1. Method
Measures
Results
• All analyses were conducted using SPSS. Researchers ran Pearson r correlations
between the average of participants’ responses to the Facebook-related
questionnaires and averages of the other measures.
• Social skills: Openness was negatively correlated with feeling tense when talking
with someone on Facebook, r(93)= -.268, p=.010, and getting nervous writing on
someone’s Facebook wall, r(93)= -.249, p=.016.
• Depressive Symptoms: Wanting to check Facebook when were sad had a positive
relationship with depressive symptoms, r(91)= .345, p= .001, lonely, r(92)= .241,
p=.020, and being stressed, r(93)= .261, p=.012.
• Self-Esteem: Reports of being concerned about how they appear to others on
Facebook had a negative relationship with positive feelings, r(93)= -.205, p=.049.
Reports of being worried about what people may say about them on Facebook
had a positive relationship with negative feelings, r(93)= .242, p=.020.
• Extraversion: Liking your Facebook profile and being proud of your Facebook
profile had a significant, positive relationship with extraversion, r(93)= .240,
p=.020. There was a positive, significant relationship between extraversion and
participants’ number of Facebook friends, r(87)= .300, p=.005. See Figure 1.
• Emotional Stability: Checking Facebook when stressed, r(93)= -.307, p=.003,
anxious, r(93)= -.318, p=.002, or sad, r(91)= -.369, p=.000, had a negative
relationship with emotional stability. Emotional stability also had a negative
relationship with being concerned about how someone might look on Facebook,
r(93)= -.280, p=.007, and being worried about not getting a reply, r(93)= -.252,
p=.015.
Awkward: Is Social Media Creating A Less Social You?
Grace Waldfogle, Julie LeVan, Kasey Jerioski, & Amber Kinney
Advisor: Dr. Victoria Kazmerski
Penn State Behrend College, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
Facebook has become one of the most widely used social media outlets
on the Internet, with millions of users logging in every day. There has
been much debate over the effects of excessive use of Facebook on a
user's well-being. Some believe that Facebook can be used as a positive
tool to stay connected with friends and family while others believe social
comparison can have a negative impact on a person’s life. To assess this,
a survey was administered to a sample of undergraduate college
students through a psychology subject pool. We found that an increase in
Facebook usage was correlated with an increase in impairment of social
skills and depressive symptoms. We also found that an increase in
Facebook usage was negatively correlated with self-esteem. These
results could lead to possible modifications of Facebook usage to lessen
the negative impacts of social media on younger generations. The
continuation of this research could investigate other social media outlets
such as Instagram or Twitter.
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Discussion
Our results support our first hypothesis, indicating that there is a
relationship between the increase in Facebook usage and the
impairment of social skills, specifically lower ratings of openness. This is
consistent with past research where Facebook usage anxiety was
positively related to social anxiety, which can result from a lack of
openness to new experiences (McCord et al., 2014). It was also found
that there is a correlation between high depression scores and
participants wanting to check their Facebook when they are sad, lonely,
or stressed. It could be that depressed individuals increase their
Facebook usage in order to find some connection with others to
decrease their negative feelings (Grieve, Indian, Witteveen, Tolan, &
Marrington, 2013).
Our second hypothesis was also confirmed, and our results showed that
high levels of Facebook usage had a negative relationship with positive
feelings and a positive relationship with negative feelings. The latter
finding may be present due to a yearning for social feedback, which
could act as a method to boosting self-esteem.
Our final hypothesis was supported, showing that an increase in
Facebook usage was related to greater extraversion and lower
emotional stability. Hart and colleagues (2015) explain this through
social support; those with high extraversion scores have more social
support, and those with low emotional stability make an effort to obtain
social support through Facebook.
Introduction
• Facebook allows people from around the world to connect with
others, interact with family and long-time friends, and create new
friendships.
• In March of 2015, over 936 million people logged onto their Facebook
accounts daily (Noyes, 2015).
Personality Traits
o Participants with higher levels of extraversion spent more time on
Facebook and participants with higher levels of attachment
anxiety were more sensitive and relied more heavily on social
feedback on Facebook (Hart, Nailling, Bizer, & Collins, 2015).
Social Skills – Social Anxiety
o Social competence was related to higher Facebook usage and
higher levels of social adjustment (satisfaction with life) (Yang &
Brown, 2015).
Self-Esteem - Self-Presentation
o Participants who were more emotionally invested in Facebook
were more concerned about how they looked (Rutledge, Gilmor, &
Gillen, 2013).
Depression and Social Support
o Daily stress predicted social support seeking on Facebook and
depressed moods; with social support, adolescents experienced a
decrease in depressed moods (Frison & Eggermont, 2015).
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Penn State Erie, The Behrend College for allowing us to have research
opportunities in our field of study. We would also like to thank Dr. Victoria Kazmerski for her
guidance and support throughout our research and for making this all possible.
Hypotheses
• Increased Facebook usage is related to higher levels of (1) impaired
social skills and (2) depressive symptoms.
• Increased Facebook usage is related to (3) lower levels of self-esteem.
• Increased Facebook usage is related to (4) higher levels of
extraversion and (5) lower levels of emotional stability.
Future Directions
• Study other social media sites such as Instagram.
o Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954)
• Analyze data using a regression to predict directions.
• Results can be applied to modify features of Facebook, such as adding
more social support avenues, to make an effort to lessen the negative
impacts on younger generations.
Current Study
This study was a follow-up on previous research to investigate whether
or not there was a relationship between the amount of Facebook usage,
social skills, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Previous research
has not investigated all of these variables simultaneously, and that is
what we aimed to do in this study.
Social Skills
Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire
(Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis, 1988)
“Going to parties or gatherings where you don’t know people
well in order to start up new relationships.”
Self-Esteem
Feelings of Self-Worth Measure
(Critcher & Dunning, 2013/2014)
“I currently feel bothered.”
Facebook-Social Interaction Anxiety Scale
(McCord et al., 2014)
“I get nervous when writing on someone’s Facebook wall.”
Body and Appearance Self-Conscious Emotions Scale
(Castonguay, Sabiston, Crocker, & Mack, 2013)
“I feel ashamed that I am a person who is unattractive.”
Depression
Patient Health Questionnaire-9
(Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 1999)
“Over the last two weeks, how often have you been bothered
by any of the following problems, such as feeling tired or
having little energy?”
Procedure
• Participants were randomly assigned to one of three
study designs using a Latin square design.
• All questionnaires were given through Qualtrics
research software.
• The study took approximately 30 minutes to
complete.
Usage
Facebook Usage and Experience Measure
(Oldmeadow, Quinn, & Kowert, 2012)
“The longer I am unable to check Facebook, the more I want to
check it.”
Social Media Demographics
“Approximately, how many hours do you spend on Facebook
per day?”
Personality
Big Five Personality Trait Short Questionnaire
(Morizot, 2014)
“I see myself as someone who can be distant and cold towards
others.”
Participants
• 93 participants (55 females, 38 men) (M Age 19.29
years) recruited from the Behrend Research
Participant Pool
• Consent was implied when agreeing to start the
survey. (IRB Number: STUDY00003414)
Figure 1. The relationship between number of Facebook friends
and average rating of extraversion.