Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

Online Social Networks as a Terror Management Mechanism: The Effect

of Death Anxiety on Facebook Use
Judith Partouche-Sebban
PSB Paris School of Business
59 rue Nationale 75013 Paris
jpartouche@esg.fr
ABSTRACT
Death is source of mystery, fascination and fear
and the deny of death is at the basis of the
human motivation [1]. Terror Management
Theory [2] suggests that death awareness and
the fundamental instinct of self-preservation
create a potential for anxiety that individuals try
to buffer by using different mechanisms oriented
toward meaning and self-esteem striving. While
existing research provides understanding on the
possible role of close relationships to fight
against anxiety [3], research on how specifically
online interactions may serve as a terror
mechanism is lacking. This research seeks to
examine the relationship between death anxiety
and online interactions, and especially Facebook
use. In this perspective, a quantitative study was
conducted among 181 French participants and
hypotheses were tested using Hayes method
[4]. Results show a positive relationship
between death anxiety and Facebook use, as
Facebook is a means to present a valuable selfimage and gain social recognition. Contributions
for social marketing in particular and limits of
the study are discussed.

KEY WORDS
Death anxiety, Terror management, Facebook
use, Online social networks, Existential anxiety

INTRODUCTION
According to Becker [1], the idea of death,
the fear of it, haunts the human animal like
nothing else. Death is indeed the inevitable
life event that people avoid to face directly,
as if they were motivated by an
unquestionable desire to stay alive. This
specific topic is mainly source of mystery,
fascination and fear and has long been
studied in psychology, especially thanks to
the work of Becker [1]. He highlighted the

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

way individuals face the idea of their own

death and how they use their time facing this
coming event. Specifically, Becker [1]
suggested that in our modern society the
deny of death is at the basis of the human
motivation. This idea gave birth to the
Terror Management Theory ([2], [5]) which
suggests that the juxtaposition of the human
death awareness and the fundamental
instinct of self-preservation creates a
potential for anxiety. To defend against this
potential death anxiety, people try to live
their life in a meaningful and valuable way
using different mechanisms. Here, we
specifically focus on how the use of online
social networks may serve as an anxietybuffering mechanism.
According to TMT, people manage the
potential anxiety by endorsing and
protecting their cultural worldview, which
also enables them to restore high levels of
self-esteem [6]. By providing understanding
for why people invest in such mechanisms,
TMT offers insight into a broad array of
human behaviors. To date, some recent
studies have sought to understand
specifically the effect of death reminders on
social behavior ([7], [8]) and on
consumption ([9], [10], [11], [12]).
Recently, some studies even suggest that
close relationships may help to regulate fear
of death ([13]). For example, Mikulincer and
Florian [3] showed that securely attached
persons responded to death reminders by
presenting a stronger need for intimacy with
a partner. While this research provides
understanding on the possible role of close
relationships in the regulation of death
anxiety, research on how specifically online
interactions and relationships may serve as a
terror mechanism is lacking. Our research
seeks to fill this gap by examining the

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relationship between death anxiety and

online interactions, and especially Facebook
use. Indeed, Facebook has become one of
the most famous and useful tool that helps to
create and maintain relationships in that
individuals use it to share personal
information, thoughts and pictures. We posit
that the use of Facebook may be perceived
as a means of buffering existential anxiety
by enhancing self-esteem and giving a
valuable role in ones social group.
In this perspective, our inquiry
contributes to the growing body of TMT
research by providing knowledge on the
antecedents of online interactions on social
networks and its contribution to the process
of coping with death concerns. By
examining the relationship between death
anxiety and Facebook use, we consider
online social commitment as a psychological
tool aimed at dealing with existential threats
and needs. In order to test our
conceptualization, a quantitative study was
conducted among 181 French participants.
The following sections present a brief
literature review with the research
hypotheses, the methodology, the results and
their discussion and the main contributions.

1. THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND
AND RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
1.1. TMT and the Perspective of
Death
The way individuals react to reminders of
death has been examined in several studies.
For example, Wong [14] suggests that when
facing death the individual is likely to invest
in two potential psychological tasks: a
protection from death anxiety by denying its
reality or a search for meaning in ones life
in a more positive way. TMT posits that
human being is the only animal that has the
ability to think symbolically about death,
generating the awareness of the fragility of
the existence. This consciousness associated
with a biological instinct for selfpreservation creates the potential for

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

existential anxiety. In order to manage this

terror, people invest in two main symbolic
psychological
defence
mechanisms:
maintaining faith in a cultural worldview
and enhancing self-esteem [7]. These
mechanisms help to bring a positive
perception of oneself and of the belonging
culture.
Cultural worldview mechanism provides
order, control and meaning in ones life and
provides also a set of standards of value and
the promise of death immortality [5]. The
second mechanism related to self-esteem
consists of efforts oriented toward
increasing self-esteem by living up to those
cultural standards of value [6]. Hence,
increasing self-esteem is likely to provide a
symbolic protection against the fear of death
[7] by enhancing meaning, value and
perceived invulnerability. Theorists have
shown that these effects appear to be
specific to thoughts of death in that other
anxiety-producing situations (such as
physical pain, worries about life) do not
produce the same defensive reactions [15].
Other conceptualizations of TMT have also
highlighted other psychological processes in
response to death anxiety, such as escaping
from self-awareness [16] and creativity [17].
According to terror management
theorists, if a psychological structure helps
to face death thoughts, exposing individuals
to death reminders would increase their
possibility to use that psychological
structure. This hypothese has been validated
in several studies suggesting that death
reminders influence a broad array of human
behaviors such as derogating, punishing or
even aggressing people who are worldviewthreatening [18], enhancing prosocial
behaviors or interindividual relationships
[19]. In the consumption domain more
specifically, studies show that death
reminders influence consumption behavior
such as excessive expenditures and greed
[9], the amount of purchased products ([20],
[12]), preferences for luxury products and
higher materialism values ([19], [21]). All
these results suggest that death reminders
lead to extrinsic motivations so that

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Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

individuals invest in consumption as a

means to enhance self-esteem and regain
control when facing existential concerns
[19]. Our study aims at extending the scope
of existing literature by examining the use of
online social interactions as a means to
buffer death anxiety.
1.2. Online Social Interactions as a
Potential Terror Management
Mechanism
Death-related thoughts create a direct
confrontation with the vulnerability of the
self and stands for a threat ([22], [23]) in
that it affects control, meaning and
achievements in ones life. As a
consequence, individuals invest in different
activities in order to try to fulfil these
psychological needs. As individuals select
different media in order to satisfy individual
needs [24], we focus here on Facebook use.
Specifically, our approach is based on the
assumption that media use is oriented
toward specific goals: social environment
(such as death-related stimulus) produces
different motives and some gratifications
can come from the use of media or other
activities. Some studies highlight that
motivations and satisfactions from the
Internet usage include interpersonal utility,
social
identity,
social
bonding,
entertainment, relaxation
and social
recognition ([25], [26], [27]). Hence, the use
of Facebook may also respond to a search
for gratifications and needs fulfilment.
The need to create and maintain
relationships stands for a fundamental
human motivation. According to Maslow
[28], love and belongingness needs are basic
human motivations that are more
fundamental than esteem and selfactualization needs. Some authors even
highlight situational factors that can explain
the important role of close relationships. For
example, according to Bowlby [29], the
need for attachment is active during the
entire life span. He specifically highlighted
that individuals have an innate attachment
system that aims at maintaining proximity to

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

significant others specifically in times of

stress: intimacy may help to restore comfort
and to create a secure environment. Based
on TMT elements, some studies suggest the
specific role of social relationships as a
terror management
mechanism. For
example, Becker [1] explicitly highlighted
the important function of relationships in
protecting people from mortality concerns.
The main argument is that relationships may
stand for a social domain that allows people
to obtain a sense of security and a kind of
serenity in the face of existential concerns.
Moreover, Mikulincer and Florian [3] found
that death reminders heightened needs for
intimacy in relationships among securely
attached persons. Thus, as anterior studies
introduced the link between existential
psychology and social relationships, this
study aims at bridging two other related
important
domains,
i.e.
existential
psychology and online interactions. This
focus seems particularly interesting because
of the numerous individuals that use social
networks to communicate and share
experiences and thoughts. Facebook has
become indeed an important tool for
creating and maintaining connections and
sharing information, personal thoughts and
pictures with others. As this modern kind of
interactions is related to social needs, such
as self-expression and self-presentation
([30], [31], [32]), we attempt to explore the
possible role of Facebook social interactions
in the management of the terror of death.
Close relationships have also been
recognized as an important source of selfesteem ([33], [34]). Specifically, when
individuals experience a feeling of being a
significant member of ones group, they
present high levels of self-esteem; whereas
when individuals experience social rejection
and fail in maintaining close relationships,
they experience low self-esteem. In this
perspective, research has shown that people
use social networks to fulfil a variety of
social needs ([30], [31], [35]). People even
filter out negative information about
themselves to present a positive image to
others [36]. Hence, using a social network

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can enhance self-esteem and also well-being

in general [37]. Finally, some studies even
show that social networks are used as a
social support, i.e. in order to restore wellbeing after negative emotional experiences,
especially among sensitive individuals [38].
As Facebook use may help to
enhance self-esteem, this study aims at
examining the potential positive relationship
between death anxiety and Facebook use.
We suggest that Facebook interactions may
symbolically help the individual to face the
threat of his or her own death by giving a
feeling of being a significant and valuable
member of ones own social group. In other
words, we suggest that when death anxiety
is high, people may be motivated to increase
online proximity and commitment to others
in order to mitigate the terror of death in a
symbolic way, as it stands for a way to
enhance self-esteem and being valuable to
others (H1).
H1. The more death anxiety is high, the
more Facebook use is important.
1.3. Individual Differences in the
Effects of Death Anxiety on
Facebook Use
In examining the anxiety-buffering function
of Facebook use, we also attempt to explore
potential individual differences in the
activation of this terror management
mechanism. Specifically, we focus here on
the possible moderating role of the
perceived
importance
of
Facebook,
individual self-esteem and collective selfesteem. These three factors seem to be
relevant for both reactions to death and
Facebook use.
1.3.1. Perceived Importance of
Facebook
The fact that Facebook usage helps to satisfy
psychological needs when facing death
anxiety may depend on the importance each
individual gives to this modern use. Thus,
the more Facebook is perceived as
important, the more it is likely to be used in
order to buffer existential anxiety. The

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

attitudinal measure of perceived importance

of Facebook use can be a potential
moderator of the relationship between death
anxiety and Facebook usage (H2).
H2. Death anxiety has a stronger positive
influence on Facebook use among
individuals for whom Facebook use is more
important than among those for whom
Facebook is less important.
1.3.2. Self-esteem (SE)
Self-esteem reflects the global perceived
value that each individual has about himself
or herself [39]. According to TMT, selfesteem striving is considered as one of the
main defence mechanism when facing
existential concerns. As we suggest that
Facebook may be used in order to enhance
self-esteem
when
perceived
self
vulnerability is high (i.e. when death anxiety
is high), we also suggest that this effect may
depend on the individual initial level of selfesteem. Thus, if individuals present a low
self-esteem, Facebook will be particularly
used in order to face existential concerns.
H3. Death anxiety has a stronger positive
influence on Facebook use among
individuals who present a low SE than
among individuals who present a high SE.
1.3.3. Collective
Self-Esteem
(CSE)
Collective self-esteem reflects the relative
value that an individual gives to his or her
social group and stands for a users
psychological status of being a member of a
community [40]. According to Luhtanen and
Crocker [41], it is a four dimensions concept
that includes: membership self-esteem,
private collective self-esteem, public selfesteem and importance to identity. Research
has shown that self-esteem and well-being
have indirect effects on social networks
usage [37]. People tend to participate in
online interactions because of their need to
belong, whereas social network usage also
enhances their senses of membership. Thus,
we suggest that the effect of death anxiety
on Facebook use depends on the level of
CSE: when death anxiety is high, Facebook

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use will be stronger among individuals with

a low CSE, as Facebook use can be
perceived as a means to restore a level of
CSE.
H4. Death anxiety has a stronger positive
influence on Facebook use among
individuals with a low CSE than among
those with a strong CSE.
2. METHODOLOGY
2.1. Participants and Procedures
To assess our conceptualization, we
conducted a quantitative survey among 181
French individuals. The data collection
lasted two weeks during December 2015.
All participants were students from a French
Business School and were added in the
sample as volunteers to contribute to this
research. Our participants mean age was
around 19 (from 17 to 24). It was asked to
the respondents to fill the questionnaire
without interacting with others and as
spontaneously and honestly as possible.
Each questionnaire was completed in about
15-20 minutes.
2.2. Measures and Validation
Our survey questionnaire invited the
respondents to indicate their position on a
Likert 7-points scale for each proposition.
Specifically, the death anxiety measure was
presented at the end of the questionnaire in
order to avoid potential bias related to a
potential rejection of the respondent or
potential negative feelings that could
influence the dependant variables. All the
measurement tools were validated via
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using
principal components factor analysis with
varimax rotation. For each scale, items with
low communalities (acceptable minimum
factor loading was 0.50; [42]) and those that
failed to load on any factors or that loaded
on more than 2 factors were removed.
Among all the existing scales that
measure death anxiety ([43], [44]), we
specifically focused on one dimension of the

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Death Concern Scale developed by

Dickstein [46]. Urien [47] confirmed the
bidimensional structure of this scale
(conscious meditation about death and
negative assessment of death) and defined
the second dimension as refers to death
anxiety. In this study, we used this
dimension that includes 5 items to assess
death anxiety. After CFA, we confirmed this
unidimensional structure which presented a
very good reliability (=0.93).
Gratifications obtained from Facebook
use were assessed with the scale developed
by Zhang et al. [40] which was initially
composed of six dimensions (23 items).
After CFA, 12 items have been retained
which stand for five dimensions. However,
two dimensions (4 items) have been
removed because of the absence of semantic
link between the items and correlations were
very low (inferior to 0.4). Thus, we obtained
a structure of three dimensions: social
surveillance (a search for information and
news about others, 3 items; =0.79);
network extension with unknown people
(the possibility to make new friends, 3
items; =0.8); network extension with
friends networks (correlation=0.6). The
whole scale presented a good reliability
(=0.721).
CSE was measured using Luhtanen and
Crockers (1992) short form scale. After
CFA, this scale included 6 items with two
dimensions: membership self-esteem (5
items, =0.815) and importance to identity
(1 item). The whole scale presented a good
reliability (=0,71). In order to measure the
perceived importance of Facebook, we used
the scale suggested by Zhang, Shing-Tung
Tang and Leung [40] which was adapted
from the study of Ellison et al. [48]. After
CFA, this scale contained 3 items, such as:
I am proud to tell people I am on
Facebook, I feel out of touch when I
havent logged onto Facebook for a while,
I would be sorry if Facebook shut down.
This scale presented a correct reliability
(=0.7). Finally, SE was measured using
Rosenbergs scale [39] with 10 items which
allow assessing the global perceived value

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that each individual has about himself. After

CFA, 2 items have been removed and we
obtained a bidimensional structure: positive
SE (=0.84) and negative SE (=0.77). The
results related to the structure and the
reliability of each measurement tools are
Variable

presented in table 1. Finally, the tests of the

hypotheses have been conducted by taking
into account each dimension of each
variable.

Table 1. Structure and reliability of measurement tools

Dimensions
Nb. of items
% explained variance

Cronbachs

Death anxiety

Unidimensional

79%

0.93

Facebook uses

Social surveillance

26%

0.79

Network extension with unknown people

17.9%

0.8

Network extension with friends networks

11.6%

0.6

Membership SE

32.9%

0.815

Importance to identity

12.1%

Unidimensional

60.3%

0.7

Positive SE

53.8%

0.84

Negative SE

14.9%

0.77

CSE
Perceived
importance of
Facebook
SE

2.3. Hypotheses Testing Methodology

In order to test our conceptualization, we
used linear regression (for H1) and followed
Hayes [4] approach using the macro
PROCESS for H2, H3 and H4. The outputs
of the macro give both the direct effect of
the independent variable on the dependant
variable and potential interaction effects of
some moderators (the potential increase of
R2 related to the interaction and its
significance). Specifically, in order to test
conditional effect for moderation for
quantitative moderators, this methodology
was preferred to the dichotomizing of
quantitative variables. Indeed, this procedure
has often been used by researchers [49] but
has been recently criticized by some authors
([50],
[51]).
According
to
them,
dichotomizing is likely to bring falsely
significant results [51] and is generally
based on a subjective choice from the
researcher. For these reasons, we decided to

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use Hayes methodology that is based on the

Johnson-Neyman technique [52], which
gives the areas of significance of the effect
of the independent variable on the dependant
variable along the continuum of the
moderator [4]. We specifically chose the
model 1 in the macro in order to test simple
moderation. Because moderation effects are
likely to be influenced by colinearity
between independent variables [53], we
generated correlation coefficients between
the moderators and their significance. Table
2 presents the correlations between the three
moderators. It shows that some moderators
are significantly correlated (p<0.05).
However, correlations coefficients are
relatively low, except the correlation
between positive SE and negative SE which
is not surprising because of the definition of
each dimension. As a consequence, we
decided to integrate all these variables in our
model.

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Table 2. Correlations between quantitative moderation variables

Membership
Importance
Death
Positive
Negative
self-esteem
to identity
anxiety
SE
SE

Perceived
importance of Fb

Membership selfesteem
Importance to
identity
Death anxiety

-0.064

0.011

0,283*

-0.33*

0.258*

-0.064

0.083

-0.059

0.177*

-0.058

0.011

0.083

-0.167*

0.090

0.107

Positive SE

0,283*

-0.059

-0.167*

-0.558*

0.241*

Negative SE

-0.33*

0.177*

0.090

-0.558*

-0.196*

Perceived
importance of Fb
* p<0.05

0.258*

-0.058

0.107

0.241*

-0.196*

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Direct effect of death anxiety on Facebook
use
Concerning the test of hypothese H1, results
related to linear regression show that death
anxiety is significantly positively related to
Facebook use for the three dimensions of the
concept (Table 3). Thus, the more death
anxiety is high, the more individuals tend to
use Facebook as a social surveillance and a
network extension means. This result seems
consistent with the existing literature, which
highlights different defence mechanisms that
individuals use in response to death
thoughts. Specifically, Facebook use can be
considered as a means to enhance a level of

self-esteem that may be particularly low

among individuals that are anxious when
thinking about death [37]. Moreover, it
seems that online Facebook interactions can
be considered as an anxiety buffer, as it has
been already shown that relationships in
general can be conceptualized as an
effective means of dealing with fears and as
a resource of adjustment. Here, the results
even suggest that in a broader perspective,
online interactions on Facebook may
provide a symbolic shield against the
awareness of ones own death. We can
assume that the feeling of being involved in
an online community may engender a
feeling of meaning in ones life that may
reduce the perception of death threat.

Table 3. Results for the test of H1

Dimensions of Facebook use
R2
Standardised Coefficient
Network extension with unknown people
Social surveillance
Network extension with friends networks

Moderation effect of the perceived

importance of Facebook
Using model 1 of Hayes macro, we
integrated the variable related to perceived
Facebook importance as a moderator, death
anxiety as the independent variable and the
three dimensions of Facebook use as the
dependent variable. Results presented in
table 4 show a significant interaction effect
of perceived importance of Facebook on two
dimensions of Facebook use, i.e. network
extension (p<0.05). More specifically, when
perceived
importance
of
Facebook
increases, the effect of death anxiety on

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

0.66
0.716
0.807

0.811
0.84
0.89

Sign.
0.04
0.034
0.00

network extension increases, which is

consistent with H2. However, the interaction
effect on social surveillance is not
significant. Thus, online networking can be
considered as an anxiety-buffer mechanism
especially for individuals who perceive
Facebook as an important tool. This result is
consistent with the literature, which shows
that when facing death, individuals invest in
activities in order to enhance self-esteem
only if these activities are perceived to be
important and valuable for the individual.
However, results also show that the
relationship between death anxiety and

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social surveillance on Facebook is unrelated

to the perceived importance of Facebook.
This may be explained by the fact that
Facebook is mainly used as a social
surveillance tool, whether it is perceived as

important or not. Another reason may be

that the importance given to Facebook
mainly provides from its ability to create
and maintain social networks.

Table 4. Results for the test of hypothese H2

Interaction effect of XM on Y (X: Death anxiety; M: Perceived importance of Fb ; Y : Network extension with
unknown people)
c3=-0.17* ; p=0.001; R2=0.8229
M
1.54
1.57

Conditional effect of X on Y among values of M

Effect
Std deviation
t
0.18
0.0876
2.05
0.185
0.0887
1.97

p
0.0413
0.0500

Interaction effect of XM on Y (X: Death anxiety; M: Perceived importance of Fb ; Y : Network extension with
friends networks)
c3=-0.16* ; p=0.0068; R2=0.75
M
1.187
1.30

Effect
0.20
0.23

Std deviation
0.087
0.09

Moderation effect of positive SE

Using model 1 of Hayes macro, we
integrated positive SE as a moderator, death
anxiety as the independent variable and the
three dimensions of Facebook use as the
dependent variable. Results presented in
table 5 show a significant interaction effect
of positive SE on network extension.
Specifically, when positive SE decreases,
the effect of death anxiety on network
extension increases, which is consistent with
H3. However, the interaction effect on social
surveillance is not significant. Thus, the
more individuals present a low positive SE,

t
2.30
1.97

p
0.0225
0.0500

the more they will tend try to extend their

social networks on Facebook when facing a
high death anxiety. This result is consistent
with the TMT literature: when facing death,
online network extension can be seen as a
useful means to enhance self-esteem,
especially among those who lack selfesteem. However, the positive effect of
death anxiety on social surveillance is not
related to the level of positive self-esteem:
we can assume that social surveillance is not
a source of self-esteem for individuals who
lack of self-confidence.

Table 5. Results for the test of hypothese H3

Interaction effect of XM on Y (X: Death anxiety; M: Perceived importance of Fb ; Y : Network extension with
unknown people)
c3=0.1015* ; p=0.05; R2=.848
M
-1.40
-1.46

Conditional effect of X on Y among values of M

Effect
Std deviation
t
0.1618
0.08
1.97
0.176
0.077
2.29

p
0.0500
0.0229

Interaction effect of XM on Y (X: Death anxiety; M: Perceived importance of Facebook ; Y : Network

extension with friends networks)
c3=0.12* ; p=0.04; R2=0.78
M
-0.803
-0.816

Conditional effect of X on Y among values of M

Effect
Std deviation
t
0.15
0.076
1.97
0.163
0.0750
2.13

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p
0.0500
0.033

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Moderation effect of CSE

Using model 1 of Hayes macro, we
integrated the two dimensions of CSE as a
moderator, death anxiety as the independent
variable and the three dimensions of
Facebook use as the dependent variable.
Results presented in table 6 show no
significant interaction effect for the first
dimension of CSE, i.e. importance to
identity. However, it shows a significant
interaction effect for the second dimension,
i.e. membership SE on network extension
(c3=0.1198*;
p=0.0206 ;
c3=0.1146 ;
p=0.016). The Johnson-Neyman technique
specifically
highlights
that
when
membership SE increases, the effect of
death anxiety on network extension with
unknown people increases, which is

unconsistent with H4. Membership SE

stands for the perception of an active and
useful participation of the individual in
ones social group. Our results suggest that
for individuals who perceive themselves as
being a valuable and useful member of a
social group, network extension is used as a
means to reduce death anxiety. Among these
individuals specifically, network extension
on Facebook can be a means to maintain and
experience their feeling of being socially
valuable, which brings significance and
meaning when facing the idea of ones own
finitude as suggested by TMT. This effect
does not exist on social surveillance (p=0.39
and p=0.76 for each dimension of CSE).

Table 6. Results for the test of hypothese H4

Interaction effect of XM on Y (X: Death anxiety; M: Membership SE ; Y : Network extension with unknown
people)
c3=0.1198* ; p=0.0206; R2=0.811
M
-1.97
-1.788

Conditional effect of X on Y among values of M

Effect
Std deviation
t
0.2019
0 .1023
1.9451
0.2237
0.0949
2.358

p
0.0500
0.0195

Interaction effect of XM on Y (X: Death anxiety; M: Importance to identity ; Y : Network extension with
friends network)
c3=0.1146 ; p=0.016 ; R2=0.6685
M
4.56
5.49

Effect
0.6898
0.7969

Std deviation
0.0660
0.043

CONCLUSION
The present study aimed at integrating two
domains
in
social
behaviour: the
management of existential anxiety and
online social interactions. Specifically, it
examined the relationship between death
anxiety and online interactions on Facebook.
The choice of studying Facebook usage is
related to the fact that it has become one of
the most famous tool used to create and
maintain relationships. Based on a
quantitative study, we demonstrated a
positive relationship between death anxiety

ISBN: 978-1-941968-08-6 2015 SDIWC

t
10.445
18.24

p
0.00
0.00

and Facebook use, so that Facebook may be

used as a terror management tool in order to
reduce death anxiety in a symbolic way. We
assume that this mechanism may mainly be
related to the process of self-esteem striving
in that Facebook is a means to present a
valuable self-image and social identity and
to gain social recognition ([25], [26]).
Hence, this study contributes to the terror
management literature, focusing on another
terror management process oriented toward
the online commitment to others and the
potential expansion of the self that online
interactions may provide. Facebook may
stand for a tool that helps to reach a kind of

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Proceedings of the Third International Conference on E-Technologies and Business on the Web, Paris, France 2015

symbolic immortality. Moreover, this

relationship between death anxiety and
Facebook use depends particularly on two
important individual variables: perceived
self-esteem and perceived importance of
Facebook. Extension network via Facebook
is used as a terror management mechanism
especially among individuals who perceive
Facebook as an important tool and among
those who lack of self-confidence.
By showing a positive relationship
between death anxiety and Facebook use,
this study contributes to the understanding
of the potential antecedents of the use of
social networks. Moreover, by suggesting
that Facebook may be used in order to
enhance self-esteem when facing existential
anxiety, it may contribute to the literature
oriented toward the effects of social
networks on well-being and behaviours. In
particular, social interactions may help to
expand the self by creating a symbolic self
that gives a positive image to others and that
stands for a significant self in ones virtual
community. From a managerial perspective,
because of the numerous reminders of death
in our daily life, considering death anxiety
can be an efficient strategy in order to
communicate on social networks such as
Facebook for companies. Moreover, the
development of Facebook use for companies
or institutions should probably include
effective means for self-promotion when

communicating with their customers.

Finally, our results may be useful for
specific domains, such as social marketing
(prevention campaign for drug, alcohol
consumption and driving behaviours for
example). Indeed, Facebook stands for one
of the most important media that is used
among teenagers and young adults which are
the individuals that are the most involved in
these social concerns. Institutions or
associations should use our results to
communicate efficiently when exposing
individuals to death-related ad contents and
when communicating about risk-taking
behaviours.
This study has also some limitations
that suggest potential future research. First,
from a methodological perspective, this
study should be reconducted among a larger
sample in terms of the total number of
participants and their chronological age. It
can be interested to compare samples of
different ages, such as adolescents, young
adults and middle-aged adults. Moreover, as
this study specifically focuses on Facebook,
it can be interested to replicate and extend
the results for others social networks. This
study also only considers three individual
variables: it can be useful for managers to
include other variables such as subjective
age or the daily use of Facebook as
moderators or as control variables.

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