational consequences as well" (p. 173). ...
Two large surveys with adult samples of Americans (N = 1,105; N = 1,035) investigated differences in perceived incivility between seven social media platforms. Perceptions of incivility were targeted, given both their inherent societal relevance and the personalized nature of each user’s platform experience. Utilizing a novel approach, observations per platform were nested within each user, facilitating disentangling user-level from platform-level factors. Study 1 demonstrated that even accounting for differences between users, perceptions vary by platform. Further, while individual users do admit to generating uncivil content themselves, self-perceptions were in contrast largely stable across platforms. Study 2 built upon Study 1 by investigating additional platform-level factors that could impact perceptions of incivility: Differences in perceived affordances between platforms were related to differences in perceptions of incivility’s prevalence. Specifically, platforms characterized by either perceived anonymity or perceived network association were in turn perceived to be more uncivil.
... Along similar lines, people make choices over social media tools they should use and abandon some (Wiest, 2015). Although social media seems to be someone's choice, Fox and Moreland, 2015 found that some people are forced to use Facebook to maintain their relationships. This may happen especially when a person is appropriate with Facebook use and pressurize the other to use it too. ...
With advancement in communication and information technology, social media have become
one of the key communication tools available not only to academicians, researchers,
scientists and policy makers but are also being used by the people for interpersonal relations
purposes. The use of social media has changed the behaviors and discipline of partners in
interpersonal relations. Today, research has focused on how people can maximize the usage
of social media for a healthy and happy interpersonal relations. Meanwhile, this study was
conducted to assess the relationship of social media (Facebook and Instagram) and
interpersonal relations and to identify appropriate ways through which social media can
change the behaviors and discipline of partners in interpersonal relations. Quantitative
research method was used, and questionnaires were applied to the Anadolu University
students and employees. A total 128 valid questionnaires of the people who were in
interpersonal relationships were used and their responses were analyzed in frequency
distribution tables with simple percentage and graphs by using SPSS program. The finding
of the study reveals that Instagram was the most used Social media site by the young adults.
This study suggests that partners should put laws in place to follow while using social media
platforms to balance their interpersonal relationships in an online environment since
Facebook and Instagram are not entirely resulting in good but a threat to relationships as
well.
... Por ello, debido a la alta presencia de este uso en los jóvenes, los investigadores han centrado su atención en las consecuencias que podría producir en sus conductas (Malo-Cerrato y Viñas-Poch, 2018). De modo que el uso inapropiado de las tecnologías podría tener efectos negativos en el bienestar y ajuste psicológico de niños, adolescentes y adultos jóvenes (Baker y Algorta, 2016;Brooks, 2015;Fox y Moreland, 2015;Lin et al., 2016;Machimbarrena et al., 2019;Morán-Pallero y Felipe-Castaño, 2021;Oberst et al., 2016;Sampasa-Kanyinga y Lewis, 2015), generando problemas en las relaciones sociales (Tokunaga, 2017) o soledad (Ndasauka et al., 2016), entre otros (Ho et al., 2017). ...
Este estudio transversal tuvo como objetivo identificar los perfiles de adicción a las redes sociales y si existe relación con las necesidades psicológicas básicas, el autoconcepto y la intención de ser físicamente activo. Participaron 276 estudiantes (115 hombres y 161 mujeres, Medad= 28,47; DT= 8,65) de 10 universidades españolas en un muestreo intencional. Se encontraron dos perfiles, uno caracterizado por puntuaciones altas en síntomas de adicción, uso social, uso friki y nomofobia, y otro caracterizado por puntuaciones extremadamente altas en síntomas de adicción, uso social, uso friki y nomofobia. Los resultados revelaron diferencias significativas en: autonomía, competencia y autoconcepto emocional. El segundo perfil mostró puntuaciones más bajas en todas esas medidas y tenían menor edad (M= 25,69; DT= 6,93) que los del primer perfil (M= 30,10; DT= 9,15). La presencia de niveles importantes de síntomas de adicción en ambos perfiles de la muestra sugiere crear intervenciones para prevenir los resultados desadaptativos de las adicciones en las redes sociales.
... As such, due to the high presence of this consumption in young people, researchers have focused their attention on the consequences that might produce in behaviours (Malo-Cerrato & Viñas-Poch, 2018). The existence of the inappropriate usage of technologies might have negative effects on wellbeing and psychological adjustment in children, adolescents, and young adults (Baker & Algorta, 2016;Brooks, 2015;Fox & Moreland, 2015;Lin et al., 2016;Machimbarrena et al., 2019;Morán-Pallero & Felipe-Castaño, 2021;Oberst et al., 2016;Sampasa-Kanyinga & Lewis, 2015), engendering problems in the social relationships (Tokunaga, 2017) or loneliness (Ndasauka et al., 2016), among others (Ho et al., 2017). ...
This cross-sectional study aimed to identify social networks addiction profiles and whether there is a relationship with basic psychological needs, self-concept and intention to be physically active. The participants were 276 Spanish University Students (115 men and 161 women, Mage= 28.47; SD= 8.65) from 10 different universities through incidental sampling. Two profiles were found: a profile characterized by high scores in addiction symptoms, social usage, geek treats and nomophobia; a profile characterized by extremely-high scores in addiction symptoms, social usage, geek treats and nomophobia. Results revealed significant differences between the profiles in autonomy, competence and emotional self-concept. The second profile revealed higher scores in the aforementioned variables and showed lower age in their participants (M= 25.69; SD= 6.93) in comparison with the high social network profile (M= 30.10; SD= 9.15). The presence of important levels of addiction symptoms in both profiles of the sample suggests that interventions should be conducted to prevent the maladaptive outcomes of addictions in social media.
... Our findings are particularly important on Instagram, as the visual nature may exacerbate social comparisons as individuals focus on images where they see other people with perfect bodies (based on the current standards that exist on the platform) or other objects that might induce upward social comparison or jealousy (e.g., Fox and Moreland, 2015). Indeed, researchers have termed this the positivity bias, referring to the overwhelmingly positive nature of social media content (Schreurs and Vandenbosch, 2020). ...
... One of the reasons suggested by the researchers to explain these contrasting results is social comparison (Wheeler & Suls, in press), which can be either downward (i.e., comparing oneself to less fortunate individuals) or upward (i.e., comparing oneself to more fortunate individuals). Due to the biased way Facebook users present themselves online (i.e., focusing on the more positive aspect of their lives; Ellison et al., 2006), users will be more prone to compare upward rather than downward (e.g., Fox & Moreland, 2015). Interestingly, while downward comparison in real life has been associated with higher wellbeing (Wang et al., 2017), the opposite has been shown for upward comparison which appears to lead to higher depression and anxiety (McCarthy & Morina, 2020). ...
Recent research has observed that among the ever-increasing young users of social networking sites (e.g., Facebook), some present problematic use similar to other behavioral addictions. While regular use of Facebook is not systematically associated with mental health disorders, its addictive use has been consistently associated with higher level of depression and loneliness. Therefore, further research is needed in studying the separate impacts of regular and addictive Facebook use on young adults' lives. The present study explored the role of Facebook addiction and social comparison on mental health and types of social networking sites (SNSs) usage (i.e., active versus passive usage), hypothesizing that addiction and social comparison will predict negative mental health outcomes and higher SNS usage. The study sample comprised 280 students at a Brit-ish university. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling to test for the significance of the relationships between these variables as well as the appropriateness of the overall hypothesised model. Results demonstrated that Face-book addiction significantly predicted depression, loneliness, and both active and passive SNS usage, and social comparison significantly predicted the level of depression significantly. The overall model also demonstrated a good fit which indicates that the hypothesized associations between the variables were strong. It is argued that the association between Facebook addiction and mental health could be a vicious cycle because no causation direction can be excluded. The implications of the study findings and future research directions are also discussed.
... For example, negatively comparing oneself with others might cause depressive symptoms [62]. Frequent social comparison on Facebook may make users feel unhappy or unworthy and may bring feelings of envy, leading to stress for the users [63,64]. Yang et al. [65] conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the effect of Facebook social comparison on an individual's well-being. ...
We could view the phenomenon of fear of missing out (FoMO) as a dilemma of too many choices about social media. Although there are already various studies on FoMO, there is still a lack of studies on what personality traits concerning media use decisions will contribute to FoMO or how FoMO mediates these personality traits and people’s social media use behavior, and, thus, corresponding negative emotions. This study explored the causes of FoMO in a FoMO moderated mediation model using maximizing tendency before the choice was made, social comparison orientation when making choices, and regrets tendency after the choice was made. The results showed that (1) there is a non-significant influence between maximizing tendency and FoMO, (2) regret tendency is a positive influence on FoMO, (3) social comparison orientation is a positive influence on FoMO, (4) FoMO is a positive influence on the compulsive use of social media and surveillance use of social media, (5) FoMO exhibited a full mediating effect on the relationship between regret tendency and social media surveillance use, (6) FoMO exhibited a full mediating effect on the relationship between social comparison orientation and social media compulsive use.
... Young people rely heavily on canonic binaries from utopian and dystopian interpretations of networked technologies to apply labels to themselves, they are deeply influenced by the online media, which can also reflect the dialectical struggle they are always experiencing in their daily lives, triggering their ambivalence and anxiety (Tiidenberg et al., 2017). Technological advances have provided more freedom of choice, but the flood of information has also thrown individuals into a state of uncertainty and anxiety, leading to a highly sensitive state of mind and a general group anxiety among contemporary youth (Fox and Moreland, 2015). In the present study, the causal relationship between social comparison and social anxiety more directly links group pressure to youth anxiety. ...
As modernization continues to advance the development of digital society, social media has become an important part of people’s daily life and an extension and expansion of real social interactions. In this process, social media use and individual social psychology have increasingly become the object of academic attention, among which the relationship between selfie behavior, as an important interaction practice of youth group in social media, and social anxiety needs to be further explored and discussed. The purpose of this study is to investigate the current situation of selfie behavior, body image, and social anxiety among young people in China. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative empirical methods, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Chinese mainland (n = 920) to examine the mediating effects of social comparison and body image on social media selfie behavior and social anxiety, and found that there was a significant negative relationship between youth social media selfie behavior and social anxiety, while the sequence mediating effects of social comparison and body image were significant. The findings of the study provide new ideas and directions for exploring the intervention paths of youth social psychology in the era of image socialization.
... From a psychological perspective, FoMO behavior seems to be a signal of self-worth concerns and doubts about one's way of life. Most likely, this is the reason for which FoMO has been related to decreased self-esteem (Buglass et al., 2017) and jealousy through online interaction (Fox & Moreland, 2015;Lennarz et al., 2017). Given that decreased self-esteem and feeling of jealousy usually spring from unfavorable social comparisons with other people (Salovey & Rodin, 1984), it is prudent to assume that adolescents who suffer from FoMO are more likely to engage in intensive social comparisons, something which is more prevalent among social media users (Burnette et al., 2017). ...
Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) – people’s intense concerns that they might miss pleasant moments that their peers may enjoy—has been found to relate to a variety of undesired outcomes, including poor academic functioning. Yet, little is known about why some students may exhibit more FoMO than others. In this cross-sectional study with a sample of Turkish adolescents ( N 1 = 506; 50.8% males; M age = 15.8 years; SD = 0.83), we examined to what extent intrinsic and extrinsic life goals for using social media predict FoMO over and above social anxiety. We found through path analyses that extrinsic goals of attaining popularity, garnering attention, and conveying a positive image of oneself to others related to FoMO which in turn related to lower grades by means of in-class distraction and out-of-class study interference. Taken together, the present results suggest that the goals that adolescents try to attain through social media use may explain why FoMO might be more prevalent in that age group.
... When expectations are formulated by indirectly observing the behavior of others, this may cause individuals to have a tendency to social comparison on social media. Studies have emphasized [72], [7] that individuals who use social media can compare themselves with other individuals who are superior to themselves and it may lead to low self-esteem and negative self-evaluations and may reveal negative emotions. ...
The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) generated a global health crisis, resulting in people facing a distressing and unexpected situation. The risk of contamination and the experience of social distancing changed people's behaviors and impacted individual feelings, habits, and relationships. Uncertainty about the timeline of the growing pandemic, Isolation, and restrictions due to quarantine worsened feelings of anxiety and loneliness among both older and younger populations. Moreover, the loss of one's usual routine and reduced social contacts may cause boredom, frustration, and isolation, which can generate high levels of distress in individuals increasing the risk of mental disorders, such as anxiety, mood, addiction, and thought disorders. During the COVID-19 lockdown, there was a steep increase in social media usage as individuals were confined to their homes, which paved the way for many harmful effects on their mental health. Due to this wide popularity, many researchers are inspired to conduct several studies on excessive social media usage and its impact on our lives. One such prominent research area is the impact of social media on self-esteem. By reviewing different studies, it is evident that one gets a boost in their self-esteem when they get positive responses to their actions (posts, stories, etc.) on social media, on the other hand, as one gets exposed to other‘s highlighted episodes of life (promotion in job, vacations) they have a fundamental drive to compare these with their normal episodes (daily hassles, work routines, academic assignments) in their lives. This tendency called “upward comparisons” frequently occurs among social media users, especially among adolescents eventually leading to low self-esteem.
... Ultimately people enjoy feeling of acceptance and social support. Although there are many benefits to using social media, when a person constantly uses and enjoys social media, it becomes a habit and at the same time it leads to behavioral addiction (Chung et al., 2019;Fox & Moreland, 2015;Marino et al., 2018;Paek et al., 2013) and the people display high dependence on social media sites and gradually get addicted to social media . Furthermore, it has been evidenced that social media use found to have a positive association with SMA (Hamutoglu et al., 2020). ...
This study aims to investigate the association between two important personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism) and social media addiction (SMA) through social media usage (SMU) while considering the important moderating role of life satisfaction. We collected data from 623 university students in Pakistan through an electronic survey. SmartPLS software was utilized to perform partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyses to verify our proposed model. The results revealed a significant direct association between extraversion and social media addiction whereas social media usage partially mediates this relationship. However, the direct relationship between neuroticism and social media addiction was not found significant but was fully mediated by social media usage. In addition, life satisfaction revealed no moderating effect on the relationship between extraversion, neuroticism, and social media addiction. Our results contribute to the prior studies that intensity of using social media for whatever purpose leads to social media addiction; life satisfaction does not play any role in social media addiction. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
... The distributed subjectivities at work in a cultural domain increasingly defined by networked computer technologies are immersed within distributed systems of power that are opaque, if not invisible, at the individual level (Greenfield, 2017). Individuals are now immersed within technologically mediated regimes of surveillance, comparison, and self-regulation that are unprecedented in scope and scale, and they take a significant toll on the emotional lives of people in ways that we are only now beginning to comprehend (Fox & Moreland, 2015;Kramer, Guillory, & Hancock, 2014). The broader cultural impact of networked computer technologies may be beyond the scope of the present analysis, but it is a topic in need of critical reflection and analysis by education scholars. ...
... 1). Numerous recent studies suggest that FoMO is associated with high problematic Internet and mobile phone use (Beyens et al., 2016;Fox & Moreland, 2015; and various adverse outcomes involving mental wellbeing and physical health (Buglass et al., 2017;Stead & Bibby, 2017); these variables with which FoMO was shown to be associated could predict cyberbullying victimization (Chen et al., 2016). Hence, FoMO may increase the risk of cyberbullying victimization. ...
Background
The research community is showing an increasing concern about the adverse outcomes of childhood maltreatment for adolescents. However, whether childhood maltreatment is associated with cyberbullying victimization and what the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are remain to be identified.
Objective
We aimed to examine the relationship between childhood maltreatment and cyberbullying victimization and whether self-compassion and fear of missing out (FoMO) can simultaneously moderate this relationship among adolescents.
Participants and setting
A sample of 1025 Chinese adolescents (50.8 % male participants, age = 15.50 ± 0.52 years) completed questionnaires regarding childhood maltreatment, cyberbullying victimization, self-compassion, and FoMO.
Methods
Our hypotheses were tested by correlation analysis and Model 3 of the PROCESS macro.
Results
Childhood maltreatment significantly predicted adolescents' cyberbullying victimization (β = 0.28, p < .001). High self-compassion weakened the relationship between childhood maltreatment and cyberbullying victimization (β = −0.10, p < .001). Furthermore, self-compassion and FoMO simultaneously interacted with childhood maltreatment to predict cyberbullying victimization (β = 0.08, p < .001). Specifically, high FoMO weakened the moderating effect of self-compassion on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and cyberbullying victimization. Childhood maltreatment significantly predicted cyberbullying victimization among adolescents high in FoMO, regardless of self-compassion levels. In contrast, childhood maltreatment non-significantly predicted cyberbullying victimization when adolescents were high in self-compassion and low in FoMO.
Conclusions
Childhood maltreatment is positively associated with cyberbullying victimization. Moreover, increasing self-compassion and decreasing FoMO can mitigate the effect of childhood maltreatment on cyberbullying victimization.
... Individuals' use of social media in a way that disrupts their daily work will harm individuals physically, cognitively, and psychologically. This condition, which causes psychopathological symptoms in individuals, is defined as social media addiction (Fox and Moreland, 2015;Tutgun-Unal, 2015;Unlu, 2018). Studies show that social media addiction has many negative effects on children, young and advanced adults, and the elderly (Balci and Baloglu, 2018;Safak and Kahraman, 2019;Soner and Yilmaz, 2018). ...
In this study, we examined the mediating role of work-family life conflict in the effect of employees’ social media addiction on decisional procrastination. Gender, age, marital status, education, and the sector employed were used as control variables. The data were obtained using the social media addiction scale-adult form, work-family life conflict scale, decisional procrastination scale, and the personal information form in the online medium. We analyzed the responses of the 400 participants in the SPSS program and applied descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, mediation, and moderation analyses. As a result of the research, it was found that the increase in social media addiction has a positive effect on work-to-family conflict (WtoF) and family-to-work conflict (FtoW), and decisional procrastination. We concluded that WtoF and FtoW mediate the impact of social media addiction on decisional procrastination. Also, those living with families have a moderation role in the impact of work-family conflict on decisional procrastination.
... A psychometrically validated scale to assess perceptions of affordances across communication channels including Facebook and non-SNS channels such as email, texting, and instant messaging has been developed in recent years as well (Fox & McEwan, 2017). Applying an affordance perspective can also reveal negative consequences of social media platforms, as reported in focus groups showing that affordances such as visibility and connectivity on Facebook can trigger emotions such as jealousy and anxiety due to constant social comparison (Fox & Moreland, 2015). Recent work in computational social science using data-driven agent simulations that models differences in available actions associated with the platforms Twitter, Reddit, and Github further demonstrates the importance of accounting for SNS affordances when investigating online user behavior (Murić et al., 2022). ...
Social media has been documented as widely used for initiating online sales of illicit drugs such as opioids. However, not much is known about how affordances of social networking sites (SNS) influence how dealers advertise their supplies. To explore this topic, social media posts across 5 online platforms (Google Groups, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr) were collected during 2020–2021. Biterm topic modeling (BTM) was used to identify signal posts specifically associated with the illegal online sale of opioids from drug selling social media accounts. Posts were analyzed by conducting a word count for drug names or slang terms associated with 5 categories: Opioids, Non-Opioid Prescription Controlled Drugs (e.g., Xanax, Valium), Other Illicit Drugs (e.g., Meth, Cocaine), Synthetic Opioids (Fentanyl), and Synthetic Marijuana. Number of mentions per post were calculated for each drug category and compared across platforms. Identifiers (e.g., publicly available email address) associated with posts were used to track dealers across different user accounts. Platforms with affordances for longer messages (e.g., Tumblr) had higher concentrations of drug mentions per post and higher variety of drug type mentions compared to SNS platforms Instagram and Twitter. Google Groups had the most drug mentions per post across all 5 categories. Additionally, each identifier was associated with multiple user accounts on a given platform. These results indicate that affordances of anonymity and message length may influence how drug dealers advertise their services on different platforms. Public health implications and strategies to counteract drug dealers and illicit drug diversion via SNS are also discussed.
... Sosyal medyanın özellikle gençler ve aileler üzerindeki etkileri araştırma konusu olmaktadır ve akademik çalışmalar da hız kazanmaktadır (Taş, 2017, s. 33). Sosyal medya ağlarının bireylerin hayatını etkileme gücüne sahip olduğu, bedensel ve ruhsal sorunlara neden olabildiği, özellikle genç yaş gruplarında psikolojik işleyiş ve akademik başarıları olumsuz etkileyebildiğine dair çalışmalar dikkat çekmektedir (Baker & Algorta, 2016;Fox & Moreland, 2015;Brooks, 2015). Araştırmaların odaklandığı konular ve ortaya koydukları sonuçlar sosyal medya ölçeklendirme çalışmalarının önemini göstermektedir. ...
Dünya nüfusunun yarısından fazlasının mobil cihaz kullandığı
ve sosyal medya hesabı olduğu bir dönemde Türkiye, sosyal medya
kullanımında nüfus oranına göre en çok kullanıcıya sahip olan ülkeler
arasında olduğu yapılan araştırmalarla ortaya koyulmuştur (We Are
Social, 2021). Sosyal medyanın kullanım oranları arttıkça bireyler,
aileler ve toplumlar üzerindeki etkileri akademiyanın araştırma
konuları arasına girmiş birçok sosyal medya ölçeklendirme
çalışması yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmada Türkçe literatüre uyarlanan
sosyal medya ölçeklendirme çalışmaları incelenmiş, odaklandıkları
konular, sundukları bilimsel katkılar ve önermeler üzerinde
durulmuştur. Belli ve sınırlı bir konuda yayınlanmış araştırmaları
belirleyerek ve karşılaştırarak konu hakkındaki gelişmelerin ortaya
koyulduğu çalışma bu yönüyle bir derleme araştırmasıdır. Dergipark
üzerinde yayımlanmış araştırmalar arasından açık erişime sahip
19 çalışma çeşitli eleme süreçlerine tabi tutulmuş ve doğrudan
Türkçeye uyarlanan sosyal medya ölçekleriyle ilgili olan 10 çalışma
incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın sonuç bölümünde çıkarımlar yapılarak
Türkçeye uyarlanan sosyal medya ölçeklendirme çalışmalarının
önemli noktaları vurgulanmış ve gelecek çalışmalar için önerilerde
bulunulmuştur.
... The use of social media or social networks has increased substantially over the last decade [1]. Uses such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other applications have become the main media for maintaining and developing interpersonal relationships [2]. In addition, conditions during the pandemic have also become one of the triggers for the high use of social media to offer various options for sharing social information, posting and other needs [3]. ...
The purpose of this study is to understand the antecedents of consumer compulsive buying behavior. This study is carried out using the variable of hedonistic shopping experience, emotional shopping behavior, and heavy social networking to predict compulsive buying. This study is carried out using quantitative approach in 125 students of Widyatama University. The data is collected using survey method by distributing questionnaires through online platforms to the respondents. The data is then processed using regression method with SPSS 25 software. The results of this study indicate that hedonistic shopping experience, emotional shopping behavior, and heavy social networking has a positive and significant influence on consumer compulsive buying.
With Covid-19, social networks started to play an important role in people's lives and brought many changes. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of university students' social media addiction and depression levels on subjective well-being. A total of 539 university students, 375 women (69.6%), aged between 18-36 (M==21.2, SD=3.41) participated in the study. Depression, Anxiety and Stress
Scale (DASS-21), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) scales and Personal Information Form were used in the study. The data of the study were analyzed with SPSS22. Multiple regression analysis, independent t-test and ANOVA were used in the study. Analysis results show that women's depression, and subjective well-being levels differ significantly from men's. (p<.05). According to multiple regression analysis, students' social media addiction and depression levels were found to negatively and significantly predict subjective well-being. Results, it can be said that depression and social media addiction have devastating effects on students' well-being. The results of the research were discussed in the context of the relevant literature.
Prompted by the success of mobile games such as Pokémon Go, companies and governments have begun to 'crowdsource' their surveillance of public spaces. Data on, for example, traffic congestion or feelings of (in)safety in certain neighbourhoods is collected by many participants but processed by a single central organisation, such as a technology companies or the police. This is a cheap way of collecting data that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. However, this puts privacy in public spaces under severe pressure.
Gerard Jan Ritsema van Eck describes in his dissertation how difficult it is to defend yourself legally against such crowdsourced surveillance. First, the effects of this surveillance often relate to groups of people, such as neighbourhood residents, while privacy law only protects individuals. Secondly, the law does not easily deal with the question of who is actually responsible when things go wrong. Finally, the right to privacy is (necessarily) weaker in public spaces, because you will always encounter others there. But it is also exactly there where crowdsourced surveillance is strongest.
The dissertation analyses case studies with regard to, among other things, feelings of safety, the creation of interactive maps, and a game of the Dutch police to find stolen cars. These show that crowdsourced surveillance leads to increases in social control and risks such as discrimination.
Ritsema van Eck argues for the tightening of 'data protection impact assessments' and for privacy rights for groups to limit the pernicious effects of crowdsourced surveillance in public spaces.
Widespread use of the Internet means that online privacy, or how to protect one’s private information while engaging in online activity, has become a concern for many individuals. Research has investigated people’s online privacy experience, including online privacy attitudes, confidence, and behaviors. However, not much attention has been paid to how online privacy confidence could be misperceived and how educational tools can correct such overconfidence. Guided by the protection motivation theory, this research examines online privacy confidence and is composed of two studies: Study 1 reveals that online users misrepresent their online knowledge and may have overconfidence as a result. Inspired by this finding and previous research, Study 2 avoids self-reported measures of online knowledge and instead directly evaluates online privacy knowledge (using OPLIS) and its impact on online privacy confidence. Using a survey experiment, we find playing an online privacy educational game increases confidence overall and, importantly, corrects overconfidence. Despite this, we do not find any evidence that correction leads to increased information-seeking. The findings shed light on what online users themselves and organizations, such as universities, industry, and government agencies, can do to better educate individuals about online privacy while calling attention to the need for continued research regarding the underlying mechanisms and downstream behavioral consequences.
Internet users in Indonesia have increased to 73.7% or equal to 196.7 million users. FoMO is defined as someone's valuable experience, but that experience not everyone has. FoMO has a characteristic that wants to be continuously connected with other people's activities. The concepts of this research are Streaming Platforms, viewing habits, types of programs, FoMO, generation Z, dependency theory. The paradigm used is positivism. This study uses an explanatory quantitative approach. Determination of the sample is done by total sampling. This research was conducted to determine the causal relationship between variables, namely the independent variable, namely Streaming Platform Viewers, to the dependent variable, namely FoMO Experience. While the remaining 43% is influenced by other experiences. The results of the hypothesis test show that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. This means that there is a significant influence of Streaming Platform Viewers on the FoMO Experience. Abstrak. Pengguna internet di Indonesia mengalami peningkatan sampai 73.7 % atau sama dengan 196.7 juta pengguna. FoMO didefinisikan sebagai pengalaman berharga seseorang, namun pengalaman tersebut tidak semua orang memilikinya. FoMO memiliki ciri khas yang ingin terus menerus terhubung dengan kegiatan orang lain. Konsep dari pada penelitian ini adalah Platform Streaming, kebiasaan menonton, jenis program, FoMO, generasi Z, dependency Theory. Paradigma yang digunakan adalah positivisme, Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif eksplanatif. Penentuan sampel dilakukan dengan total sampling. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui hubungan sebab akibat antar variabel, yaitu variabel independen yaitu Penonton Platform Streaming terhadap variabel dependen yaitu Pengalaman FoMO. Sedangkan sisanya sekitar 43% dipengaruhi oleh pengalaman-pengalaman lainnya. Hasil uji hipotesis menunjukan bahwa Ho di tolak dan Ha diterima. Artinya terdapat pengaruh Penonton Platform Streaming terhadap Pengalaman FoMO secara Signifikan.
Bu çalışmada, covid 19 pandemisinde ebelik öğrencilerinin sosyal medyada gelişmeleri kaçırma korkusu ile yaşam kalitesi arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Tanımlayıcı ve korelasyonel türde olan araştırmanın örneklemini 08.02.2021-08.03.2021 tarihleri arasında bir kamu üniversitesinin Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Ebelik Bölümünde öğrenim gören ve araştırmaya katılmayı kabul eden 315 öğrenci oluşturmuştur (Katılım oranı: %96,92). Veriler araştırmacılar tarafından oluşturulan “Anket Formu”, “Gelişmeleri Kaçırma Korkusu Ölçeği” ve “Yaşam Kalitesi Ölçeği (YKÖ) Kısa Formu” kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde sayı, yüzde, ortalama ve standart sapma, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis H ve Spearman’s rho testleri kullanılmıştır. Ebelik öğrencilerinin GKKÖ toplam puan ortalaması 22,81±7,42 ve YKÖ’nin alan puanları incelendiğinde genel sağlık (6,26±1,40), psikolojik sağlık (19,57±3,66) ve sosyal ilişkiler (9,74±2.50) alt boyutlarından alınan puanlar düşük bulunmuştur. Öğrencilerin gelişmeleri kaçırma korkusu ile genel sağlık (r:-,118 p: ,036), psikolojik sağlık (r:-,179 p: ,001) ve çevre (r:-,143 p: ,011) alan toplam puanı arasında negatif yönde çok zayıf ilişki saptanmıştır. Aralarında negatif yönde çok zayıf ilişki saptanan gelişmeleri kaçırma korkusu ile yaşam kalitesinin önemli parametleri olan genel sağlık, sosyal ilişkiler ve psikolojik sağlığın öğrencilerin akademik başarılarına etki edeceği unutulmamalıdır. Bu sonuçlar doğrultusunda özellikle pandemi sürecinde öğrencilere biyopsikososyal yaklaşımın yaşam kalitesini artırmada etkili olacağı düşünülmektedir.
With ever-growing Internet penetration and increasing numbers of social media applications, the apprehensions around problematic use of the Internet among young adults are rising. Among the determinants of problematic Internet use (PIU), parental attachment toward both fathers and mothers is considered significant. However, research in Pakistan, despite growing numbers of Internet users, is either insufficient or methodologically challenged. This study aims to address these gaps by using improved methodology to study PIU and parental attachment among young adults while also accounting for the impact of psychological distress due to COVID-19. Using a correlational quantitative research design, we recruited a total of 142 young adults (>18 years) residing in Pakistan, with no previous psychiatric history, who were asked to complete the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale-2, Experiences in Closed Relationships-Relationships Structures scale, and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-10 (K10). Results showed that psychological distress had a significant positive association with PIU and paternal attachment had a significant positive association with PIU. Regression analysis showed that only duration of Internet use and psychological distress were significant predictors in the model and that parental attachment was nonsignificant. Furthermore, securely attached individuals reported significantly less psychological distress than those with fearful-avoidant and dismissive attachment styles. Therefore, our results show that general parental attachments are associated with psychological distress and psychological distress is associated with PIU. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Many adolescents face pressure when it comes to securing social media attention in the form of views, comments and/or likes on their posted content. The purpose of this study was to examine how this pressure impacts adolescents’ current relationships with friends in addition to their mental health over time. Participants were Canadian adolescents (Time 1 n = 345; Mage = 17.29; 80.6% female) who reported on their felt pressure to gain social media attention, friendship closeness and internalizing symptoms in 3 surveys approximately 4 months apart (from August 2020 to June 2021). We used latent curve modeling with structured residuals (LCM-SR) to model the lagged relations between the aforementioned variables, while also controlling for time spent on social media and number of likes received. LCM-SR builds on multivariate latent curve modeling and autoregressive latent trajectory and allows for the simultaneous testing of between- and within-person stability and change over time. In line with our first hypothesis, results demonstrated that at time points when adolescents experienced more pressure to gain social media attention than usual, their friendship closeness decreased at the next time point. Social media pressure was not a significant predictor of internalizing symptoms, however. Results emphasize the importance of teasing apart within- and between-person effects when examining impacts of adolescent social media use. They also highlight the importance of targeting felt pressures to gain social media attention in order to support healthy adolescent relationships.
Gelişmeleri Kaçırma Korkusu (Fear of Missing Out-FoMO), sosyal ağlarda gelişen olayların, yazılan mesajların, arkadaşlar arası muhabbetlerin ve paylaşımların kaçırılması durumunda yaşanan korku ve panik durumu olarak ifade edilen bir olgudur. FoMO, sosyal ağ kullanıcıları ve genç nesil arasında yaygınlaşmaktadır. Pandemi öncesinde FoMO'nun gençler arasında yaygınlaştığı bilinmektedir. Fakat Covid-19 pandemisi nedeniyle özellikle gençler evde kapalı kaldıkları süreç içerisinde hayattaki eğitim, öğretim ve sosyalleşme gibi bazı gereksinimlerini internet ve sosyal medya üzerinden gidermek zorunda kalmıştır. Bu nedenle internet ve sosyal medya ile geçirilen zamanın artmış olması bu süreçte FoMO'nun daha yaygın hale gelebileceğini düşündürmektedir. Bu bağlamda çalışmanın amacı da Covid-19 pandemi süreci sonrasında üniversite öğrencileri arasında FoMO yaygınlığının çeşitli değişkenlere göre incelenmesidir. Çalışma grubunu, 2021-2022 eğitim-öğretim yılında Trakya Üniversitesi'nin farklı bölümlerinde öğrenim gören 591 üniversite öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmada ilişkisel tarama yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Analizler sonucunda elde edilen bulgular neticesinde üniversite öğrencilerinin FoMO düzeyinin ölçekten alınan ortalama puana göre orta seviyelerde olduğu söylenebilir. Cinsiyet açısından erkek öğrencilerin, kadın öğrencilere göre FoMO düzeyinin daha yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Gün içerisinde sosyal medyada sürekli çevrimiçi olan öğrencilerinde diğer öğrencilere göre FoMO düzeyi daha yüksektir. Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram ve TikTok uygulamalarını kullanan öğrencilerin FoMO düzeyleri ise bu uygulamaları kullanmayan öğrencilere göre daha yüksek olduğu görülmüştür. Son olarak, FoMO ile günlük mobil internet ile geçirilen süre ve günlük mobil sosyal medya uygulamaları için geçirilen süre arasında zayıf düzeyde pozitif yönde anlamlı ilişkiler olduğu görülmüştür. Bulgular sonucunda, üniversite öğrencilerinin anlık paylaşım yapılabildikleri ve gençler arasında popüler olan Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat ve Instagram gibi sosyal medya uygulamalarında daha çok zaman geçirdiği söylenebilir. Ayrıca bu platformlarda sürekli çevrimiçi olmaları ve uzun süreler geçirmelerinin FoMO riskini arttırdığı düşünülmektedir.
For teens today, the time they spend with digital technologies represents more than a 40-h work week. In light of the prominent role that technologies take in their lives, this chapter is a review of research on the role of digital technologies in shaping adolescents’ body image. Grounded in sociocultural and social comparison theories, we review evidence on social media, selfies, image retouching, fitspiration, and body-related online forums. We also highlight an important future direction in this research literature: the examination of how digital technologies shape and sustain positive body image. Also, in this review, we foreground the developmental considerations of the adolescent audience and the affordances of digital technologies, ultimately providing a conceptual map of the research by examining the intersections between developmental considerations and technological affordances.
Online political arguments have a reputation for being futile exchanges, partially because people often respond more punitively to those who do not share their views, a phenomenon called ingroup bias. We explore how ingroup bias affects political disagreements online, and how respect can mitigate its effects. Towards this goal, we conducted an experiment on Twitter systematically varying respectful versus neutral disagreement language across people who did and did not share views. We found that people who do not share views were most likely to reply to disagreements, and neutral disagreements generated more discussions than respectful disagreements. However, we also found that using respectful language increased respectful language received in return, and it reduced the effects of ingroup bias across conversations with people who do and do not share the same views. We conclude with recommendations to promote respectful language on social media and build shame resiliency online, such as designs that encourages thoughtful engagement and a peer support network that allows users to share shame experiences online.
Short video games saw explosive growth and due to their rich content and strong communication features have provided a new marketing platform for corporate commercial activities. However, few studies have examined how to implement a gamification strategy on short-form video platforms. Based on Expectation Violation Theory, this study explored the impacts of three aspects of users' gamification interaction expectation violations on negative use behavior. By collecting and analyzing two waves of data with 320 matched samples, this study revealed that reward expectation violation, achievement expectation violation, and competition expectation violation of users' gamified interactions could predict negative use behaviors. Psychological resistance and emotional exhaustion mediated the effects of gamification expectation violations on users' negative use behaviors. Further, moral licensing negatively moderated the influence of gamification expectation violations on psychological resistance, but the moderation effect of moral licensing between gamification expectation violations and emotional exhaustion was not significant.
The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between university students' social media addiction levels and Fomo. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 400 students studying at a state university between March and July 2022. Descriptive Characteristics Questionnaire, Social Media Addiction Scale and Fear of Missing Out on Social Media Scale were used to collect data. 76.8% of the university students participating in the study are between the ages of 18-21, 63.8% are women, 39% are studying in the health-related department, 58.7% are living with their families, 23% are using the internet daily. attachment time is more than 10 hours and 34.3% of them think that they are social media addicts. Students' Social Media Addiction Scale mean score was 50.40±14.18 (min.23; max. 96); The total mean score of the Fear of Missing Out in Social Environment Scale is 22.27±7.84 (min.10; max. 50). It has been determined that there is a positive and moderate relationship between the students' Social Media Addiction and the total scores obtained from the Fear of Missing Out on Social Media Scale and all its sub-dimensions (Tolerance and Virtual Communication). As a result, it has been determined that students with high social media addiction have a high fear of missing out on developments in social environments. The time spent on the Internet, the duration of use and the devices used affect social media addiction and Fomo level. The fear of missing out on developments in social environments differs between men and women.
The proliferation of social media platforms has provided researchers with ample opportunities to explore the implications of these platforms' positive and negative use. Focusing on the latter, the literature has highlighted the severe implications of the fear of missing out (FoMO) and its associations with negative aspects of social media use, such as the problematic use of social media, phubbing, and reduced well-being. Our study investigates the association between FoMO and social media fatigue, which is mediated by information and communication overload, online subjective well-being (OSWB), and compulsive social media use (compulsive use). The proposed model is grounded strongly in self-determination theory (SDT), the theory of compensatory Internet use (TCIU), and the limited-capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (LC4MP). We tested the model using two independent cross-sectional data sets collected from Instagram and Snapchat users. Our findings, which align with TCIU, suggest that FoMO is positively associated with information overload and compulsive use for both Instagram and Snapchat users. For Snapchat users, FoMO is also positively associated with communication overload and OSWB. The overuse aspect associated with TCIU is explained in the strong positive associations between FoMO and compulsive use among both Instagram and Snapchat users. In addition, OSWB, information overload, and compulsive use are positively associated with social media fatigue for users of both platforms. In contrast, communication overload significantly predicts social media fatigue for Snapchat users only.
Previous research has documented a relation between social media use and adolescent well-being. However, little is known about whether this connection is based on the reasons why adolescents use social media. Adolescent uses of social media, along with how such factors correlate with parent-reported mental health concerns and adolescent-reported self-perception, were assessed in 202 parent-adolescent dyads (with adolescents ranging in age from 14-17). Higher reported social media engagement (i.e., higher number of accounts, greater frequency of checking) were associated with parent-reported mental health concerns, as well as adolescent-reported loneliness, fear of missing out (FoMO), narcissism, and lower self-esteem. However, these relations were most applicable to using social media to cope with stress or to express emotions. These findings are further discussed in terms of ways in which social media use may be adaptive or maladaptive for youth.
Social networking (SN) technology has been presented to human beings as a means of communicating, collaborating, connecting, and cooperating to exchange knowledge, skills, news, chat, and to maintain contact with peers world-wide. This article examines SN awareness in the Asia-Pacific (AP) education sector (ES) with a specific focus on the advantages and disadvantages of SN; and investigated whether AP culture influences SN adoption by the ES. An online survey was distributed to 1014 AP students and a total of 826 students responded. Several new advantages of adoption emerged from the data analysis. SN enabled students to accomplish their study tasks more quickly; it allowed them to communicate and collaborate with peers world-wide; and it fostered sustainability. The disadvantages perceived by students include depression, loneliness, and distraction, lack of interest in pursuing traditional activities, and security and privacy concerns. Finally, culture does influence SN adoption by ES institutions in AP countries.
A noticable shift is underway in today’s multi-generational workforce. As younger employees propel digital workforce transformation and embrace technology adoption in the workplace, organisations need to show they are forward-thinking in their digital transformation strategies, and the emergent integration of social media in organisations is reshaping internal communication strategies, in a bid to improve corporate reputations and foster employee engagement. However, the impact of personal social media use on psychological and behavioural workplace outcomes is still debatebale with contrasting results in the literature identifying both positive and negative effects on workplace outcomes among organisational employees.
This study seeks to examine this debate through the lens of social capital theory and study personal social media use at work using distinct variables of social use, cognitive use, and hedonic use. A quantitative analysis of data from 419 organisational employees in Jordan using SEM-PLS reveals that personal social media use at work is a double-edged sword as its impact differs by usage types. First, the social use of personal social media at work reduces job burnout, turnover intention, presenteeism, and absenteeism; it also increases job involvement and organisational citizen behaviour. Second, the cognitive use of personal social media at work increases job involvement, organisational citizen behaviour, employee adaptability, and decreases presenteeism and absenteeism; it also increases job burnout and turnover intention. Finally, the hedonic use of personal social media at work carries only negative effects by increasing job burnout and turnover intention. This study contributes to managerial understanding by showing the impact of different types of personal social media usage and recommends that organisations not limit employee access to personal social media within work time, but rather focus on raising awareness of the negative effects of excessive usage on employee well-being and encourage low to moderate use of personal social media at work and other personal and work-related online interaction associated with positive workplace outcomes. It also clarifies the need for further research in regions such as the Middle East with distinct cultural and socio-economic contexts.
The immense popularity of social networks such as Facebook has led to concerns about their potentially addictive nature and the ways in which they may be negatively affecting users, especially adolescents. However, despite the fact that “Facebook addiction” and “social media addiction” have become common terms in the media and social dialogue, the empirical evidence at this time does not support the existence of such a psychological affliction for several reasons: (1) The majority of studies on social media addiction are correlational and use self-report questionnaires which are not suitable for diagnosis; (2) Most studies employ non-standardized measures, cut-off scores, and criteria, and (3) There is an absence of case studies, experimental studies, longitudinal studies, and clinical studies in the field. Social interaction is a fundamental human need which social networks facilitate. Therefore, their widespread appeal is understandable. However, although an addiction to social media might not exist, there are still various problems that have been associated with social media use, including lower self-esteem, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), bullying, anxiety, and depression, among others. In this chapter, we review the research on social media addiction, analyze how it fulfills the psychological criteria that define a true addiction, discuss the various problems associated with social media use outside of the addiction framework, and explore how these problems develop as well as look at potential treatments and prevention strategies for them.KeywordsSocial media sitesFacebookAddictionFOMO
AimsThis study aims to replicate Przybylski and Weinstein (Psychol Sci 28(2):204–215, 2017), using a large population cohort to examine the validity of the proposed Goldilocks Hypothesis, which states that moderate digital media engagement may be beneficial and that both high and low usage may have a negative relationship with mental wellbeing.Methods
Using the GUI98 cohort, we used separate weekday and weekend time-based categorical variables indicating time spent online, playing video games, watching TV/films as well as a frequency variable indicating multiscreening, and their associations with SDQ internalizing and externalizing symptoms using linear and quadratic regression parameters. We followed procedures for confounder adjustments outlined in Przybylski and Weinstein (Psychol Sci 28(2):204–215, 2017).ResultsAs hypothesized by the Goldilocks Hypothesis, time spent online watching TV/films at the weekend and multiscreening all had curvilinear relationships with internalizing and externalizing symptoms with significantly higher symptoms for no time as well as for higher exposures. internalizing and externalizing symptoms increased with time spent playing video games.Conclusions
This brief report supports the Goldilocks Hypothesis, that suggests that moderate use of digital technology is not intrinsically harmful and may instead be beneficial, even necessary in a world becoming ever more increasingly reliant on digital media (Przybylski and Weinstein in Psychol Sci 28(2):204–215, 2017).
Using a novel approach to consider the available literature and research, this book focused on the psychology of social media based on the assumption that the experience of being in a social media has an impact on both our identity and social relationships. In order to ‘be online’, an individual has to create an online presence – they have to share information about themselves online. This online self is presented in different ways, with diverse goals and aims in order to engage in different social media activities and to achieve desired outcomes. Whilst this may not be a real physical presence, that physicality is becoming increasingly replicated through photos, video, and ever-evolving ways of defining and describing the self online. Moreover, individuals are using both PC-based and mobile-based social media as well as increasingly making use of photo and video editing tools to carefully craft and manipulate their online self. This book therefore explored current debates in Cyberpsychology, drawing on the most up-to-date theories and research to explore four main aspects of the social media experience (communication, identity, presence and relationships). In doing so, it considered the interplay of different areas of psychological research with current technological and security insight into how individuals create, manipulate and maintain their online identity and relationships. The social media were therefore at the core of every chapter, with the common thread throughout being the very unique approach to considering diverse and varied online behaviours that may not have been thus far considered from this perspective. It covered a broad range of both positive and negative behaviours that have now become integrated into the daily lives of many westernised country’s Internet users, giving it an appeal to both scholarly and industry readers alike.
Social networking sites (SNSs) enrich many aspects of our relationships, yet they also have the potential for harm. Although considerable research has focused on the benefits of SNSs, there is a “dark side” to online social networks, particularly in romantic relationships. Distinctive affordances of SNSs (e.g., visibility and connectivity) enable new types of negative communication outcomes in romantic relationships as news about the couple is made visible to both partners’ networks, including friends, family, and ex-partners. Thus, SNSs can be a source of stress and relational turbulence for romantic partners from the early stages of dating to the post-breakup phase. When dating, users may sense disinterest based on a lack of SNS interaction or perceive competition among other network “friends” observed interacting on the romantic partner’s page. Once the romantic relationship becomes exclusive, partners may experience pressure from the partner or the network to establish the relationship as “Facebook official” and advertise it on his/her page. In the relationship, techno-incompatibility may be source of conflict as partners have different patterns of use (e.g., one partner is constantly on and the other rarely is). Partners may also maintain different perceptions of appropriateness and privacy for communication within and about the relationship on SNSs, leading to conflict about what is shared publicly on the site. Partner monitoring on SNSs (i.e., “Facebook stalking”), a common practice influenced by attachment style, can be deleterious during and after romantic relationships. SNSs also provide unique sources of distress in the process and wake of relationship dissolution.
Social networking sites can facilitate self-expression, but for some, that freedom is constrained. This study investigated factors that influence LGBT+ individuals' identity management and political expression on social media. We interviewed 52 participants aged 18 to 53 around the 2012 U.S. election. Using co-cultural theory, we investigated communicative practices employed by queer-identified individuals on Facebook. Participants whose LGBT+ identity was not known by the social network (i.e., those who were still in the closet) revealed a spiral of silence, wherein they were silenced by the perceived heteronormative majority. Participants whose identity was known (i.e., those who were out) revealed a spiral of silencing as they used the site's affordances to empower their vocal minority and silence the dominant group.
Abstract Due to their pervasiveness and unique affordances, social media play a distinct role in the development of modern romantic relationships. This study examines how a social networking site is used for information seeking about a potential or current romantic partner. In a survey, Facebook users (N=517) were presented with Facebook behaviors categorized as passive (e.g., reading a partner's profile), active (e.g., "friending" a common third party), or interactive (e.g., commenting on the partner's wall) uncertainty reduction strategies. Participants reported how normative they perceived these behaviors to be during four possible stages of relationship development (before meeting face-to-face, after meeting face-to-face, casual dating, and exclusive dating). Results indicated that as relationships progress, perceived norms for these behaviors change. Sex differences were also observed, as women perceived passive and interactive strategies as more normative than men during certain relationship stages.
Social networking sites (SNS) provide opportunities for mood management through selective exposure. This study tested the prediction that negative mood fosters self-enhancing social comparisons to SNS profiles. Participants were induced into positive or negative moods and then browsed manipulated profiles on an experimental SNS. Profiles varied in a 2x2 within-subjects design along two dimensions, ratings of career success and attractiveness, allowing for upward comparisons (high ratings) and downward comparisons (low ratings). Selective exposure was measured in seconds spent viewing profiles. Negative mood led to less exposure to upward comparisons and more to downward comparisons than positive mood. The comparison dimension did not influence selective exposure. Thus, in a negative mood, SNS users prefer self- enhancing social comparisons to manage their mood.
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This study examines the implications of social networking web sites (SNSs) within romantic relationships. Specifically, Knapp’s (1978) stage model of relationships is examined through a new lens wherein the role of SNSs, specifically Facebook, is explored in the escalation stages of romantic relationships (i.e., initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, and bonding). Furthermore, this study sought to discern the interpersonal and social implications of publicly declaring oneself as “In a Relationship” with another person on Facebook (i.e., going “Facebook official” or “FBO”). Ten mixed-sex focus groups were conducted. Analysis revealed that Facebook is one of the primary means of uncertainty reduction in the initial stages of relationship formation. College students consider FBO to be indicative of an increased level of commitment in relationships. Typically, relationship exclusivity precedes a discussion on becoming FBO, which occurs when the relationship is considered stable. Going FBO has implications for the public proclamation of one’s relationship status as described in Knapp’s model, and these results differ for men and women. Theoretical implications for the role of SNSs in romantic relationships are discussed.
This study examines the phenomenon of cyberbullying on Facebook and how it is related to school bullying among secondary school students in Singapore, aged 13–17. We also focus on generic use of Facebook and risky Facebook behaviors as the predictors of cyberbullying and victimization on Facebook. 1676 secondary students, from two secondary schools, participated in a pen and paper survey. The findings show that the intensity of Facebook use and engagement in risky Facebook behaviors were related to Facebook victimization and Facebook bullying, respectively. Moderately strong positive relationships between school bullying and Facebook bullying, as well as between school victimization and Facebook victimization, were also uncovered.
Over 500 million people interact daily with Facebook. Yet, whether Facebook use influences subjective well-being over time is unknown. We addressed this issue using experience-sampling, the most reliable method for measuring in-vivo behavior and psychological experience. We text-messaged people five times per day for two-weeks to examine how Facebook use influences the two components of subjective well-being: how people feel moment-to-moment and how satisfied they are with their lives. Our results indicate that Facebook use predicts negative shifts on both of these variables over time. The more people used Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the next time we text-messaged them; the more they used Facebook over two-weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time. Interacting with other people "directly" did not predict these negative outcomes. They were also not moderated by the size of people's Facebook networks, their perceived supportiveness, motivation for using Facebook, gender, loneliness, self-esteem, or depression. On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection. Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it.
Abstract Social networking sites serve as both a source of information and a source of tension between romantic partners. Previous studies have investigated the use of Facebook for monitoring former and current romantic partners, but why certain individuals engage in this behavior has not been fully explained. College students (N=328) participated in an online survey that examined two potential explanatory variables for interpersonal electronic surveillance (IES) of romantic partners: attachment style and relational uncertainty. Attachment style predicted both uncertainty and IES, with preoccupieds and fearfuls reporting the highest levels. Uncertainty did not predict IES, however. Future directions for research on romantic relationships and online surveillance are explored.
While computer-mediated communication use and research are proliferating rapidly, findings offer contrasting images regarding the interpersonal character of this technology. Research trends over the history of these media are reviewed with observations across trends suggested so as to provide integrative principles with which to apply media to different circumstances. First, the notion that the media reduce personal influences—their impersonal effects—is reviewed. Newer theories and research are noted explaining normative “interpersonal” uses of the media. From this vantage point, recognizing that impersonal communication is sometimes advantageous, strategies for the intentional depersonalization of media use are inferred, with implications for Group Decision Support Systems effects. Additionally, recognizing that media sometimes facilitate communication that surpasses normal interpersonal levels, a new perspective on “hyperpersonal” communication is introduced. Subprocesses are discussed pertaining to receivers, senders, channels, and feedback elements in computer-mediated communication that may enhance impressions and interpersonal relations.
Abstract Studies on the mental health implications of social media have generated mixed results. Drawing on a survey of college students (N=513), this research uses structural equation modeling to assess the relationship between Facebook interaction and psychological distress and two underlying mechanisms: communication overload and self-esteem. It is the first study, to our knowledge, that examines how communication overload mediates the mental health implications of social media. Frequent Facebook interaction is associated with greater distress directly and indirectly via a two-step pathway that increases communication overload and reduces self-esteem. The research sheds light on new directions for understanding psychological well-being in an increasingly mediated social world as users share, like, and comment more and more.
Social network sites, such as Facebook, have acquired an unprecedented following, yet it is unknown what makes them so attractive to users. Here we propose that these sites' popularity can be understood through the fulfillment of ego needs. We use self-affirmation theory to hypothesize why and when people spend time on their online profiles. Study 1 shows that Facebook profiles are self-affirming in the sense of satisfying users' need for self-worth and self-integrity. Study 2 shows that Facebook users gravitate toward their online profiles after receiving a blow to the ego, in an unconscious effort to repair their perceptions of self-worth. In addition to illuminating some of the psychological factors that underlie Facebook use, the results provide an important extension to self-affirmation theory by clarifying how self-affirmation operates in people's everyday environments.
A framework for analyzing computer-mediated communication is presented, based on Clark's theory of common ground. Four technologies are reviewed: Facebook, Wikipedia, Blacksburg Electronic Village, and World of Warcraft, to assess their “social affordances,” that is, how communication is supported and how the technologies provide facilities to promote social relationships, groups, and communities. The technology affordances are related to motivations for use and socio-psychological theories of group behaviour and social relationships. The review provides new insights into the nature of long-lasting conversations in social relationships, as well as how representations of individuals and social networks augment interaction.
Abstract Social networking sites are becoming a prevalent form of communication in the escalation of romantic relationships. An online survey (n=403) addressed emerging adults' experiences with Facebook and romantic relationships, particularly a unique affordance of Facebook: the ability to declare oneself as "In a Relationship" and actively link one's profile to a romantic partner's, commonly known as going Facebook official. Results identified common social perceptions of the meaning of this status (regarding commitment, intensity, and social response) and both interpersonal and social motives for posting it on Facebook. Additionally, sex differences were identified in perceptions of meaning, wherein women felt this status conveyed commitment and intensity moreso than men did. Implications of this discrepancy on heterosexual relationship satisfaction and the prevailing role of technology in romantic relationships are discussed.
Abstract Previous research has found that continuing offline contact with an ex-romantic partner following a breakup may disrupt emotional recovery. The present study examined whether continuing online contact with an ex-partner through remaining Facebook friends and/or engaging in surveillance of the ex-partner's Facebook page inhibited postbreakup adjustment and growth above and beyond offline contact. Analysis of the data provided by 464 participants revealed that Facebook surveillance was associated with greater current distress over the breakup, more negative feelings, sexual desire, and longing for the ex-partner, and lower personal growth. Participants who remained Facebook friends with the ex-partner, relative to those who did not remain Facebook friends, reported less negative feelings, sexual desire, and longing for the former partner, but lower personal growth. All of these results emerged after controlling for offline contact, personality traits, and characteristics of the former relationship and breakup that tend to predict postbreakup adjustment. Overall, these findings suggest that exposure to an ex-partner through Facebook may obstruct the process of healing and moving on from a past relationship.
This study examines if Facebook, one of the most popular social network sites among college students in the U.S., is related to attitudes and behaviors that enhance individuals' social capital. Using data from a random web survey of college students across Texas (n = 2,603), we find positive relationships between intensity of Facebook use and students' life satisfaction, social trust, civic engagement, and political participation. While these findings should ease the concerns of those who fear that Facebook has mostly negative effects on young adults, the positive and significant associations between Facebook variables and social capital were small, suggesting that online social networks are not the most effective solution for youth disengagement from civic duty and democracy.
Many new and important developmental issues are encountered during adolescence, which is also a time when Internet use becomes increasingly popular. Studies have shown that adolescents are using these online spaces to address developmental issues, especially needs for intimacy and connection to others. Online communication with its potential for interacting with unknown others, may put teens at increased risk. Two hundred and fifty-one high school students completed an in-person survey, and 126 of these completed an additional online questionnaire about how and why they use the Internet, their activities on social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, MySpace) and their reasons for participation, and how they perceive these online spaces to impact their friendships. To examine the extent of overlap between online and offline friends, participants were asked to list the names of their top interaction partners offline and online (Facebook and instant messaging). Results reveal that adolescents mainly use social networking sites to connect with others, in particular with people known from offline contexts. While adolescents report little monitoring by their parents, there was no evidence that teens are putting themselves at risk by interacting with unknown others. Instead, adolescents seem to use the Internet, especially social networking sites, to connect with known others. While the study found moderate overlap between teens' closest online and offline friends, the patterns suggest that adolescents use online contexts to strengthen offline relationships.
This study examines the relationship between use of Facebook, a popular online social network site, and the formation and maintenance of social capital. In addition to assessing bonding and bridging social capital, we explore a dimension of social capital that assesses one's ability to stay connected with members of a previously inhabited community, which we call maintained social capital. Regression analyses conducted on results from a survey of undergraduate students (N=286) suggest a strong association between use of Facebook and the three types of social capital, with the strongest relationship being to bridging social capital. In addition, Facebook usage was found to interact with measures of psychological well-being, suggesting that it might provide greater benefits for users experiencing low self-esteem and low life satisfaction.
On social network sites (SNS), information about one's romantic partner is readily available and public for friends. The paper focuses on the negative (SNS jealousy) and positive (SNS relationship happiness) consequences of SNS use for romantic relationships. We examined whether relationship satisfaction, trait jealousy, SNS use and need for popularity predicted these emotional consequences of SNS use and tested the moderating role of self-esteem. For low self-esteem individuals, need for popularity predicted jealousy and relationship happiness. For high-self-esteem individuals, SNS use for grooming was the main predictor. Low-self-esteem individuals try to compensate their low self-esteem by creating an idealized picture. Undesirable information threatens this picture, and especially individuals with a high need for popularity react with SNS jealousy.
Abstract Social network,sites,(SNSs) are increasingly attracting the attention of academic,and,industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach.,This special theme section of the,Journal,of Computer-Mediated,Communicationbrings ,together scholarship on these emergent phenomena.,In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition. We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments. After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles,in this special section and conclude with considerations for future,research.
Due to their prevalence and unique affordances, social networking sites such as Facebook have the potential to influence offline relationships. This study employed Baxter's (2011) refinement of relational dialectics theory to explore Facebook's role in emerging adults' romantic relationships. Data from ten focus groups revealed that Facebook contributes to and provides a forum for discursive struggles related to the integration-separation, expression-privacy, and stability-change dialectics. Romantic partners are able to connect with each other and integrate their social networks on Facebook, but some struggle to maintain privacy and independence. As such, SNSs can be a site of and trigger for romantic conflict. Participants' responses indicated that Facebook is interwoven with the experience of these dialectics due to its affordances, specifically the semi-public nature of relationship activities on Facebook and the shift in control over relational information from individuals to network members.
Social networking sites have demonstrated considerable utility to Internet users who wish to form or maintain interpersonal relationships online, but the qualities of these Internet platforms can also give rise to negative interactions between contacts. Perceptible relational problems, such as strain and changes to relational rules, originate from three commonly experienced transgressions on social networking sites: having a friend request declined or ignored, having a public message or identification tag deleted, and issues related to Top Friends applications. This investigation examines factors that contribute to the experience of relational problems following the three most common relational transgressions over social networking sites. The findings reveal that self-esteem, relational satisfaction, and publicness of the event, moderated by network esteem, affect the magnitude of the relational problems.
The current study examined the relationship between general perceived levels of stress, quality of life, social networking usage, and disclosing important life events on Facebook in order to better understand the complex relationship between online disclosure and individual well-being. An online survey was completed by adult Facebook users aged 18–70. Results indicate that the more time spent on and the more social network memberships, the higher stress and lower quality of life; Facebook-specific usage was unrelated to either well-being variable. Together, these findings suggest that the current increase in social media variety and usage may be detrimental to user well-being. Users who shared important, bad health news on Facebook had higher stress and lower quality of life than those who did not, with no significant differences for sharing good health news. The more that users did not share important news on Facebook for self-protection and friend unresponsiveness reasons, the greater their stress. The self-protection reason was also negatively related to quality of life. These inconsistent findings can likely be partially explained by the nature of the information that is shared. These findings are discussed in light of disclosure and relationship patterns on social networks.
Meaningful social interactions are positively associated with improvements in self-esteem, but this phenomenon has largely been unexplored in digital media despite the prevalence of new, text-based communication (e.g. Facebook, texting, email, etc.). To address this gap in the literature the frequency and quality, or meaningfulness, of communication was measured in mediated and non-mediated channels across a random sample of 3649 social interactions using Experience Sampling Methods. Results revealed that most communication took place face-to-face (62%), with less text-based (about 22%) and cell phone voice (14%) communication. Meaningful face-to-face and text-based communication were associated with changes in self-esteem according to a marginally significant and significant finding, respectively. Text-based communication was more important for self-esteem than face-to-face or phone communication, which is consistent with research on the magnifying effect of text-based communication on interpersonal processes. According to the Internet enhanced self-disclosure hypothesis, the psychological benefits of text-based communication stems from enhanced self-disclosure, which is also supported in the data. Additional work is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the positive relationship between meaningful text-based interactions and self-esteem, but findings point to the important role of digital communication for psychological health.
The present study reveals the results of a content analysis of the descriptive, textual communication, and photo content found in 208 college student Facebook profiles. An a priori coding scheme was developed for this investigation based on (1) news reports and stories on controversies surrounding online social network use, (2) research on social uses of the Internet, and (3) insights from the author, a longtime Facebook user. Results show that all categories of controversial content were more frequent than any of the prosocial content categories, suggesting that there is an overrepresentation of negative content on Facebook, even though many of the specific frequencies are low. In addition, the vast majority of students did not disclose personal contact information on their profiles, and males and females differed in the amount of personal contact information and controversial content disclosed. The study results document the nature of online social network content and point to possible effects of displaying and/or being exposed to controversial content online.
Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the study investigated high school students’ affordances for social media, their attitudes and beliefs about these new technologies, and related obstacles and issues. The affordance findings indicate that students depend on social media in their daily lives for leisure and social connections. Educational uses by teachers for classroom teaching and learning are sporadic, while uses by students on their own for learning purposes seem to be abundant but also incidental and informal. Quantitative results suggest that in general, students show positive attitudes and beliefs about social media use in education. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three components that explained a total of 65.4% of the variance: (a) benefits of social media use, (b) disadvantages of social media use, and (c) current social media use in education. Three issues emerged from the interview data: Conceptual understanding of social media for learning; close-minded, acquired uses versus open-minded, innate uses of social media; and changed concepts of learning. The study results suggest that for social media to be used as effective learning tools and to adjust students’ prior affordances with these tools, complicated efforts in designing, scaffolding, and interacting with students during the process are necessary.
This study considered being unfriended on Facebook as an expectancy violation that could vary in valence, importance, and expectedness according to a number of relationship and Facebook involvement characteristics. Facebook users who had been unfriended responded to a variety of quantitative scales via an online survey. Being unfriended constituted a moderately expected and negative, and moderately-to-highly important, expectancy violation. Whether ties with the unfriender were close versus weak best predicted valence and importance and the extent to which the unfriended individual used Facebook to connect with existing contacts best explained violation expectedness. Violation importance also predicted whether or not the unfriended individual contacted the former friend about being unfriended. Results supported Expectancy Violation Theory and extended knowledge about Facebook unfriending.
Recent research demonstrates that it is the quality rather than the frequency of social networking experiences that places individuals at risk for negative mental health outcomes. However, the mechanisms that account for this association have yet to be examined. Accordingly, this study examined whether the tendency to negatively compare oneself with others while using Facebook leads to increases in depressive symptoms, and whether this association is mediated by increases in rumination. A sample of 268 college-age young adults completed an initial online survey and a 3-week follow-up. Path analysis was used to test the hypothesized model, wherein negative social comparison on Facebook was predicted to be
associated with increases in rumination, which, in turn, was predicted to be associated with depressive symptoms. The model controlled for general social comparison to test the specific effect of social comparison on Facebook over and above the tendency to engage in social comparison in general. Results indicated that the hypothesized mediation effect was significant. In sum, in the context of social
networking, negatively comparing oneself with others may place individuals at risk for rumination and, in turn, depressive symptoms. Findings increase understanding of the mechanisms that link social networking use to negative mental health outcomes and suggest a continued emphasis on examining the specific processes that take place in the context of social networking that may be pathogenic.
Why and how people choose to use a particular computer-mediated communication (CMC) technology is a major concern. This study seeks to address the issues by applying the uses and gratifications theory, and attempts to explore the general and specific gratifications sought from the use of three CMC technologies. Three separate empirical surveys were conducted to investigate the gratifications sought from social networking sites, instant messaging, and e-mail. Then factor analysis was undertaken to extract the gratifications sought from each CMC technology. The extracted gratifications sought were then compared among the three technologies for concluding the general and specific gratifications. Four general gratifications were extracted among the three CMC technologies, including relationship maintenance, information seeking, amusement, and style. Two gratifications were specific: the sociability gratification sought from using instant messaging and social networking sites; and the gratification of kill time sought from using instant messaging. Moreover, the important levels of gratifications sought from the three CMC technologies were found to be different. Our findings provide evidence to explain why not all traditional CMC technologies are replaced by innovative and advanced ones. The results of this study may be applied to CMC technology design and provide implications for future research.
Millions of people use social networking sites (SNSs), but it is unclear how these sites shape personality traits and identity. In Experiment 1, college students were randomly assigned to either edit their MySpace page or complete a control task online (interacting with Google Maps). Those who focused on their MySpace page scored significantly higher on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) than a control group. In Experiment 2, those who focused on their Facebook page scored significantly higher in general self-esteem, but not narcissism, than a control group. Thus, spending time on SNSs profiles causes young people to endorse more positive self-views, although the specific form this takes depends on the site. Consistent with previous research, narcissism was associated with a larger number of SNSs “friends” in both experiments.
Abstract Relational maintenance is connected to high quality friendships. Friendship maintenance behaviors may occur online via social networking sites. This study utilized an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to examine how Facebook maintenance and surveillance affect friendship quality. Bryant and Marmo's (2012) Facebook maintenance scale was evaluated, revealing two factors: sharing and caring. Facebook surveillance was also measured. For friendship satisfaction and liking, significant positive actor and partner effects emerged for caring; significant negative actor, partner, and interaction effects emerged for sharing; and significant positive actor effects emerged for surveillance. For friendship closeness, significant positive actor effects emerged for caring and surveillance.
The use of social media technologies - such as blogs, wikis, social networking sites, social tagging, and microblogging - is proliferating at an incredible pace. One area of increasing adoption is organizational settings where managers hope that these new technologies will help improve important organizational processes. However, scholarship has largely failed to explain if and how uses of social media in organizations differ from existing forms of computer-mediated communication. In this chapter, we argue that social media are of important consequence to organizational communication processes because they afford behaviors that were difficult or impossible to achieve in combination before these new technologies entered the workplace. Our review of previous studies of social media use in organizations uncovered four relatively consistent affordances enabled by these new technologies: Visibility, persistence, editability, and association. We suggest that the activation of some combination of these affordances could influence many of the processes commonly studied by organizational communication theorists. To illustrate this point, we theorize several ways through which these four social media affordances may alter socialization, information sharing, and power processes in organizations.
This study investigated how people make sense of self-portrayals in social media that are inconsistent with impressions formed through other interpersonal interactions. The research focused on how inconsistent online information affects interpersonal impressions and how motivation to manage impressions influences the types of attributions that actors and observers make for the misleading online behavior. Results show that the relationship between observer and the target influences evaluations of online/offline inconsistencies: Subjects rated the inconsistencies of acquaintances as more intentionally misleading, more hypocritical, and less trustworthy relative to the inconsistencies of friends. In addition, the types of attributions people made for online behavior depended on the perspective of the person providing the explanation: People explained their own online behavior more favorably than the online behavior of both friends and acquaintances.
Abstract There is clear evidence that interpersonal social support impacts stress levels and, in turn, degree of physical illness and psychological well-being. This study examines whether mediated social networks serve the same palliative function. A survey of 401 undergraduate Facebook users revealed that, as predicted, number of Facebook friends associated with stronger perceptions of social support, which in turn associated with reduced stress, and in turn less physical illness and greater well-being. This effect was minimized when interpersonal network size was taken into consideration. However, for those who have experienced many objective life stressors, the number of Facebook friends emerged as the stronger predictor of perceived social support. The "more-friends-the-better" heuristic is proposed as the most likely explanation for these findings.
Attribution theory is concerned with the attempts of ordinary people to understand the causes and implications of the events they witness. It deals with the “naive psychology” of the “man in the street” as he interprets his own behaviors and the actions of others. For man—in the perspective of attribution theory—is an intuitive psychologist who seeks to explain behavior and draw inferences about actors and their environments. To better understand the perceptions and actions of this intuitive scientist, his methods must be explored. The sources of oversight, error, or bias in his assumptions and procedures may have serious consequences, both for the lay psychologist himself and for the society that he builds and perpetuates. These shortcomings, explored from the vantage point of contemporary attribution theory, are the focus of the chapter. The logical or rational schemata employed by intuitive psychologists and the sources of bias in their attempts at understanding, predicting, and controlling the events that unfold around them are considered. Attributional biases in the psychology of prediction, perseverance of social inferences and social theories, and the intuitive psychologist's illusions and insights are described.