Attachment style,social skills,and Facebook use amongst adults

Research suggests that online communication may benefit those high in social anxiety. The current study examined Facebook use from the perspective of adult attachment theory, exploring relationships between attachment anxiety and avoidance and Facebook use. Social skills have been found to be related to attachment style and internet use thus we also examined the role of these skills. A diverse sample of adult participants (N = 617; 50.1% female) completed a self report questionnaire measuring attachment dimensions, social skills, and Facebook use and experience. In line with predictions grounded in attachment theory, we found that individuals with high attachment anxiety used Facebook more frequently, were more likely to use it when feeling negative emotions and were more concerned about how others perceived them on Facebook. High attachment avoidance was related to less Facebook use, less openness and less positive attitudes towards Facebook. These relationships remained when social skills were controlled. These results suggest that Facebook may serve attachment functions and provide a basis for understanding how online communication may be related to attachment styles.     

Face-to-face or Facebook: Can social connectedness be derived online?

Previous research has identified the importance of social connectedness in facilitating a number of positive outcomes, however, investigation of connectedness in online contexts is relatively novel. This research aimed to investigate for the first time social connectedness derived from the use of Facebook. Study 1 investigated whether offline social connectedness and Facebook connectedness were separate constructs. Participants were Facebook users (N = 344) who completed measures of offline social connectedness and Facebook social connectedness. Factor analysis (Maximum Likelihood analysis with Oblimin rotation) revealed Facebook connectedness to be distinct from offline social connectedness. Study 2 examined the relationship between Facebook social connectedness and anxiety, depression, and subjective well-being in a second sample of Facebook users (N = 274) in a cross-sectional design. Results suggest that Facebook use may provide the opportunity to develop and maintain social connectedness in the online environment, and that Facebook connectedness is associated with lower depression and anxiety and greater satisfaction with life. Limitations and future directions are considered. It is concluded that Facebook may act as a separate social medium in which to develop and maintain relationships, providing an alternative social outlet associated with a range of positive psychological outcomes.     

Who does what on Facebook? Age,sex, and relationship status as predictors of Facebook use

Previous studies have focused on why people use Facebook and on the effects of “Facebooking” on well being. This study focused more on how people use Facebook. An international sample of 1,026 Facebook users (284 males, 735 females; mean age = 30.24) completed an online survey about their Facebook activity. Females, younger people, and those not currently in a committed relationship were the most active Facebook users, and there were many age-, sex-, and relationship-related main effects. Females spent more time on Facebook, had more Facebook friends, and were more likely to use profile pictures for impression management; women and older people engaged in more online family activity. Relationship status had an impact on the Facebook activity of males, but little effect on the activity of females. The results are interpreted within a framework generated by an evolutionary perspective and previous research on the psychology of gossip.     

A tale of two sites: Twitter vs. Facebook and the personality predictors of social media usage

Social networking sites (SNS) are quickly becoming one of the most popular tools for social interaction and information exchange. Previous research has shown a relationship between users’ personality and SNS use. Using a general population sample (N = 300), this study furthers such investigations by examining the personality correlates (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness-to-Experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Sociability and Need-for-Cognition) of social and informational use of the two largest SNS: Facebook and Twitter. Age and Gender were also examined. Results showed that personality was related to online socialising and information seeking/exchange, though not as influential as some previous research has suggested. In addition, a preference for Facebook or Twitter was associated with differences in personality. The results reveal differential relationships between personality and Facebook and Twitter usage.     

Students’ self-presentation on Facebook: An examination of personality and self-construal factors

The present research seeks to extend existing theory on self-disclosure to the online arena in higher educational institutions and contribute to the knowledge base and understanding about the use of a popular social networking site (SNS), Facebook, by college students. We conducted a non-experimental study to investigate how university students (N = 463) use Facebook, and examined the roles that personality and culture play in disclosure of information in online SNS-based environments. Results showed that individuals do disclose differently online vs. in-person, and that both culture and personality matter. Specifically, it was found that collectivistic individuals low on extraversion and interacting in an online environment disclosed the least honest and the most audience-relevant information, as compared to others. Exploratory analyses also indicate that students use sites such as Facebook primarily to maintain existing personal relationships and selectively used privacy settings to control their self-presentation on SNSs. The findings of this study offer insight into understanding college students’ self-disclosure on SNS, add to the literature on personality and self-disclosure, and shape future directions for research and practice on online self-presentation.     

Who wants to be “friend-rich”? Social compensatory friending on Facebook and the moderating role of public self-consciousness

The present research aims to provide insight into social compensatory friending on social network sites by investigating the effects of self-esteem and self-consciousness on number of friends in the context of Facebook use. It was hypothesized that Facebook users low in self-esteem, when compared with high-self-esteem individuals, would engage in friending more actively and thereby accumulate a large number of friends as a way to compensate for the deficiency in self-esteem. We also hypothesized that the relationship between self-esteem and number of Facebook friends would vary depending on the levels of public self-consciousness. Data were collected from a college student sample in the United States (N = 234) based on an online cross-sectional survey. The results supported the hypothesis on social compensatory friending, demonstrating a negative association between self-esteem and number of Facebook friends. Furthermore, the data yielded support for the hypothesized moderating role of public self-consciousness in social compensatory friending: the negative association between self-esteem and number of Facebook friends was significant only for Facebook users who are high in public self-consciousness but not for those who are low in public self-consciousness. Implications for understanding social network site users’ friending behavior in light of social compensation motives are discussed.     

Inequalities in Facebook use

While research has examined digital inequalities in general Internet use, little research has examined inequalities in social networking website use. This study extends previous research by examining how Facebook use is related to student background characteristics. Analyses were conducted to assess differences in time spent and activities performed on Facebook using a large sample (N = 2359) of college students. Results showed that women were more likely to use Facebook for communication, African Americans were less likely to use Facebook to check up on their friends, and students from lower socioeconomic levels were less likely to use Facebook for communication and sharing. Implications for education, communication, and student outcomes are presented.     

How lonely people use and perceive Facebook

This study examined the relationship between loneliness and various aspects of Facebook use including use activity, self-disclosure, attitudes, and satisfaction. Data were collected through an online survey among adult Facebook users (N = 536). Results revealed that loneliness was associated with a fewer number of Facebook friends and a less overlapping between Facebook and offline friends. Loneliness was inversely related to communicating activities but not significantly to presenting activities. Also, lonely people tended to engage in positive self-disclosure less but negative self-disclosure more. Although lonely people viewed Facebook as more useful for self-disclosure and social connection, their satisfaction of Facebook use was lower than their counterparts.     

Managing peer relationships online – Investigating the use of Facebook by juvenile delinquents and youths-at-risk

While extensive research has been conducted on young people’s peer interaction via online communication, the focus has been on mainstream youths, with marginalized youth communities being understudied. To help address this inadequacy, the current study conducted interviews with Singaporean male juvenile delinquents (n = 36) to understand the role of online communication in their peer interactions and the salient characteristics of such interactions. Our findings show that Facebook was the principal tool of online peer interaction. However, given the particular circumstances of juvenile delinquents, online social networking presents issues that may compromise efforts to rehabilitate them. These include extending the time and opportunities for unstructured and unsupervised peer socialization, peer endorsement of delinquent acts and the pressure of having to display group loyalty in the online space. Even after rehabilitation, youths who attempt to distance themselves from their delinquent peers are challenged by the persistence of their online social networks.     

Late adolescent identity definition and intimate disclosure on Facebook

During the last decade, online social networks such as Facebook™ (Facebook) grew rapidly in popularity and this was due in no small measure to use of these media by adolescents. For many teenagers and young adults, Facebook represents a social institution that can be used by adolescents not only for sharing basic information and for connecting with others, but also as a platform for exploring and divulging information about their identities. To examine issues related to questions about the formation and disclosure of identity-related information by late adolescents, this study investigates the relationship between disclosures of intimate information by late adolescents through Facebook and their stage of psychosocial development. To examine disclosure behaviors of young college students on Facebook, we conducted focus groups in conjunction with a content analysis of Facebook profiles. Findings point to an extended adolescence period resting on the identity construction dilemma posed by digital social networks.