Who interacts on the Web?: The intersection of users' personality and social media use

https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1031&context=psychologypub

Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use

Why people use social networking sites: An empirical study integrating network externalities and motivation theory

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are virtual communities where users can create individual public profiles, interact with real-life friends, and meet other people based on shared interests. They are seen as a 'global consumer phenomenon' with an exponential rise in usage within the last few years. Anecdotal case study evidence suggests that 'addiction' to social networks on the Internet may be a potential mental health problem for some users. However, the contemporary scientific literature addressing the addictive qualities of social networks on the Internet is scarce. Therefore, this literature review is intended to provide empirical and conceptual insight into the emerging phenomenon of addiction to SNSs by: (1) outlining SNS usage patterns, (2) examining motivations for SNS usage, (3) examining personalities of SNS users, (4) examining negative consequences of SNS usage, (5) exploring potential SNS addiction, and (6) exploring SNS addiction specificity and comorbidity. The findings indicate that SNSs are predominantly used for social purposes, mostly related to the maintenance of established offline networks. Moreover, extraverts appear to use social networking sites for social enhancement, whereas introverts use it for social compensation, each of which appears to be related to greater usage, as does low conscientiousness and high narcissism. Negative correlates of SNS usage include the decrease in real life social community participation and academic achievement, as well as relationship problems, each of which may be indicative of potential addiction.

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Online Social Networking and Addiction—A Review of the Psychological Literature

With over 800 million active users, Facebook is changing the way hundreds of millions of people relate to one another and share information. A rapidly growing body of research has accompanied the meteoric rise of Facebook as social scientists assess the impact of Facebook on social life. In addition, researchers have recognized the utility of Facebook as a novel tool to observe behavior in a naturalistic setting, test hypotheses, and recruit participants. However, research on Facebook emanates from a wide variety of disciplines, with results being published in a broad range of journals and conference proceedings, making it difficult to keep track of various findings. And because Facebook is a relatively recent phenomenon, uncertainty still exists about the most effective ways to do Facebook research. To address these issues, the authors conducted a comprehensive literature search, identifying 412 relevant articles, which were sorted into 5 categories: descriptive analysis of users, motivations for using Facebook, identity presentation, the role of Facebook in social interactions, and privacy and information disclosure. The literature review serves as the foundation from which to assess current findings and offer recommendations to the field for future research on Facebook and online social networks more broadly.

/pdf/a-review-of-facebook-research-in-the-social-sciences-10rmgaqjbi.pdf

A Review of Facebook Research in the Social Sciences

Researchers have suggested that individual differences will help to determine which online communication tools appeal to and are used by different individuals. With respect to the domain of computer-mediated communication, shyness is a particular personality trait of interest, as forums provide opportunities for social interactions that shy individuals might otherwise avoid. The present study investigated the personality trait of shyness and its relation with certain features of an online communication tool (Facebook). We hypothesized that shyness would be significantly related to the quantity of time spent on Facebook, the number of contacts added to one's Facebook profile, and attitudes toward Facebook. Our findings supported that shyness was significantly positively correlated with the time spent on Facebook and having favorable attitudes toward the social networking site. Furthermore, shyness was significantly negatively correlated with the number of Facebook "Friends.'' Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research are addressed.

/pdf/the-influence-of-shyness-on-the-use-of-facebook-in-an-2xiua1brdq.pdf

The influence of shyness on the use of Facebook in an undergraduate sample.

The purpose of the following study was to explore certain affective and cognitive components and their relationships to gambling behavior in an undergraduate population. Specifically, the aim was to predict gambling severity using depression scores on the BDI-II, the dependency and self-criticism subscales on the DEQ, emotional awareness scores on the LEAS, cognitive flexibility scores from the STROOP, and a creativity subtests from the TTCT. Participants were 200 undergraduate students and 3.5–7.5% of individuals reported some level of problematic gambling behavior. Multiple regression analysis indicated that self-criticism and creative originality were significant predictors of gambling behavior, explaining 7.6% of the variance. Further analyses reveal a non-linear trend in the creative originality of those who gamble; only the at-risk gamblers were high in creativity whereas abstainers and problematic gamblers display similarly lower levels of creativity. Results are discussed in regards to Blaszczynski and Nower’s Addiction 97:487–499 (2002) subtypes of gambling vulnerability.

Affective and cognitive correlates of gambling behavior in university students.

The current paper introduces the notion of clinically relevant subtypes of emotion regulation behaviours. A new measure of emotion regulation, the Complexity of Emotional Regulation Scale (CERS), was established as psychometrically sound. It was positively correlated with a measure of emotional awareness (r=0.28, p<0.001) and negatively correlated with measures of self-criticism (r=0.28, p<0.001) and depression (r=0.35, p=0.025), among others. Participants were drawn from two samples: clients from a university counselling centre and a non-clinical student sample. Comparisons were conducted between non-clinical and clinical samples to determine the effects of depression and other symptoms of psychopathology on participant’s generation of strategies for emotion regulation. Participants in the clinical sample more often identified an intention to soothe but did not follow through as compared with the non-clinical group, F(1, 198)=4.662, p<0.04. Furthermore, individuals in the non-clinical sample were more likely to engage in specific, meaning-making strategies when compared with the clinical group, F(1, 198)=5.875, p<0.02. Implications from the current studies suggest the possible applicability of the CERS to clinical settings using an interview rather than questionnaire format. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message:  Emotion regulation should be thought of as being on a continuum of complexity, where strategies range from general (‘one size fits all’) action to specifi c( ‘personal and idiosyncratic’) meaning. The best emotion regulation strategy depends on a client’s presenting difficulty and level of distress.

Emily S. Orr

Papers

Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use

The influence of shyness on the use of Facebook in an undergraduate sample.

Affective and cognitive correlates of gambling behavior in university students.

Measuring Subtypes of Emotion Regulation: From Broad Behavioural Skills to Idiosyncratic Meaning-making

Trait and symptom differences between factions in online gaming: The vulnerable side of evil