Different Modalities of Using Facebook: The Influence of Actual Social Relations, Wellbeing, and Attitude Towards the Medium

Abstract

Abstract:The online social networks attract the social scientists' attention because of their large diffusion and their social and psychological impact. The majority of the studies focus on Facebook because it is the largest one. There are contrasting opinions on the positivity of that social medium. It is not possible to reach univocal results considering the use of Facebook as a whole. It is better to distinguish different modalities of use. This study investigates these modalities and predicts them on a sample of young adults in Italy. The analyses were carried out in two steps. The first one identifying the modalities of using Facebook and the attitudes towards it. The second one testing the influence of different predictors: actual social relations, wellbeing, and the attitudes towards the medium. Participants use Facebook in different ways. Implications are discussed.

Do men post and women view? The role of gender, personality and emotions in online social activity

“…Gender is considered a key variable in understanding SNS use (Brooks & Longstreet, 2015;Dhir, Pallesen, Torsheim, & Andreassen, 2016;Haferkamp, Eimler, Papadakis, & Kruck, 2012;McAndrew & Jeong, 2012;Pfeil, Arjan, & Zaphiris, 2009;Tartaglia, 2016). According to Haferkamp and colleagues (2012), men primarily consider SNS as a pragmatic communication medium but not a relevant platform for self-portrayal, whereas women seem to be driven by a more hedonistic motive of self-presentation, which makes them more concerned about how they are perceived by others.…”

Self-esteem, social comparison, and Facebook use

“…Instead, other studies found no relation between self-esteem and Facebook use ( Skues, Williams, & Wise, 2012 ). As some scholars have suggested, the literature may be inconsistent because studies have considered Facebook as a whole without distinguishing between different modalities of use or motivations to utilize the social network ( Rae & Lonborg, 2015 ; Tartaglia, 2016 ). Generally, people who communicate easily with others face to face have less need to spend a great deal of time online, but when considering the specific ways Facebook can be used, a different result can be found ( Wilson, Fornasier, & White, 2010 ).…”

“…Generally, people who communicate easily with others face to face have less need to spend a great deal of time online, but when considering the specific ways Facebook can be used, a different result can be found ( Wilson, Fornasier, & White, 2010 ). A recent study ( Tartaglia, 2016 ) has shown three different modalities of using Facebook, i.e., social interaction, simulation, and search for relations. The first is the use of the social network for interaction with friends and for self-expression.…”

“…These people are worried about image and very interested in what others think ( Buunk & Gibbons, 2007 ). Finally, the use of Facebook to search for relations should not be related to a social comparison tendency because this modality seems mainly to refer to the search for a romantic partner ( Tartaglia, 2016 ).…”

“…Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether the relationship between self-esteem and the amount of time on Facebook would be mediated by a tendency towards social comparison. Moreover, we wanted to test this mediational model not only on the general use of Facebook but also on three specific modalities of using Facebook, that is, social interaction, simulation and search for relations ( Tartaglia, 2016 ). Finally, we wanted to test the mediation model for males and females separately, since previous research has found gender differences in technology use and social comparison ( Nesi & Prinstein, 2015 ; Stefanone, Lackaff, & Rosen, 2011 ).…”