Some people have claimed for a long time that using Facebook can have negative effects for a user. Some even go as far as to claim that Facebook use can lead to cancer. But do such claims have any scientific basis, or are flawed studies used to justify sensationalist newspaper headlines?
One such study which claims to link the service to a lowered self-esteem is that of Chou & Edge, published last year. They studied the impact of how the site shaped perceptions of their lives compared to others. They gave 425 undergraduates at a Utah state university a questionnaire to fill out, from which they got their data. The questionnaire asked the participants how much they agreed with defining statements (for example 'others have better lives than me'), how many hours they spent on Facebook and how many friends they had on the site. The researchers noticed that the participants who spent the most time on Facebook appeared to agree more with the negative defining statements and more positive perceptions of others. This appears to show that Facebook use could lead to distorted views of one's self and others, and a lowered self-esteem. They also found that those that had been using Facebook longer than other participants had a lower agreement score for 'life is fair' statements, further highlighting the apparent effect Facebook has on it's users.
However, whilst the research is interesting and thought provoking, it is indeed flawed. Whilst the research appears to show Facebook use and a distorted opinion of yourself and others, it is impossible to imply cause and effect from a correlation (which is what this study found). Perhaps lowered self-esteem causes higher Facebook use through a fear of socialising face-to-face? This is not explored by the research. Furthermore, other variables do not seem to have been taken into account which could affect the results of the study. For example, current living conditions could affect the results of the study. A high-stress job may cause distortions in perception, for example where others get promoted. The participant could assume that their life is worse due to not getting promoted, or other life factors that could cause lowered self-esteem and distortions in perception. Also, those using the service the longest would be those who were in Universities when Facebook went online in 2004. As the current economic downturn could be affecting the ability to get a graduate level, stable career, this could affect both perceptions of others (who have been lucky enough to succeed) and the amount of time spent on Facebook (due to boredom and lack of a job). These factors simply haven't been explored by the study, causing it to be flawed. It could be argued that the research also lacks content validity, as the effect of Facebook has not been clearly measured due to the lack of control or consideration of other factors affecting the results.
In conclusion, whilst the research presents an interesting point of debate (the impacts of social networking websites on the mental health of people), I believe that a lot of the headlines made due to studies like these are unjustified, due to flaws in the current research. Perhaps with better designed studies, we may be able to assess the impact of Facebook without newspaper sensationalism and flawed information.
References:
Daily Mail. (2009). How using Facebook could raise your risk of cancer. In Daily Mail. Febuary 2, 2012, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1149207/How-using-Facebook-raise-risk-cancer.html.
Hui-Tzu Grace Chou, Nicholas Edge,. (2011). “They Are Happier and Having Better Lives than I Am”: The Impact of Using Facebook on Perceptions of Others' Lives. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. -Not available-, ahead of print. doi:10.1089/cyber.2011.0324.
Good Day Josh! You have raised a very interesting point on the debate over if using Facebook would lead to negative consequences. The study (Chou & Edge, 2011) used questionnaire to investigate the possible connection between Self-Perceive vs View on others, and the Usage of Facebook. The aim of the study is very easy to be identified by participants, and it is possible that 'Screw You Effect' will happen. 'Screw You Effect' occurs when participants are aware of what the aim is trying to investigate, and want to wreck the study by giving extreme and untrue score.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, the study was carried out amongst undergraduates students from Utah. This only focus on a very specific group of population, of which the findings cannot be generalised to people in different life situation or with different culture influence. The study would be better if conducted on people with different cultures, and so it will be more valid to identify possible negative consequences on the Global Facebook users. Overall, this blog is awesome!
From personal experience, I must say that Facebook can become very addictive as I often find myself distracted whilst completing assignments or revising. Although this could affect my intellectual skills, I must say that it is arguable as to whether it is making me feel miserable. People use Facebook for a variety of different reasons such as keeping in contact with old friends or simply remembering past experiences through photographs however, a recent study from Boston University found that the two main reasons that people use Facebook are the need to belong and the need for self preservation (Eler 2012). Keeping in contact with friends and family is surely a way of helping people feel happier about themselves rather than resulting in them being miserable.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there are minimum age limits, it has been found that 1 an 5 children under the age of 13 have Facebook (BBC News 2011) Research involving 25, 000 children aged between 9 and 16 across Europe found that a 43% children aged 9-12 use Facebook and 88% of 13 to 16 year olds. This would surely mean that the majority of the population would be miserable if Facebook had this affect? A separate study, in contrast to this, found that Facebook enhances self esteem as it allows people to become self aware by viewing their own profile (Gonzales, Hancock 2010). This surely highlights that Facebook positively influences confidence as it helps with social skills and fulfils the basic needs of belonging and self preservation (Eler 2012). These explain the reasons for Facebook having over 800 million users as it helps people to feel a part of something, therefore reducing the chances of feeling upset or miserable.
References
BBC News (2011) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13129150
Eler (2012) http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/study_why_do_people_use_facebook.php
Gonzales, Hancock (2010) http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2009.0411
Whilst I agree that the lack of directionality in the correlation is a major flaw in this study, I would argue that the results have the potential for high external validity. Back et al (2010) conducted research investigated the extent to which people self-idealize on Facebook, that is how accurate their representaion of themselves is. He analysed the personalities of 236 Univeristy Students using the Big Five Personality Traits and self report surveys and compared them to the facebook profiles of the students. He found no evidence of self-idealization on facebook pages. Although this reserach can not be generalised beyond student populations I do believe it supports the use of Facebook sites as valid psychology measures, although as you say other variables must of course be explored in accordance.
ReplyDeleteA study by Ellison et al (2007) asked 286 undergraduate students to conduct a survey about Facebook. Their results showed a strong association between using Facebook and maintaining "Social Capital". They found people who used Facebook had a better psychological well-being than others and even reported that it helps benefit people who suffer from low self-esteem. Therefore, the findings suggest that Facebook is not effecting people's mood by making them miserable, rather that it is encouraging social behaviour.
ReplyDeleteEllison. N.B., Steinfield. C., & Lampe. C. (2007). The Benefits of Facebook “Friends:” Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143–1168. DOI: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x/full