Image and Video Disclosure of Substance Use on Social Media Websites

The present study examines young adults’ use of social media websites, such as MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube, to post public images and videos of themselves depicting alcohol consumption, inebriated behavior, or recreational marijuana use. A content analysis revealed that the majority of image and video representations of alcohol consumption depicted females in social gatherings while images and videos depicting marijuana use depicted solitary males. Videos typically were viewed frequently and gained positive ratings. Among a sample of college students, one-third of participants reported having posted a picture depicting substance use on a social networking site, with 97 percent aware that others engage in this phenomenon. Students’ perceptions of alcohol-related postings were generally positive or seen as a matter of individual choice while marijuana-related postings were generally viewed more negatively

Differenze di genere nell'uso dei media tradizionali e dei Social Network

Obiettivo di questa ricerca è evidenziare eventuali differenze, in relazione al genere, nell’uso dei media tradizionali e dei media digitali e le specifiche motivazioni all’uso dei Social Network (SN) e di Facebook (FB) in particolare. A tal scopo è stato somministrato online ad un campione di 189 studenti un questionario per rilevare a) tempi e frequenza di esposizione ai media tradizionali e ai SN; b) modalità di utilizzo di FB; c) motivazioni all’uso di FB. Allo scopo di fornire una visione integrata dei pattern di esposizione ai media tradizionali e ai SN, è stata utilizzata inizialmente una strategia di analisi che utilizza l’analisi dei cluster e l’analisi discriminante, individuando tre gruppi di soggetti: i connessi, i tradizionali e i ritirati. Dalle ulteriori analisi sono emerse significative differenze di genere: a) le donne leggono più spesso libri rispetto agli uomini e vedono più spesso la TV e passano in media più tempo sui social rispetto agli uomini; b) dichiarano di avere un numero maggiore di amici su FB e passano in media più tempo degli uomini su FB; c) ottengono punteggi più alti rispetto agli uomini nella curiosità e nel ricercare persone che non vedevo da tempo, mentre gli uomini ottengono punteggi più elevati in motivazioni come flirtare. Anche il nostro campione conferma, in linea con la letteratura, un utilizzo di FB da parte delle donne che comprende numerose attività, con un orientamento a mantenere e creare un più ampio numero di relazioni interpersonali.The objective of this research is to highlight potential gender differences in relation to the use of traditional and digital media, with a specific focus on the motivations behind the use of Social Networks (SN), in particular Facebook (FB). We administered an online survey to a sample of 189 students aimed at monitoring a) time and frequency of exposure to traditional media and SN; b) the use respondents make of FB; c) the reasons why they use FB. In order to provide an integrated view of the exposure pattern to the traditional media and to SN, we have adopted a cluster analysis and discriminant analysis, identifying three groups of users: the connected, the traditional and the detached. The subsequent analysis demonstrated significant gender differences: a) women read a higher number of books than men, they watch more TV and they spend more time on social media; b) women claim to have a greater number of friends on FB and spend on average more time than men on FB; c) women get higher scores than men on motivation like curiosity for browsing or to search for people who they have not seen for some time. In contrast, men get higher scores in motivations like flirting. Our results are in line with the findings of previous studies, showing how women use FB for a plethora of activities, with a higher orientation to maintain and create a larger number of interpersonal relationships

Exploring the Role of Identity Development in Social Networking Web Pages

This study investigates young adults’ social networking web pages for aspects related to identity development. The study is primarily based on the theory of identity development presented by Berzonsky (1997). Raters assessed selected web pages for characteristics associated with different styles of identity development. A principal component analysis was used to determine that there are three components that relate to identity development that are manifested in the web pages. It was established that there were three main components that described aspects of identity within the social networking pages. These components were determined to be a “Self Focused Type,” an “Inconsistent Type” and a “Withholding Type.” Though these components were statistically distinct, the items included in each component were not the items that were hypothesized to be correlated. Implications of the results are discussed

Clicking for friendship: social network sites and the medium of personhood

Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook depend on familiar social resources, including language, reading/writing and established semantic constructs such as personhood, privacy and friends. However, the use of computers, the Web 2.0 platform, and the latest networking software are revolutionising how “personhood” and “friendship” are produced by communication. We refer to the media theory of Niklas Luhmann to identify specific differences in how communication is organised and reproduced on networking sites. The electronic medium appears to be changing the way participants selectively construct and bind expectations of personhood and communicative ties to themselves and others. Using software available on the Web, users confront each other as digital bodies, as participants in communication, available for friendship within a new “ether of interactivity”

Identidad y estereotipos de género de los jóvenes españoles en la red social facebook

Las redes sociales online están cada día más presentes en nuestras vidas. Nos permiten interactuar con otras personas y configurar un perfil de presentación. Por ello, tienen un papel relevante en la formación de nuestra identidad. El objetivo del estudio es valorar si existen diferencias de género en la presentación online y offline de los jóvenes respecto a los estereotipos culturales y también en términos de personalidad. Participaron en la investigación 112 jóvenes universitarios españoles de 23 años de media de edad usuarios de la red social Facebook. A través de un cuestionario online, los participantes realizaron el test de personalidad TIPI y puntuaron adjetivos correspondientes a los estereotipos culturales según su perfil de presentación dentro de la red social Facebook y también fuera de ella. Los resultados no muestran un perfil estereotipado en hombres y mujeres ni dentro de la social online (Facebook) ni offline (fuera de Facebook). Concluimos que cada vez existe más igualdad entre hombres y mujeres, y se establece un perfil andrógino

New Media & Youth Identity. Issues and Research Pathways

Media have held a considerable and growing place in the social environment of industrial society in recent decades, transforming the perception that a people have of their place in the world and of their memberships and belonging, creating new paths for social relations, affecting lifestyles, socialization, and communication processes, and the construction of identity itself. The relationship between young people (especially teenagers and adolescents) and new media shows some peculiarities which are worth further reflection to understand the extent and outcomes of these social changes. This article aims to investigate the discourse on youth identity and new media in the social science literature, determining which are the key trends and exploring the more relevant research questions about this theme and the way these topics relate to one another. Titles and abstracts of articles published during the period 2004 \u2013 2013 were selected from the Scopus social sciences database and they were analysed using different content analysis techniques supported by the T-Lab software. The international literature on these topics presents a certain liveliness and heterogeneity in themes and its perspectives on theoretical and empirical research. Nevertheless, it has been possible to identify some key trends, focusing mainly on the idea of active identity construction by new media

Estereotipos de género 2.0: Auto-representaciones de adolescentes en Facebook

Chicas y chicos adolescentes hacen un uso diferente de las redes sociales online, y las chicas presentan un mayor riesgo de verse perjudicadas por un uso no adaptativo. El objetivo de este estudio era investigar en qué medida los adolescentes se presentan en términos de estereotipos de género en sus perfiles de Facebook. Los participantes, 623 usuarios de Facebook de ambos sexos, contestaron el Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) y el Personal Well-being Index (PWI). En la primera fase, respondieron sobre cómo ven a un adulto típico en términos de estereotipos de género. En la segunda fase, la mitad de ellos contestó el BSRI en relación a cómo se ven a sí mismos, y la otra mitad cómo se presentan en Facebook. Los resultados muestran que los adolescentes se consideran más sexualmente indiferenciados que un adulto típico de su mismo sexo, tanto en su auto-percepción como en su presentación en Facebook. Se confirma que el bienestar psicológico de las chicas baja considerablemente con la edad, y que está asociado a un mayor grado de masculinidad. Se concluye que los adolescentes producen representaciones verdaderas en sus perfiles de Facebook, y que existe una tendencia hacia una auto-concepción y auto-presentación más sexualmente indiferenciada con una leve preferencia por rasgos masculinos, tanto en chicos como en chicas; además, la masculinidad está asociada a un mayor grado de bienestar psicológicoAdolescent girls and boys use online networking sites differently, and girls have a higher risk of being harmed by non-adaptive use. The aim of the study was to assess the extent to which adolescents portray themselves according to gender stereotypes on their Facebook profiles. Participants were 623 Facebook users of both sexes who responded to the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Well-being Index (PWI). In the first step, the adolescents responded to the BSRI with respect to how they view a typical adult in terms of gender stereotypes. In the second step, half of them responded to the BSRI with respect to how they view themselves and the other half responded with respect to their self-presentation on Facebook. The results show that adolescents consider themselves to be less sexually differentiated than a typical adult of their own sex, both in their self-perception and their self-portrayal on Facebook. The study confirms that the psychological well-being of girls decreases considerably with age and that it is associated with a greater degree of masculinity. We conclude that adolescents produce accurate self-representations on their Facebook profiles, and both boys and girls tend to offer a less sexually differentiated self-concept and self-portrayal than that of the typical adult, with a slight preference for masculine traits; moreover, masculinity is associated with a greater degree of psychological well-bein

Estereotipos de género 2.0 : auto-representaciones de adolescentes en Facebook

Chicas y chicos adolescentes hacen un uso diferente de las redes sociales online, y las chicas presentan un mayor riesgo de verse perjudicadas por un uso no adaptativo. El objetivo de este estudio era investigar hasta qué medida los adolescentes se presentan en términos de estereotipos de género en sus perfiles de Facebook. Los participantes, 623 usuarios de Facebook de ambos sexos contestaron el Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) y el Personal Well-being Index (PWI). En la primera fase, respondieron sobre cómo ven a un adulto típico en términos de estereotipos de género. En la segunda fase, la mitad de ellos contestó el BSRI en relación a cómo se ven a sí mismos, y la otra mitad cómo se presentan en Facebook. Los resultados muestran que los adolescentes se consideran más sexualmente indiferenciados que un adulto típico de su mismo sexo, tanto en su auto-percepción como en su presentación en Facebook. Se confirma que el bie-nestar psicológico de las chicas baja considerablemente con la edad, y que está asociado a un mayor grado de masculinidad. Se concluye que: los adolescentes producen representaciones verdaderas en sus perfiles de Facebook; y que existe una tendencia hacia una auto-concepción y auto-presentación más sexualmente indiferenciada con una leve preferencia por rasgos masculinos, tanto en chicos como en chicas; además, la masculinidad está asociada a un mayor grado de bienestar psicológicoAdolescent girls and boys use online networking sites differently, and girls have a higher risk of being harmed by non-adaptive use. The aim of the study was to assess the extent to which adolescents portray themselves according to gender stereotypes on their Facebook profiles. Participants were 623 Facebook users of both sexes who responded to the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and the Personal Well-being Index (PWI). In the first step, the adolescents responded to the BSRI with respect to how they view a typical adult in terms of gender stereotypes. In the second step, half of them responded to the BSRI with respect to how they view themselves and the other half responded with respect to their self-presentation on Facebook. The results show that adolescents consider themselves to be less sexually differentiated than a typical adult of their own sex, both in their self-perception and their self-portrayal on Facebook. The study confirms that the psychological well-being of girls decreases considerably with age and that it is associated with a greater degree of masculinity. We conclude that adolescents produce accurate self-representations on their Facebook profiles, and both boys and girls tend to offer a less sexually differentiated self-concept and self-portrayal than of the typical adult, with a slight preference for masculine traits; moreover, masculinity is associated with a greater degree of psychological well-bein

Segmentation of users of social networking websites

The typology of networked consumers in The Netherlands presented in this study, was based on an online survey and obtained using latent segmentation analysis. This approach is based on the frequency with which users perform different activities, their sociodemographic variables, social networking experience, and patterns of interaction. The findings present new insights for marketing strategists wishing to use the communication potential of online social networks and for marketers willing to explore the potential of online networking as a low-cost, efficient alternative to traditional networking approaches. The findings also present researchers of social behavior with interesting insights into the role of online social networks as a platform for social interaction and communicatio

Construcción de la identidad a través de las redes sociales online: una mirada desde el construccionismo social

En los últimos años, las Redes Sociales Online (RSO) han generado un gran interés dentro de la comunidad científica, estudiándose estos desde diferentes líneas de investigación. Un ámbito de estudio ha sido la forma en que los usuarios de estas redes (especialmente los más jóvenes) se presentan en ellas y hasta qué punto esta presentación contribuye a la construcción de posibles selves que pueden proyectar características de un self idealizado. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar estos estudios empíricos tomando como referencia el construccionismo social de Kenneth Gergen para así ofrecer una mayor comprensión de este fenómeno. También se integran aportaciones de otras teorías de la Psicología Social. Se concluye que las RSO representan un contexto más, en el cual los jóvenes pueden proyectar y experimentar con diferentes selves, pasando de una manipulación estratégica – primera etapa descrita por la teoría de Gergen – a un self relacional. Las variaciones descritas en los diferentes estudios en la identidad de los usuarios y en su presentación social se ven como un proceso natural, ya que presentar diferentes selves no implica una amenaza para el proceso de construcción identitario