Modeling educational usage of Facebook

The purpose of this study is to design a structural model explaining how users could utilize Facebook for educational purposes. In order to shed light on the educational usage of Facebook, in constructing the model, the relationship between users' Facebook adoption processes and their educational use of Facebook were included indirectly while the relationship between users' purposes in using Facebook and the educational usage of Facebook was included directly. In this study, data is collected from Facebook users with an online survey developed by the researchers. The study group consists of 606 Facebook users whose answers were examined by using a structural equation model. The analyses of the 11 observed and 3 latent variables provided by the model showed that 50% of educational usage of Facebook could be explained by user purposes along with the adoption processes of Facebook. It was also found that Facebook adoption processes could explain 86% of all user purposes. Finally, while Facebook adoption processes explained 45% of its educational usage, it could explain 50% of variance in educational usage of Facebook when the user purposes were added into the analyses.     

Self-disclosure and student satisfaction with Facebook

The purpose of the current study was to extend existing research examining the specific motives for creating and maintaining Facebook, and to connect these motives to users’ levels of self-disclosure and satisfaction with Facebook. Undergraduate students identified their reasons for using Facebook, privacy and self-disclosure settings, and satisfaction with Facebook’s ability to meet these motivational needs. Results indicated that the most common motives for using Facebook were relationship maintenance, passing time, and entertainment, although gender differences in motives for creating a Facebook page were observed. Males and females also differed in the overall level of self-disclosure as well as the type of information presented on their Facebook pages. Levels of self-disclosure, but not privacy levels, were associated with greater levels of satisfaction with Facebook to meet certain motivational goals.     

Cultivating Social Resources on Social Network Sites: Facebook Relationship Maintenance Behaviors and Their Role in Social Capital Processes

This study explores the relationship between perceived bridging social capital and specific Facebook‐enabled communication behaviors using survey data from a sample of U.S. adults (N=614). We explore the role of a specific set of Facebook behaviors that support relationship maintenance and assess the extent to which demographic variables, time on site, total and “actual” Facebook Friends, and this new measure (Facebook Relationship Maintenance Behaviors) predict bridging social capital. Drawing upon scholarship on social capital and relationship maintenance, we discuss the role of social grooming and attention‐signaling activities in shaping perceived access to resources in one's network as measured by bridging social capital.     

Control your Facebook: An analysis of online privacy literacy

For an effective and responsible communication on social network sites (SNSs) users must decide between withholding and disclosing personal information. For this so-called privacy regulation, users need to have the respective skills—in other words, they need to have online privacy literacy. In this study, we discuss factors that potentially contribute to and result from online privacy literacy. In an online questionnaire with 630 Facebook users, we found that people who spend more time on Facebook and who have changed their privacy settings more frequently reported to have more online privacy literacy. People with more online privacy literacy, in turn, felt more secure on Facebook and implemented more social privacy settings. A mediation analysis showed that time spend on Facebook and experience with privacy regulation did not per se increase safety and privacy behavior directly, stressing the importance of online privacy literacy as a mediator to a safe and privacy-enhancing online behavior. We conclude that Internet experience leads to more online privacy literacy, which fosters a more cautious privacy behavior on SNSs.     

Using Facebook out of habit

This article investigates the uses and gratifications of the popular social networking site Facebook. In the exploratory stage, 70 users generated phrases to describe the manner they used Facebook. Interestingly, some users not only described the uses, but also mentioned how they perceive these uses. These phrases were coded into 14 items and clustered into four factors. The principal component analysis that was conducted in the third stage of the study, which was addressed to 222 Facebook users, verified the validity of the four factors: Social Connection, Social Network Surfing, Wasting Time and Using Applications. Previous user studies on Facebook have examined the immediate social effects of this popular social networking site, but they have not regarded emerging uses of the platform, such as gaming and applications, which do have a social component as a feature and not as a core principle. The ‘Wasting Time’ factor and the growth of ‘Using Applications’ factor indicate that Facebook has already become an integral part of daily computing routine, alongside with the rest of the entertainment desktop and web applications.     

Does Facebook make you lonely?: A meta analysis

This meta-analysis explores the relationship between Facebook use and loneliness. Examination of the literature containing quantitative measurements of both Facebook use and loneliness, including close variations of the definition of loneliness, produced a sample of 18 research effects (N = 8798) for review. This study asks two main questions: (1) Does using Facebook increase or decrease loneliness?; and (2) What causes what?: Does Facebook make its users lonely (or less lonely), or do lonely people (or less lonely people) use Facebook? First, researchers observed a significant overall average effect in the positive relationship between Facebook use and loneliness. Researchers also point to measurements of Facebook use as well as measurements of loneliness (and its variations) as possible moderating features or sources of variability in the relationship. Testing the relationship between Facebook use and loneliness in the context of two causal models revealed that (a) the first model outlining a path from elements of loneliness to Facebook use was not an adequate explanation of the data; whereas, (b) testing the relationship for a path in the second model from elements of Facebook use to loneliness showed results consistent with the data.     

Correlates of Facebook usage patterns: The relationship between passive Facebook use,social anxiety symptoms,and brooding

Facebook (FB)¹ is a popular platform for interacting with others to establish or maintain relationships. Compared to other interpersonal exchanges, FB does not require in-person interactions. Therefore, FB may represent an important social sphere for individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD).² Examining the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and FB activity could inform future research on the benefits or consequences of FB use in SAD individuals. This study examined the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and different FB usage patterns. We also considered the role of brooding—a known risk factor for SAD. 75 nonclinical FB users completed questionnaires about psychological symptoms, FB usage, and brooding. Greater social anxiety symptoms were associated with spending more time on FB and passively using FB (i.e., viewing other’s profiles without interacting). Brooding mediated the relationship between passive FB use and social anxiety symptoms. An alternative model demonstrated that social anxiety symptoms mediated the association between passive FB use and brooding. This study was limited by its cross-sectional, self-report design. Future research should assess FB use with objective, real-time data and use experimental designs. Results have implications for the cognitive–behavioral model of SAD.     

The influence of personality on Facebook usage, wall postings, and regret

The Five Factor Model of personality has been used extensively in the management and psychology fields to predict attitudes and behaviors. Only recently have researchers begun to examine the role of psychological factors in influencing an individual’s use of technology platforms, such as Facebook. This study uses both a survey of Facebook users and actual Facebook data to uncover why some individuals are more involved in Facebook than others. 219 undergraduate students participated in a survey that assessed their personality and their reported usage of Facebook. Of these, 143 voluntarily befriended the investigator, which gave her access to their actual Facebook sites and objective data on their number of friends, photos, and wall postings. Results showed personality to explain significant amounts of variance over and above gender and Facebook experience in terms of actual number of Facebook friends, the nature of their wall postings and on their level of regret for inappropriate Facebook content.     

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.     

Meeting ex-partners on Facebook: users' anxiety and severity of depression

The purpose of the present study was to explore participants' subsequent emotions and behaviour when they re-encountered their ex-partners on Facebook. A survey of 202 Facebook users aged 16–65 years was conducted using a 79-question online survey to examine users' emotion and behaviour (state anxiety, trait anxiety, and severity of depression) when their ex-partners reappeared on social networking sites (SNS), they received an invitation from an ex-partner to be friends on SNS, and when they saw pictures of ex-partners with current girlfriends or boyfriends. The results indicated that for people who accepted former partners' invitation to be Facebook friends, trait anxiety was more pronounced than for those who did not. Moreover, people who accepted former partners' invitations to become Facebook friends were much more depressed than those who did not. In addition, it is found that gender generates significant differences in the severity of depression. It is worth noting that when people met former partners on Facebook, men were much more depressed than women. However, the way in which participants broke up with ex-partners did not significantly affect their state anxiety, trait anxiety, or the severity of depression. Finally, the participants' cognition of and importance placed on their former relationship resulted in significant differences in trait anxiety. The current study adds to the growing body of literature investigating relationships among SNS users, becoming friends with ex-partners on Facebook, emotions, and behaviour.     

Facebook User Research Using a Probability‐Based Sample and Behavioral Data

Research on Facebook users is often based on small convenience samples and on usage data collected through survey self‐reports. The current research contributes to Facebook user research, as it is based on a large, nationally representative, probability‐based, U.S. sample with Internet usage data collected from meters. Results revealed that 50% of sample members are recent Facebook users. However, within this group, there is wide variation in amount of usage between heavy, medium, and light users. Finally, based on a multivariate analysis, Facebook users are significantly more likely to be women, teens, whites, and adults with at least a high school diploma. These demographic patterns apply to heavy, medium, and light Facebook users.     

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.     

Striking a Balance: Effective Use of Facebook in an Academic Library

As one of the fastest growing social networking sites, Facebook presents librarians with a prime opportunity to engage academic library patrons. A survey of 136 users at Western Michigan University (WMU) measured the effectiveness of Facebook as a marketing, reference, and instruction tool. It also measured user comfort and satisfaction with a library's presence on Facebook. The majority of respondents found Facebook to be a useful and engaging medium to learn about library resources and services. The results of this study indicate that an effective library Facebook page must maintain a balance between providing pertinent and useful information and preserving patron privacy. In a second study also included in this article, data from a survey of 14 peer institutions of Western Michigan University positions WMU's local survey within the context of their peer's use of Facebook. The survey of peer institutions concludes that most libraries use Facebook for marketing and outreach purposes.     

College students and risk-taking behaviour on Twitter versus Facebook

The propensity of college students to post content that they know may be unacceptable to future employers or other authority figures has been well established. Yet research on this topic has tended to focus exclusively on Facebook, which is problematic for two reasons. First, many young social media users are shifting away from Facebook and towards Twitter and other services. Second, college students have changed their use of social media over time and may now be more cautious about what they post on Facebook. To address this issue, a survey-based field study was conducted to compare student comfort levels with authority figures viewing their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Specifically, undergraduate business students attending a large university in the midwest of the USA were surveyed about their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Findings indicate that college students are markedly less comfortable with authority figures viewing their Twitter accounts. Paradoxically, a great majority of the study respondents were found to have public Twitter accounts, while only a very small minority have public Facebook accounts. This finding suggests that students perceive less risk on Twitter versus Facebook or that they are writing to different imagined audiences on the two platforms. Implications include the need for further inquiry and an awareness of educators and human resources professionals about students’ current social media practices.     

Social comparison on Facebook: Its antecedents and psychological outcomes

Previous studies have investigated the role of social comparison on Facebook. The social comparison process occurring on Facebook and its impacts, however, has not been fully captured. Thus, the present study examined the associations among Facebook use, social comparison orientation on Facebook (SCOF), and psychological outcomes represented by perceived social support and mental health. Also, the role of self-esteem and impression management was explored as antecedents of SCOF. Using a sample of college students (N = 313), the study found a positive association between Facebook use and SCOF. Facebook use was positively associated with perceived social support, yet it was not significantly associated with mental health. The study also found a negative association between SCOF and mental health. However, there was no significant association between SCOF and perceived social support. Finally, both self-esteem and impression management were positively associated with SCOF. Theoretical implications were discussed.     

How do people compare themselves with others on social network sites?: The case of Facebook

The social comparison theory and its subsequent studies say that comparing with others can influence an individual in several ways (e.g., evaluation of oneself, influence on self-esteem/self-confidence, and efficient decision making) and people compare with others when they are confronted with information of others. With the popularity of social network sites, many people acquire or are exposed to information of others on social network sites, which implies that people are likely to frequently engage in social comparison behavior on social network sites. The present paper examines social comparison behavior on social network sites (especially on Facebook) using a college students sample. We find that an individual’s personality characteristics (i.e., social comparison orientation, self-esteem, self-uncertainty, and self-consciousness) influence the person’s social comparison frequency on Facebook. A positive relationship between Facebook use intensity and social comparison frequency on Facebook is found. In addition, we find a positive association between social comparison frequency on Facebook and the frequency of having a negative feeling from comparison. Other findings are also reported in the paper.     

Understanding civic engagement behaviour on Facebook from a social capital theory perspective

This paper applies the social capital theory to construct a model for investigating the factors that influence online civic engagement behaviour on Facebook. While there is promising evidence that people are making concerted efforts to adopt Facebook to address social issues, research on their civic behaviour from a social capital viewpoint in the social media context remains limited. This study introduces new insights into how Facebook is shaping the landscape of civic engagement by examining three dimensions of social capital – social interaction ties (structural), trust (relational), and shared languages and vision (cognitive). The study contends that these dimensions will influence individuals’ online civic engagement behaviour on Facebook. We also argue that social interaction ties can engender trust, and shared languages and vision among its members, and that shared languages and vision can increase trust among Facebook members. Empirical data collected from 1233 Facebook users provide support for the proposed model. The results help in identifying the motivation underlying the online civic engagement behaviour of individuals in a public virtual community. The implications for theory and practice and future research directions are discussed.     

The perspective of a revised TRAM on social capital building: The case of Facebook usage

The author explored the factors that affect user's acceptance of Facebook by analyzing data provided in a survey of Facebook users (n = 346) using hypotheses based on the Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model (TRAM). In addition, he investigated the role of a revised TRAM on social capital building.     

See you,see me: Teenagers’ self-disclosure and regret of posting on social network site

Self-disclosure is popular on social network site (SNS). However, teenagers’ self-disclosure behavior and their regret of posting, a negative emotional experience, have been seldom studied. Using data from a nationally representative survey, this study tries to investigate teenagers’ self-disclosure and regret of posting on SNS. We further examine how demographic variables, SNS use, different types of “friends”, trust, and privacy control behavior relate to self-disclosure and regret of posting. We find that though teenagers reveal moderately high level of personal information on SNS, they do not disclose all types of personal information equally. Results also show that male and older teens disclose more personal information. Frequent SNS use, large SNS network size, and having strangers in SNS friend list increase both self-disclosure and posting regret. Setting SNS profile private is related to lower level of self-disclosure. Implications for privacy design of SNS are discussed.     

Beyond Facebook: The generalization of social networking site measures

PurposePrevious research on social networking sites (SNSs) suggests several factors that contribute to SNS use. However, the factors were specific to a particular website. We wished to know if similar factors could predict the use of a new SNS in terms of usefulness and satisfaction with the goal of creating factors that would generalize across SNSs.ResultsParticipants reported their SNS Diet and performed five tasks using a new SNS. Then, participants reported which of the five tasks was most frustrating. Participants also reported if the usefulness of the SNS would affect their future use of the site. Participants with a high SNS Diet used SNSs once a day or more. The SNS Diet was predictive of a participant’s satisfaction rating and a participant’s perception of usefulness.ConclusionThe differences suggest that different groups of social networking users will respond differently based on their SNS Diet. This study finds support for both the Rational Actor Perspective and the Web Acceptance Model. We outline a new continuous measure of SNS use which generalizes across different social networks.