Posting,commenting, and tagging: Effects of sharing news stories on Facebook

Social networking sites such as Facebook provide new ways of sharing news stories that allow users to act as opinion leaders in their networks, encourage discussion, and potentially increase their involvement in current events. This study identifies the particular features of Facebook that facilitate the discussion of news and tests their effects on involvement and feelings of influence. Participants (N = 265) in a 3 (Broadcast level: news feed vs. wall post vs. direct message) × 3 (Elaboration: opinion vs. question vs. no comment) × 2 (Involving-friends: tag vs. no tag) between-subjects factorial experiment were randomly assigned to share a story from a news website on Facebook. Results show that user involvement in the news content depends on the social affordances of the site, particularly those that allow for audience customization and those that drive network feedback. Asking the network’s opinions and targeting specific friends led to greater involvement in the news content. Discussion through comments led to a greater sense of influence and greater involvement for those sharing the news story. These findings highlight the importance of encouraging individuals to act as sources of information in their networks to drive engagement in current events in the changing news landscape.     

The impact of daily stress on adolescents’ depressed mood: The role of social support seeking through Facebook

This study examined relationships among daily stress (i.e., school- and family-related stress), social support seeking through Facebook, perceived social support through Facebook, and depressed mood among adolescents (N = 910). Structural equation modeling showed that daily stress positively predicted adolescents’ seeking of social support through Facebook. In addition, when social support was sought on Facebook and subsequently perceived, social support seeking through Facebook decreased adolescents’ depressed mood. However, when social support was sought on Facebook, but not perceived, social support seeking through Facebook increased adolescents’ depressed mood. When comparing these relationships with similar relationships in a traditional social support context, results showed that the exacerbating impact of social support seeking on depressed mood exclusively transpires in a social networking site context. The discussion focuses on the understanding and explanation of these findings, and directions for future research.     

Who puts the best “face” forward on Facebook?: Positive self-presentation in online social networking and the role of self-consciousness,actual-to-total Friends ratio,and culture

The present research investigated how individual, interpersonal, and cultural variables influence positive self-presentation in online social networking. In particular, we examined the role of self-consciousness, actual-to-total Friends ratio, and culture in positive self-presentation on Facebook. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with college-age participants in the United States (n = 183) and South Korea (n = 137). Results showed that self-consciousness (public vs. private) and actual-to-total Friends ratio were not significantly associated with positive self-presentation on Facebook; however, culture showed a statistically significant association with positive self-presentation on Facebook, with the U.S. participants engaging in positive self-presentation on Facebook to a greater extent than the South Korean participants. More interestingly, culture significantly moderated the relationship between public self-consciousness and positive self-presentation as well as the relationship between actual-to-total Friends ratio and positive self-presentation. Specifically, positive self-presentation showed a significant positive association with public self-consciousness and a significant negative association with actual-to-total Friends ratio only among the South Korean participants and not among the U.S. participants. Theoretical and practical implications for understanding cross-cultural differences in self-presentation behaviors on social network sites were discussed.     

Facebook or Renren? A comparative study of social networking site use and social capital among Chinese international students in the United States

Social networking sites (SNSs) are important tools for college students to maintain and develop social capital. Yet, few studies on the social implications of using SNSs have focused on international students and their use of different social media platforms for social capital. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the implications of using host country and home country SNSs for social capital among Chinese international students in the United States. A survey of Chinese international students at a large public university (N = 210) reveals that both Facebook and Renren use are positively associated with bridging social capital but not with bonding social capital. Facebook use has a stronger relationship with bridging social capital than does Renren use. Yet, only Renren use has a significant and positive relationship with maintaining home country social capital. These results have practical implications for international students to develop different types of social capital through different social media platforms.     

Benefits of a Negative Post: Effects of Computer-Mediated Venting on Relationship Maintenance

Despite abundant literature on the benefits of using social networking sites to map user behavior patterns, limited research exists regarding the effects of negative expression via these sites. Responding to this need, the purpose of this study is to address gaps, in both the relationship maintenance and the catharsis theory literature, by examining the connections among Facebook use, disclosure of negative feelings on Facebook (venting), and relationship maintenance behaviors. A survey study with college students from a university located in southeast United States (N = 341) was conducted, and the results from logistic regression analyses indicate that Facebook usage and level of perceived stress are significant predictors for individual’s venting behaviors. Further, the results indicated that venting negative feelings on Facebook mediates the effect of an individual’s perceived stress on his/her online relationship maintenance behaviors.     

Machiavellianism,self-monitoring,self-promotion and relational aggression on Facebook

Machiavellianism is a personality trait characterized by cynicism, emotional detachment and a willingness to manipulate others. Research investigating the behavior of Machiavellian men and women has focused on its influence in offline relationships. The popularity of social networking sites suggests that it is also important to consider the interactions of Machiavellian men and women in this context as well. Men (N = 54) and women (N = 189) completed questionnaires assessing Machiavellianism, self-monitoring, self-promotion and relational aggression. Analyses revealed that women who were high in Machiavellianism engaged in more dishonest self-promotion and relational aggression towards a close friend on Facebook whilst males with high levels of Machiavellianism engaged in more self-promoting behavior. In addition, both men and women high in Machiavellianism engaged in more self-monitoring. The findings demonstrate the importance of considering the influence of personality on online behavior and associated gender differences.     

Well-being and problematic Facebook use

Social networking sites are getting more widespread online communication forms all over the world. Especially adolescents and emerging adults use these sites to make connection, and share something. Although, Facebook is one of the most popular sites, research is still in nascent phase on the excessive use of Facebook. Hence, it is fundamental to determine potential predictors of overuse of Facebook. The present study investigated the relationship between well-being and problematic Facebook use. Participants were 311 university students [179_(58%) female, 132_(42%) male, M_age = 20.86 years, SD = 1.61] who completed the questionnaire packet including the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale (Andreassen, Torsheim, Brunborg, & Pallesen, 2012), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), the Subjective Vitality Scale (Ryan & Frederick, 1997), the Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2010), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999). A stepwise regression analyses was used with four independent variables (life satisfaction, subjective vitality, flourishing, and subjective happiness) to explain variance in problematic Facebook use. The results showed that life satisfaction, subjective vitality, flourishing, and subjective happiness were significant negative predictors of problematic Facebook use. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.     

Teens’ concern for privacy when using social networking sites: An analysis of socialization agents and relationships with privacy-protecting behaviors

U.S. teens are spending substantial time on social networking sites (SNSs). Yet, only a few studies have documented teens’ privacy-protecting behaviors on SNSs. Using data of Facebook teen users and their parents in the U.S. from the Pew Internet’s Teens & Privacy Management Survey (N = 622), this study investigated the socialization agents of teens’ level of online privacy concern, and the relationship between teens’ level of online privacy concern and their privacy-protecting behaviors on SNSs. Based on path analysis results, this study identified parents and SNS use as the two significant socialization agents. In particular, this study revealed the role of parents’ privacy concern and the role of SNS use in motivating teens to increase online privacy concern, which, in turn, drives teens to adopt various privacy-setting strategies on SNSs and to set their Facebook profiles to private. Implications for policymakers and educators were discussed.     

Coping with information in social media: The effects of network structure and knowledge on perception of information value

The explosive growth of social media has intrigued many scholars to inquire into why people willingly share information with others. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to how people determine which information they share in the networked environment. In this study, a 2 (network density – dense vs. sparse) × 2 (knowledge – expert vs. novice) × 3 (information valence – negative vs. neutral vs. positive) online experiment was performed to examine how the three factors interact and cross over in shaping individuals’ perceptions of the value of information for themselves and for others in the network. Results show that individuals’ perceptions of information value are influenced not just by their level of knowledge, but also by how the network environment is structured. Implications for the findings are discussed.     

Cultural values and Facebook use among Palestinian youth in Israel

Culture is a set of values that influences attitudes and social behavior. Despite the role of culture in shaping attitudes and motivations, most of the extensive research literature on the determinants and patterns of social media use has focused on psychological and social factors. The purpose of this study is to fill this gap by investigating the role of cultural values in perceptions of privacy, trust and motivations for using Facebook among young Palestinians in Israel. We relied on Hall’s concept of high and low communication contexts and three of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions: collectivism, power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Data from a survey of Arab high school students (N = 567) established that variations in the adoption of cultural values are associated with the motivation for using Facebook through their effect on trust and on privacy concerns. We discuss the findings and their implications.     

Effects of captions and time-compressed video on learner performance and satisfaction

Digital video is becoming increasingly popular in higher education with faculty digitally recording and broadcasting lectures for students to learn-on-demand, such as iTunes University or YouTube. Students have discovered accelerated playback features in popular computer software and use it to reduce the amount of time watching video-enhanced instruction. In the current study, 147 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of six video treatments based on a 3 Video Speed (1.0 = Normal vs. 1.25 = Fast vs. 1.50 = Very Fast) × 2 Captions (Captions Present vs. Captions Absent) × 2 Trial (Trial 1 vs. Trial 2) design. Results show no significant difference on learner performance across treatments based on Video Speed. Captions were found to have a significant negative effect on learner performance. A significant difference was found on learner satisfaction in favor of a normal Video Speed. The findings suggest that learners might be able to accelerate Video Speeds up to 1.5 times the normal speed, but are generally less satisfied with the learning experience.     

Factors involved in associations between Facebook use and college adjustment: Social competence,perceived usefulness,and use patterns

Although previous research has investigated widespread use of social media, especially Facebook, by youth attending college, the conditions under which these media foster adjustment to college remain unclear. This study tested a model illuminating pathways linking social competence to college adjustment via students’ perceptions about the usefulness of Facebook and ways in which they used the medium. Self-report survey data from 321 college students (M age = 20.09; 58% female; 84% Caucasian) attending a major Midwestern university supported the proposed model, indicating that higher social competence could foster or impede college adjustment, depending upon how it was related to beliefs about the usefulness of different Facebook functions and how these perceptions, in turn, were associated with patterns of Facebook use. Findings underscore the importance of considering connections among personal attributes, perception of media effectiveness, and media behaviors in assessing the implications of social media for users’ psychosocial well-being.     

Facebook use and academic performance among college students: A mixed-methods study with a multi-ethnic sample

This paper uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the relation between online academic disclosure and academic performance. A multi-ethnic sample of college students (N = 261; male = 66; female = 195; M age ≈ 22 years) responded to open-ended questions about their Facebook use. Thematic analysis revealed that over 14% of the Facebook wall posts/status updates (N = 714) contained academic themes; positive states were more frequent than negative and neutral states and students with lower GPAs expressed negative states more often. A path analysis suggested that academic performance may determine college students’ Facebook use, rather than the reverse. Implications for student support services are discussed.     

Can synchronicity and visual modality enhance social presence in mobile messaging?

As companies move increasingly toward text-based computer-mediated communications (CMC) for providing customer service, they tend to lose out on the social presence of a live agent interacting in person or via the telephone. Given the importance of social presence for maintaining healthy customer relations, how can companies counter the relative lack of social presence in CMC? Increasing the synchronicity of communications is one solution, but it is not always possible to provide instant responses to customers. In such cases, can a richer modality (e.g., picture of the customer-service agent) make up for diminished synchronicity and thereby enhance social presence? We addressed these questions with a 3 [synchronicity: high (no delay in response time) vs. medium (1-h delay) vs. low (6-h delay)] × 3 [modality: text-only vs. text+picture vs. text+emoticon] ful factorial, between-subjects experiment in which participants (N = 108) interacted with a customer service agent in a mobile e-commerce context. Data reveal that participants in high synchronicity and text+emoticon conditions felt higher social presence and perceived the customer service agent more positively than those in other conditions. Social presence and task impression mediated the relationship between each independent variable and their evaluations of the customer service agent.     

Social network site use,mobile personal talk and social capital among teenagers

Social network sites (SNSs) and mobile phones are becoming increasingly important in teenagers’ lives. Using data collected from a nationally representative survey (N = 800), this study explores the variation of social capital by SNS adoption, different SNS activities, and mobile personal talk among teenagers. The results indicate that SNS adoption and mobile personal talk can not only enhance teenagers’ close ties with friends, but also jointly promote teenagers’ civic engagement. Among SNS users, mobile personal talk also increase teens’ network capital. Different SNS activities such as commenting on friend’s Facebook pictures and joining Facebook groups have different relationships with social capital, and such relationships are moderated by mobile personal talk.     

Knowledge sharing and social media: Altruism,perceived online attachment motivation,and perceived online relationship commitment

Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become extremely popular. Facebook, for example, has more than a billion registered users and thousands of millions of units of information are shared every day, including short phrases, articles, photos, and audio and video clips. However, only a tiny proportion of these sharing units trigger any type of knowledge exchange that is ultimately beneficial to the users. This study draws on the theory of belonging and the intrinsic motivation of altruism to explore the factors contributing to knowledge sharing behavior. Using a survey of 299 high school students applying for university after the release of the public examination results, we find that perceived online attachment motivation (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) and perceived online relationship commitment (β = 0.49, p < 0.001) have positive, direct, and significant effects on online knowledge sharing (R² 0.568). Moreover, when introduced into the model, altruism has a direct and significant effect on online knowledge sharing (β = 0.46, p < 0.001) and the total variance explained by the extended model increases to 64.9%. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Psychological predictors of addictive social networking sites use: The case of Serbia

The popularity of social networking sites (SNS) changed to a great extent not only media environment, but also everyday life activities of modern humans. Despite their obvious benefits in terms of communication, there is evidence of addictive tendencies in SNS use. The study examined psychological and socio-demographic predictors of these addictive tendencies in Serbian SNS users drawn from a representative sample (N = 2014), having in mind that Serbia has Facebook penetration rate over European average. Results indicate a low incidence of self-reported addictive tendencies, with some individual differences worth addressing. We developed and tested exhaustive model that included three sets of predictors (socio-demographic, psychological and exposure to traditional media), as well as restrictive models that systematically excluded group by group. Path analysis revealed that psychological traits were stronger predictors than socio-demographic ones: people with lower self-esteem, lower general self-efficacy and higher introversion were more likely to report addictive SNS use. Although our results in general support the so called “social compensation hypothesis”, it can be due to the focus on addictive tendencies instead of other indicators of SNS use.     

A diary study of the influence of Facebook use on narcissism among male college students

The present study explored the relationship between grandiose narcissism and Facebook use among college students. Participants completed a measure of grandiose narcissism and reported about their frequency and duration of Facebook use twice each day for four days. Consistent with previous work, narcissism was positively correlated with frequency of Facebook use. However, linear mixed model analyses revealed that Facebook use did not predict subsequent narcissism after controlling for previous level of narcissism. On the other hand, narcissism was a reliable predictor of subsequent Facebook use even after controlling for earlier Facebook use. These results converge with recent work in (a) observing a link between narcissism and Facebook use and (b) casting doubt on the popular notion that Facebook use leads to narcissism. Instead, the data suggest that narcissistic self-regard increases the frequency of Facebook use. Such findings are interpreted in light of the self-expressive opportunities that Facebook provides, and future research directions involving more recently developed social networking sites are proposed.     

“It’s Not Who You Know,but Who You Add:” An investigation into the differential impact of friend adding and self-disclosure on interpersonal perceptions on Facebook

This research seeks to understand how people perceive and respond to structural factors and different types of disclosure on Facebook when evaluating the profile of someone they have never met offline. Using a 2 × 3 × 2 between-subjects experimental design, this research explored the relationship between friend adding (add; no add), levels of self-disclosure (low, medium, high), and sex of the Facebook profile owner (male; female) on feelings of interpersonal liking, future behavioral intentions to interact, and homophily. Results indicated that friend adding and higher levels of self-disclosure led to greater feelings of interpersonal liking and homophily amongst both male and female participants. In addition, males tended to view other male profiles with moderate amounts of disclosure and female profiles with the highest amount of disclosure most favorably. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Effects of visual and linguistic anthropomorphic cues on social perception,self-awareness,and information disclosure in a health website

Acknowledging the lack of studies examining both visual and linguistic anthropomorphic cues and the underlying mechanisms of their effects, we investigated how the different modalities of anthropomorphic cues in a health website influenced information disclosure. In a 2 (visual cues: human vs. non-human image) × 2 (linguistic cues: conversational vs. impersonal language) × 2 (question type: less vs. more sensitive questions) between-subjects experiment (N = 254), participants registered with a mock-up health website. We assessed a behavioral outcome of not disclosing personal information and psychological outcomes of social perception and self-awareness as potential mediators. Results revealed distinctive effects of the two modalities of the anthropomorphic cues. Anthropomorphic images, on one hand, increased public and private self-awareness, and public self-awareness in turn led to less information disclosure. Anthropomorphic language, on the other hand, heightened social perception and promoted information disclosure, but social perception did not predict the disclosure. These results indicate unique underlying mechanisms of the effects of anthropomorphism: priming effect of visual cues, and communicative effects of linguistic cues.