Facebook profiles raise users self-esteem and

affect behavior
May 31, 2013
by Jenny Price

A Facebook profile is an ideal version of self, full of photos and posts curated for the eyes of
family, friends and acquaintances. A new study shows that this version of self can provide
beneficial psychological effects and influence behavior.
Catalina Toma, a UW-Madison assistant professor of communication arts, used the Implicit
Association Test to measure Facebook users' self-esteem after they spent time looking at their
profiles, the first time the social psychology research tool has been used to examine the effects of
Facebook. The test showed that after participants spent just five minutes examining their own
Facebook profiles, they experienced a significant boost in self-esteem.
The test measures how quickly participants associate positive or negative adjectives with words
such as me, my, I and myself.
"If you have high self-esteem, then you can very quickly associate words related to yourself with
positive evaluations but have a difficult time associating words related to yourself with negative
evaluations," Toma says. "But if you have low self-esteem, the opposite is true."
Toma opted to use the Implicit Association Test because it cannot be faked, unlike more
traditional self-reporting tools.
"Our culture places great value on having high self-esteem. For this reason, people typically
inflate their level of self-esteem in self-report questionnaires," she says. "The Implicit
Association Test removes this bias."
Additionally, Toma investigated whether exposure to one's own Facebook profile affects
behavior.
"We wanted to know if there are any additional psychological effects that stem from viewing
your own self-enhancing profile," says Toma, whose work will be published in the June issue of
Media Psychology. "Does engaging with your own Facebook profile affect behavior?"
The behavior examined in the study was performance in a serial subtraction task, assessing how
quickly and accurately participants could count down from a large number by intervals of seven.
Toma found that self-esteem boost that came from looking at their profiles ultimately diminished
participants' performance in the follow-up task by decreasing their motivation to perform well.
After people spent time on their own profile they attempted fewer answers during the allotted
time than people in a control group, but their error rate was not any worse. Toma says the results
are consistent with self-affirmation theory, which claims that people constantly try to manage
their feelings of self-worth.
"Performing well in a task can boost feelings of self-worth," Toma says. "However, if you
already feel good about yourself because you looked at your Facebook profile, there is no
psychological need to increase your self-worth by doing well in a laboratory task."
But Toma cautions against drawing broad conclusions about Facebook's impact on motivation
and performance based on this particular study, as it examines just one facet of Facebook use.
"This study shows that exposure to your own Facebook profile reduces motivation to perform
well in a simple, hypothetical task," she says. "It does not show that Facebook use negatively
affects college students' grades, for example. Future work is necessary to investigate the
psychological effects of other Facebook activities, such as examining others' profiles or reading
the newsfeed."














Study: Facebook helps your self-esteem

By Doug Gross, CNN
March 1, 2011 -- Updated 1719 GMT (0119 HKT) | Filed under: Social Media
(CNN) -- Feeling a little down on yourself? Just check Facebook.
A new study suggests that spending time with the online you -- the one with the hundreds of
friends, the witty status updates and all the unflattering photos untagged -- might help your self-
esteem.
Researchers at Cornell University, who conducted the study, say looking at Facebook, where we
all tend to put our best digital foot forward, appears to provide a quick ego boost.
"Unlike a mirror, which reminds us of who we really are and may have a negative effect on self-
esteem if that image does match with our ideal, Facebook can show a positive version of
ourselves," said associate professor Jeffrey Hancock. "We're not saying that it's a deceptive
version of self, but it's a positive one."
Hancock is the co-author of "Mirror, Mirror On My Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to
Facebook on Self-Esteem." The report was published February 24 in the peer-reviewed journal
"Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking."
In the study, 63 students were left alone in a university lab at a computer. The computers were
either turned off or showing the student's Facebook page. Some of the computers that were
turned off also had a mirror propped against the screen.
Those who were on Facebook were allowed to spend three minutes reviewing their page, then all
of the students were given a questionnaire to measure their self-esteem.
The students who were on Facebook gave more positive feedback about themselves than the
other two groups, according to the article. Those who had made a change to their profile gave
themselves the highest marks.
"For many people, there's an automatic assumption that the internet is bad," Hancock said. "This
is one of the first studies to show that there's a psychological benefit of Facebook."
Some, including some members of the psychology community, say that Facebook also can lead
to troublesome behavior. Some therapists say they've seen clients who display addictive behavior
toward the site.


Facebook Envy: How The Social Network
Affects Our Self-Esteem
By Andrea Shea February 20, 2013
Hannah Musgrove, 17, opts off Facebook for a variety of reasons. She even turned down an offer
from her parents to buy her an iPhone because she says she prefers her old-school flip phone.
(Andrea Shea/WBUR)
Facebook has been growing at an explosive clip since it launched in 2004, and the number of
users on the site topped 1 billion last year. Plenty of people have figured out how to use the vast
social network in productive, positive ways but for others it still feels like a challenging, new
frontier.
Some of us project and consume idealized images through Facebook, and researchers have
been trying to figure out how all this flawlessness affects us in the real world.
Some of the freshest data on Facebooks impact on us comes out of two German universities. At
the end of January, researchers released details from joint studies exploring how the mass
proliferation of so-called perfect lives on Facebook can cause rampant envy and distress.
Daily Show host Jon Stewart couldnt resist ribbing a report about it on NBC News, delivered
by Brian Williams:
Williams: A lot of items in the news today about our health and well being, including that
Facebook can full on bum you out.
Stewart: Whoa! Thank you, brah! Pray tell, what about Facebook puts at risk for the
bumming?
Williams: Researchers call it Facebook envy. Its the act of viewing all of your friends fabulous
vacations, lovely children, attractive friends and great social lives. The research showed it can
leave people feeling you guessed it lonely, frustrated and angry.
Stewart: Im not a doctor, but if you get upset because other people are happy, it seems your
problem might not be Facebook, but that youre an [expletive.]
Not A Laughing Matter
Sure, its easy to crack jokes about Facebook, but Belmont-based clinical psychologist Craig
Malkin takes findings like this seriously. The studies showed that one in three respondents felt
more dissatisfied with their own lives after spending time on the site. Viewing the number of
birthday greetings and likes were big culprits. Unprecedented access to other peoples photos
also triggered emotional pain and resentment.
This is something that keeps showing up in the research, Malkin explained. Some people out
there wind up negatively comparing themselves to whats portrayed on Facebook by their
friends.
We all know how the definition of the word friend has been challenged by social media. Our
circles have grown to include everyone from best buddies to co-workers, to kindergarten
classmates and friends of friends of friends, to strangers. Connecting with this vast online
community can upend our sense of self, according to Malkin. He says many 20-somethings are
telling him and his colleagues that they actually hate Facebook even though theyre on it a
lot.
Malkin grabs his laptop and launches his profile page. Hes an instructor at Harvard Medical
School and mainly uses Facebook as a platform for the books and articles hes written. Malkin
said the social networks negative impact on our identity and self-esteem is playing out in
therapy rooms everywhere.
After waiting for an interview to happen that didnt, Craig Malkin posted this illustration of a
penguin to show how he felt. He received 23 likes and six comments, which he said made him
feel pretty good. (Click to enlarge)
Were really just in the infancy when it comes to this research, but there are some themes that
are emerging, he said. And one of the clearest themes is when people go on to Facebook
theyre often crafting a persona theyre portraying themselves at their happiest. Theyre often
choosing events that feel best to them and theyre leaving out other things.
These picture-perfect images can be especially difficult for teenagers to grapple with because
theyre often hyper-conscious of measuring up to their peers. Its a tender and critical stage in
life a time for forming an understanding of who you are.
Seventeen-year-old Hannah Musgrove is a senior at Milton High School. She agreed to meet me
on Harvards campus, where Facebook was born. Right now shes taking a break from the site
mainly because its time consuming but she can relate to the research.
When you go on Facebook its kind of like youre going through everyones pictures, and you
get lost in it, Musgrove said. And youre looking at everyones life, like, Oh, that looks like so
much fun, oh theyre so cool, theyre so pretty, they have all these cool pictures. But really
theyve taken so much time just to make that image on their Facebook.
And Hannah admitted with a little laugh, It can make you feel bad I guess, or like, you know,
down about yourself.
Crafting An Image
It can be hard looking around Facebook, but its also stressful presenting an image of yourself,
Musgrove admitted. And not surprisingly, people go to lengths to perfect their profile.
You can literally airbrush your pictures online for free. I know, Ive done this, said 16-year-old
Chloe Miller, a sophomore at Newton South High School. You upload your picture and you can
take out all your little pimples and stuff to make it look like your skin is perfect, your hair is
perfect.
Miller and her real-world friend Paige Herer told me they log on to Facebook 10 to 20 times a
day, sometimes between classes. Each has about 1,000 Facebook friends and they say profile
pictures or pro pics, as theyre called by their peers are a huge deal. Some teens update
them obsessively, vying for likes on Facebook. Its a photo-driven numbers game, Miller and
Herer said, pointing to one Brookline High students pro pic that attracted more than 600 likes.
Posting pictures of high school parties is another preoccupation.
Newton South High School sophomores Chloe Miller and Paige Herer log on to Facebook 10 to
20 times a day. They say posting and liking profile pictures are a huge part of some teens
social media experience. (Andrea Shea/WBUR)
Theres definitely people that all of their pictures from parties look like theyre having such a
great time and you wish you were there, Herer explained. But then when you actually go to
one of those parties everyones just sitting around and not doing anything except for taking these
pictures.
Keeping up a type of facade by only posting pretty pictures and fun experiences can be tough,
Herer admitted, especially when things arent going so well.
It just makes you feel worse about whats going on, and it makes you feel bad that you feel like
you have to hide it from other people, she said.
Omitting Our Flaws
The self is, to some extent, a story we tell, Malkin explained. When people are choosing to
leave out the normal chinks in human armor, the normal vulnerabilities, how can they again not
feel like theres something wrong with that?
Malkin also said hes been observing a common sentiment in his private practice. People are
leery of saying that theyre struggling in some ways, and saying it openly. And not just on
Facebook, Malkin clarified, but even in their everyday relationships.
The psychologist said concealing the less desirable aspects of our lives over and over again
forecloses intimacy, meaning it can condition and prevent us from nurturing truly intimate
connections with others. But what about our relationship to ourselves?
Were always cultivating postures. Its an agreed upon human behavior that we all present ourselves,
and cover up and cultivate these images and personas. So now its broadened.
Steven Copper, clinical psychologist
It affects it deeply, Malkin answered, because part of the way we develop a strong sense of
self and identity is by being known and known by others appreciated. They see who we are,
and they value who we are, including our flaws.
Cultivating Postures Is Nothing New
But Steven Cooper, a clinical psychologist in Cambridge, says being selective as we design and
share our identity isnt anything new. Were constantly posturing in the real world, too.
When deciding what shirt were going to put on, or jacket, or dress, whether were going to
wear makeup, all these things, were always cultivating postures, Cooper said. Its an agreed
upon human behavior that we all present ourselves, and cover up and cultivate these images and
personas. So now its broadened.
And its broadcast to a much wider audience in ways that were unthinkable in the past. But even
with all of this curating, Cooper believes the truth about us has a knack for revealing itself in
life, and online.
Our thoughtfulness, our inhibitions, our expressiveness, our creativity, our humor, our sadness,
our aggression. Those elements of our personality are probably going to shine through, he said.
Malkin says he looks forward to future research on the different ways we disclose ourselves and
perceive others via social media, and how those experiences affect our sense of personal identity.
I think the mistake is just assuming that were just going to figure out how to use it in a way
that makes us feel good, Malkin said, because thats clearly not the case.
And of course there are as many ways to use Facebook as there are Facebook users. Theres a
growing body of research extolling the benefits we reap from social media. For now, though,
Malkin believes well have to learn as we go because there are very few sign-posts telling us
exactly how the largest social network ever will make us feel about ourselves.







Facebook May be Harmful to Self-Esteem
By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on February 3, 2012
As social networking explodes across the world, a new study suggests using Facebook may not
be a great idea for those with low self-esteem.
The finding is remarkable; in theory, Facebook should be great for people with low self-esteem.
The site allows unobtrusive sharing of information considered important for solidifying
friendships and making new friends.
However, researchers discovered people with low self-esteem are apt to flood their friends with
negative tidbits about their lives making themselves less likable.
We had this idea that Facebook could be a really fantastic place for people to strengthen their
relationships, says co-author Amanda Forest. Forest and her Waterloo University advisor,
Joanne Wood, are studying how self-esteem affects the kinds of emotions people express.
In one study, Forest and Wood asked students how they feel about Facebook. People with low
self-esteem were more likely to think that Facebook provided an opportunity to connect with
other people, and to perceive it as a safe place that reduces the risk of awkward social situations.
Then, the investigators reviewed what students actually wrote on Facebook. To do this they
asked the students for their last 10 status updates, sentences like, [Name] is lucky to have such
terrific friends and is looking forward to a great day tomorrow! and [Name] is upset b/c her
phone got stolen :@.
Researchers then rated each set of status updates for how positive or negative it was. For each set
of statements, a coder an undergraduate Facebook user rated how much they liked the
person who wrote them.
People with low self-esteem were more negative than people with high self-esteem and the
coders liked them less. The coders were strangers, but thats realistic, Forest says. In earlier
research, Wood and Forest found that nearly half of Facebook friends are actually strangers or
acquaintances, not close friends.
When people with low self-esteem posted positive remarks, they received more responses from
their real Facebook friends. People with high self-esteem, on the other hand, get more responses
when they post negative items, perhaps because these are rarer for them.
As with many issues in life, even posting comments on Facebook gets complicated. Although
people with low self-esteem may feel safe making personal disclosures on Facebook, the
comments are not endorsed in a manner to improve self-perception.
If youre talking to somebody in person and you say something, you might get some indication
that they dont like it, that theyre sick of hearing your negativity, Forest says.
But when people have a negative reaction to a post on Facebook, they seem to keep it to
themselves. On Facebook, you dont see most of the reactions.
The study is published in Psychological Science.