Too Much of a Good Thing? The Relationship Between Number of Friends and Interpersonal Impressions on Facebook

A central feature of the online social networking system, Facebook, is the connection to and links among friends. The sum of the number of one's friends is a feature displayed on users' profiles as a vestige of the friend connections a user has accrued. In contrast to offline social networks, individuals in online network systems frequently accrue friends numbering several hundred. The uncertain meaning of friend status in these systems raises questions about whether and how sociometric popularity conveys attractiveness in non-traditional, non-linear ways. An experiment examined the relationship between the number of friends a Facebook profile featured and observers' ratings of attractiveness and extraversion. A curvilinear effect of sociometric popularity and social attractiveness emerged, as did a quartic relationship between friend count and perceived extraversion. These results suggest that an overabundance of friend connections raises doubts about Facebook users' popularity and desirability

The volume and source of cyberabuse influences victim blame and perceptions of attractiveness

Cyberabuse is an escalating problem in society, as opportunities for abuse to occur in online public domains increase. Such acts are often defined by the frequency of abuse, and in many cases multiple individuals play a part in the abuse. Although consequences of such acts are often severe, there is typically little public sympathy/support for victims. To better understand perceptions of victims of abusive online acts, we manipulated the Volume (low, high) and Source (same-source, multi-source) of abusive posts in artificially-manipulated Facebook timelines of four fictitious ‘victims’. One hundred and sixty-four participants [United Kingdom-based; aged 18–59] rated ‘victims’ on measures of direct victim blame (DVB) and perceived social-, physical- and task-attractiveness. Results revealed significant Volume × Source interactions on DVB and social-attractiveness ratings. Few abusive posts authored by a single source yielded higher DVB and lower social-attractiveness ratings. Strong correlations between attractiveness and DVB were observed. We propose that our results could be due to an observer desensitization effect, or that participants interpreted the posts as indicative of friendly ‘teasing’ or ‘banter’ within an established social relationship, helping to explain why victims of online abuse often receive little sympathy or support

Facebook Friendships between College/University Instructors and Students: Deciding Whether or Not to Allow Students as Friends, Communicating with Students, and the Individual Differences that Influence Instructors\u27 Impression Management on Facebook

This research examined Facebook friendships between college/university instructors and students. Based on the development of instructor-student dual relationships, this study described instructors’ Facebook use with students. This included explanations for allowing/not allowing students, communication with students, and ethical concerns. Rooted in the theories of impression management, self-monitoring and role conflict, plus the concept of ambient awareness, hypotheses predicted relationships between instructors’ individual differences and Facebook use: (1) self-monitoring would be positively related to role conflict; and (2) self-monitoring, (3) role conflict, and (4) ambient awareness would be positively related to instructors’ self-presentation, impression management behaviors, and privacy management. Emails were sent to faculty at 270 colleges/universities throughout the U.S. and 331 instructors completed the online survey. Of these, 56.2% allowed students as friends. Open-ended answers revealed that instructors allowed students as friends to communicate, to facilitate learning about each other, and because it was difficult to decline requests. Some instructors did not allow certain students (e.g., problematic students, undergraduates). They communicated by commenting on and liking posts on students’ pages, and had ethical concerns about negative consequences. Open-ended answers revealed that instructors did not allow students as friends to maintain the professional divide and avoid favoritism, which explained their ethical concerns. Hierarchical regression analyses tested the predicted relationships. Results revealed that self-monitoring approached significance as having a positive relationship with role conflict and a negative relationship with privacy management, but was not related to self-presentation or impression management behaviors. Role conflict was not related to impression management. Awareness of students was positively related to self-presentation and impression management behaviors, but unexpectedly, perception of students’ awareness of instructors was negatively related to privacy management. A partial correlation analysis tested high/low self-monitors separately and not only replicated the results, but also revealed that high self-monitors’ perception of students’ awareness was positively correlated with self-presentation and impression management behaviors. These findings indicate that ambient awareness is related to online communication and should be studied further. This is especially intriguing since the two types of ambient awareness related differently to the three types of impression management studied in this research

Propriety of Self-Disclosure on Facebook: An Examination of Its Impact on Credibility

This experimental study examined the effects of the propriety of computer-mediated teacher self-disclosure on perceptions of teacher credibility and how that relationship is moderated by ethnicity. Participants were assigned to one of four conditions: White Appropriate, Latina Appropriate, White Inappropriate, and Latina Inappropriate. Participants answered questions about the instructor\u27s perceived credibility. Results suggest that teachers who engaged in appropriate self-disclosure were rated higher on teacher credibility than those with inappropriate Facebook® profiles. There was no main effect for ethnicity. Implications for classroom pedagogy, technology use, and areas for future research are discussed

The Highest Form of Like: Snapchat, College Students and Hyperpersonal Communication

The purpose of this study explores how college students engaged with others on Snapchat and how that differed from other Social Networking Sites (SNS). Social Information Process (SIP) Theory was applied as a framework for understanding the effects of time-limited (disappearing) messages and extended conversations that can lead to “hyperpersonal” communication, a form of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) that surpasses the level of affection and emotion of Face to Face (FtF) interaction. In a series of focus groups, college students explained how they used Snapchat and other SNS and the effects it had on interpersonal communication. The participants described emotional interactions with others on Snapchat which they characterized as more authentic and in-the-moment than other SNS and that reflected hyperpersonal communication

Factors Affecting Users\u27 Dynamic Message Deleting Intention on Social Networks: An Empirical Study Based on Impression Management Theory

Social dynamics is a social networking service that allows users to input updates including letters, pictures, videos and share them with their social friends. Previous research mainly focus on the application of dynamic messages in the fields of communication science and economics. Based on impression management theory, this paper studies the influencing factors of users\u27 dynamic message deleting intention on social networks. The results show that impression management performance and social network fatigue significantly affect user\u27s intention to delete the dynamic messages. While message sender factors, such as self-monitoring, interpersonal interaction and image promotion; social platform factors such as information overload and social overload, indirectly influence the deleting intention through intermediary variables. This paper makes up for the lack of relevant empirical research, making users more social flexibility and effectiveness, thereby enhancing social validity, and have some practical implications for social networking services platforms

Social Media and Young Adult\u27s Well-Being

Social media has become an integral part of young adult’s lives today. It has moved well beyond simple entertainment, and now can have a profound effect on many areas of functioning. The current study examines various aspects of well-being to see if there is a connection between social media use and global well-being. The participants for this study were 217 undergraduate students from Fort Hays State University. Participants completed a survey designed to measure overall well-being and broad aspects of overall well-being that included the Public Health Surveillance Well-Being Scale (PHS-WB), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS), and the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). It was hypothesized that greater social media use would have a negative effect on one\u27s self report of well-being. Results did not indicate a significant relationship between social media use and the measure of overall well-being (PHS-WB) or the measure of relationship satisfaction (RAS). However, results did indicate that participants who used social media more had lower scores on the measure of self-esteem (RSES) and higher scores on the measure of social physique anxiety (SPAS). Further analysis also showed that the RSES, RAS, and SPAS had a significant relationship with the PHS-WB, implying that all three measure aspects of well-being. These results suggest that while social media use did not appear to have a significant relationship with overall well-being or relationship satisfaction, it did have a significant relationship with self-esteem and social physique anxiety. Results supported previous research that showed that social media has a complicated relationship with well-being, that can be influenced by a number of factors, including self-esteem. Results also supported research that showed that social media can have a negative effect on self-esteem and body satisfaction. However, these results were contradictory to research which showed that social media use can have a negative effect on relationship satisfaction

Look Who\u27s Searching Now: Impression Management and College Students Awareness About Employers Viewing Facebook Content

The research investigates the level of awareness of college students have about employers viewing their facebook content and impression management behavior. The study tested whether senior college students will have a higher awareness than freshman about their facebook content being looked at by future employers and that seniors will engage in more impression management. The study also tested whether level of awareness and level of impression management were related. A questionnaire was designed for the study and distributed to students at a private university. The study found no relation to year in college and levels of awareness or impression management. The study did find a relationship between levels of awareness and impression management

Reflected Appraisal through a 21st-Century Looking Glass

The concept of reflected appraisal—also known as reflected self-appraisal or the looking-glass self—refers to the processes by which people\u27s self-views are influenced by their perceptions of how others view them. Reflected appraisal is reflected in the metaphor that people use others as a mirror (i.e., looking glass) for judging themselves, and also in the sense that others\u27 judgments are reflected in self-judgments. The concept refers simultaneously to person A\u27s self-appraisal and person A\u27s appraisal of person B\u27s appraisal of person A. These appraisals exert reciprocal influence: Self-views affect judgments of others\u27 views, and judgments of others\u27 views affect self-views. In short, reflected appraisal can be viewed as a cycle of mutually influential judgments

Beyond Cyberpessimism and Cyberoptimism: The Dual Nature of Social Network Site Interaction.

This thesis applies methodological and micro-sociological insights derived from the pioneering social psychologist Georg Simmel (1858-1918) to the contemporary social media platform, Facebook. In opposition to previously-reported one-sided, polarized analyses (i.e. either/or, pessimistic or optimistic), this study suggests a more nuanced judgment: interaction viewed as social exchange reveals that individuality is often promoted though can occasionally be hindered; while most exchanges are ill-suited for sustaining interpersonal value, they ironically facilitate enhanced trust; and finally, the unique structure of site-based exchange generally facilitates rather than undercuts constructive conflict