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It’s only one comment, one photograph, one joke – But is it truly?

Like, Comment, and Share

Steers, Øverup, Brunson, and Acitelli (2016) wrote that online social support potentially leads to quality relationships and well-being. Social media cultivates “a culture of openness, sharing, and trust” (Close Scheinbaum, 2017, xix). Many people use social media to communicate with others, share vacations or job promotions, and rekindle old friendships. Social media is also a great way to check on friends and family when schedules are busy. A large part of social media appeal is the ability to connect with like-minded individuals and people who share similar experiences. This is especially true for people that have suffered trauma or struggle with mental health disorders as there are groups, chats, and organizations that operate through social media.

Internet cannot affect our mental health, can it?

Digital presence increases consumers’ ability to access novel technologies through the development of mobile devices (Close Scheinbaum, 2017). Personal mobile technology became an everyday essential for most because of the provided connectivity and omnipresence; Given that personal data is provided, mobile technology allows tracking, enhanced conveniences, and greater overall experiences (Close Scheinbaum, 2017). However, personal information shared over the Internet puts people at risk for negative consequences. Marketers, companies, and other people can use personal information against individuals. Data breaches are not commonplace anymore as many security protocols and systems have been implemented, but it is still a possibility. If personal information is extracted during a breach, people can come face-to-face with identity theft in which hackers can open bank accounts or credit cards in the person’s name or log into social media and post incriminating ideology.

Zheng and Lee (2016) explored the cognitive-behavioral theory as both cognition and behaviors are involved in producing negative consequences associated with Internet usage; Extreme excessive use is necessary to reach negative outcomes. Social cognition theory states that excessive social media use and maladaptive behaviors affect people and their environment (Zheng & Lee, 2016). Maladaptive behaviors include inappropriate use of social media and isolation which can lead to familial and friendship conflicts as those people are being ignored. Other negative consequences of social media include poor work and academic performances, suspension, being fired from work if it is a continued behavior, eyestrain, headaches, and sleep deprivation (Zheng & Lee, 2016). Perhaps deficient self-regulation is another problem that leads to social media having negative consequences on mental health.

Parnell (2017) spoke in front of an audience about the negative effects associated with social media such as anxiety, stress, and depression. People have an innate tendency to compare their lives to the lives of those around them. Now, on a small scale it may not seem to be problematic. However, if one compared themselves to other people on social media, it could ultimately lead to anxiety, depression, and decreased self-worth. People experience F.O.M.O or the Fear of Missing Out when browsing social media (Parnell, 2017). While a coworker is on vacation, you are stuck picking up extra shifts to cover their hours. Your coworker has the luxury of walking along the boardwalk, going on rollercoasters, and sitting on the beach. Meanwhile, you are stuck handling cranky, impatient customers in a retail setting. You are happy that your coworker can go on this vacation because you know that he/she is a hard-worker and deserves to have some fun. Although you are happy for him/her, you cannot help but feel jealous and even bitter because your budget does not allow room for a vacation, and you have not been able to go on vacation in years. Those feelings of missing out contribute to negative consequences for your own health such as depression and decreased self-worth. Yes, you might work hard and give it your all, but your student loans leave no room for other expenses outside of normal day-to-day expenses.

According to Parnell (2017), 40% of adults experience harassment online and 70% have witnessed harassment. Bullying is not acceptable in schools or workplaces, so then why would bullying online be any different? It is not. Tyler Clementi, 18, killed himself after finding out his roommate filmed Tyler making out with another guy and then posted it on Twitter. No one knew about the struggle Tyler felt during those moments. How can someone rightfully out another individual in such a public manner? Particularly a negative public manner. It was too late, and people found out about Clementi’s suicide in the news. Since social media is a technological feature, people fail to realize the dangers of posting negative content. The screen removes any empathy and sympathy that a person may normally feel when they hurt another’s feelings or say something wrong. Therefore, how can it be bullying? How does one know how it affects the person on the receiving end? Would someone like for me to call them names, out them to not only friends and family, but essentially the entire online population? It only takes one word, one phrase, one sentence, one photograph to effectively hurt another individual.

So, what can we do to ensure a positive social media experience?

Be nice. Limit the content that comes across social media feeds. Recognize when a problem arises. It is as simple as that: Treat people how you would like to be treated. If you are a part of the LGBT+ community and your parents and friends do not know, you would not want someone else to tell them without your permission. So why do it to someone else? You come across an individual that is overweight. They post on their wall videos of exercising or pictures of healthy meals. Now instead of complimenting and encouraging that person to continue with the good work, why do people ridicule and embarrass them? I have witnessed people blatantly bullying a heavier person in a fitness gym. Why? What do you get from it? Is it to look cool in front of your friends? Is it because you are jealous that that individual is taking steps to better their life and live a healthy lifestyle while you sit behind a computer screen drinking soda and eating candy? What reason do people have to bullying others to the point that those people take their own lives? People should not have to limit or filter what they post on their social media because it may not agree with others’ ideology or beliefs. One way to combat those types of people is remove them from Facebook friends, remove them as followers, block them, and most importantly: make personal pages and information so that only the people allowed to can see personal posts. Mental health is important. Good mental health is important.

References:

Close Scheinbaum, A. (Ed.). (2017). The dark side of social media: A consumer psychology perspective.Routledge.

Parnell, B. (2017, June 22). Is social media hurting your mental health? [Video]. YouTube. | Transcript. https://youtu.be/Czg_9C7gw0o

Zheng, X., & Lee, M. K. O. (2016). Excessive use of mobile social networking sites: Negative consequences on individuals. Computers in Human Behavior, 65, 65-76.

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Are we naturally one and the same?

Feeling Connected via Social Media

According to Close Scheinbaum (2017), social media allows people to maintain relationships and reconnect with old friends. Social media cultivates “a culture of openness, sharing, and trust” (Close Scheinbaum, 2017, xix). However, information presented online does not necessarily represent offline behaviors and relationships. Steers, Øverup, Brunson, and Acitelli (2016) found that people using first-personal plural pronouns have a mutually responsive coping style to adversities and those using first-personal singular pronouns have avoidant coping styles. One side of the relationship may become upset that their partner is not uploading photographs of both of them together or marking on social media that they are in a relationship together. In this regard, one person may believe that the other individual is not as commited to the relationship as they are (Steers, Øverup, Brunson, and Acitelli, 2016).

Homophily: One and the same?

Online chat groups or social media further allows individuals to create communities with similarly minded individuals. Homophily means that people are attracted to the same. Facebook facilitates social relationships by drawing on an individuals need to belong (Greitemeyer, 2016).  Social support online leads to higher quality relationships and subsequently affects subjective well-being (Steers, Øverup, Brunson, & Acitelli, 2016). Homophily on social media is important to numerous individuals. Many people feel as though there is no one at home or school that they can tell their struggles to without judgment being passed. Those people can find communities online of similar minds that allow freedom of expression without guilting or shaming the person for sharing their struggles. This can be beneficial to those who truly believe they have no support.

How algorithms contribute to homophily

All social media platforms run algorithms to provide information that coincides with a specific individual’s beliefs and values. If someone likes a post or a few posts on Facebook about cats, that person will find advertisements, similar posts, and pages that focus on cats. A person likes and shares information about Conservative beliefs. That same person will not likely see content pertaining to Democratic beliefs. Algorithms further support homophily as algorithms filter content that a user finds inappropriate or conflicts with personal beliefs. Filtering likes and shares pushes people together who hold similar values.

References

Close Scheinbaum, A. (Ed.). (2017). The dark side of social media: A consumer psychology perspective. Routledge.

Greitemeyer, T. (2016). Facebook and people’s state self-esteem: The impact of the number of other users’ Facebook friends. Computers in Human Behavior, 59, 182-186.

Steers, M.-L. N., Øverup. C. S., Brunson, J. A., & Acitelli, L. K. (2016). Love oneline: How relationship awareness on Facebook relates to relationship quality among college students. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 5(3), 203-216.

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Attraction to Social Media

Social Media

Social media such as Facebook, online communities, and virtual game worlds developed key roles in the lives of contemporary consumers (Martinez-Lopez et al., 2016 as cited by Close Scheinbaum, 2017). The rapid expansion of Internet and social media platforms allowed people to “develop psychological ownership of intangible collectively owned products and services…” (Close Scheinbaum, 2017, p.72). Psychological ownership can manifest actual feelings of possession and cognitive and affective (thoughts, beliefs, emotions, attitudes, and feelings towards the target of ownership) role in the conception of self (Close Scheinbaum, 2017). Jussila and Tuominen (2010 as cited by Scheinbaum, 2017) imply that human needs motivate the development of psychological ownership including efficacy and effectance, self-identity, having a place, and stimulation.

Capturing Attention in Social Media

Crowdfunding solicits financial contributions from mass populace online to fund creative projects (Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017) which provides early entrepreneurs a chance to access critical seed capital where traditional investors have not yet become interested (Schwienbacher & Larralde, 2010 as cited by Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017). Mollick (2014 as cited by Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017) claims successful fundraising is a result of project creator networks, locational origins of the project, and proxies for project quality (videos, quick updates, and spelling errors). Entrepreneurs’ passion in crowdfunding videos play a vital role in resource solicitation where backers want their money contributed to the right campaigns in hopes that an appealing product and/or venture succeeds and has a positive impact (Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017). Passion contagion, shown in projects to arouse enthusiasm, influences financial support and expression of enthusiasm through social media usage; Innovativeness also contributes to capturing attention in social media (Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017).

According to Perttula (2003 as cited by Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017), passion is a psychological state of intense positive emotional arousal, engagement in personally fulfilling activities, and internal drive. Entrepreneurial passion expressed by words and phrases, facial expressions, varied tones, and body language through video significantly influence backers’ decisions to financially invest. Emotions are contagious. Individuals who are exposed to strong emotions in others may be inclined to change their own emotional state either automatically or subconsciously (Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017).

First impressions likely determine if a backer continues to look through project specifications (confirmation bias) and may fund without further evaluation. Crowdfunding relies heavily upon social media exposure. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, and Twitter are used to publicize information. It is a costless method to support a project while simultaneously allowing information to be shared nearly instantaneously and enables intercontinental exposure (Li, Chen, Kotha, & Fisher, 2017). People using social media are inclined to share emotional experiences that deepen social connections. Therefore, the more people that connect to the content emotionally, the further the exposure extends. Lastly, Li, Chen, Kotha, and Fisher (2017) promote social attractiveness, innovativeness – that a project is unique and different from competition in a valued way by customers (Sethi, Smith, & Park, 2001), – novelty (extent differs from conventional practice), and usefulness meaning the output is beneficial to an audience.

Maintaining Engagement in Social Media

There is $15 billion worth of advertisements bought by United States companies annually (Statistica, 2015 as cited by Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel, 2019). The news, politics, memes, and personal updates conflict with each other to obtain attention. People notice content and either engage or disengage from the content. User engagement online determines content viewed through engagement such as liking or sharing websites and posts (Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel, 2019). Internet has made it possible for people to reach a larger audience and exert social influence in domains like morality and politics (Jost et al., 2018, as cited by Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel, 2019). Goal attainment tends to be prioritized in visual attention; Morality fulfills the need to belong in social grounds and the need to believe in a “just” world (Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel, 2019). Moral character then becomes a primary reason for people to engage and remain engaged in social media posts from major influencers. Moral and emotional language captures attention more than neutral language which draws engagement (Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel, 2019). However, people also engage with content once it has become more popular establishing a feedback loop between attention and online sharing.

References:

Brady, W. J., Gantman, A. P., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2019). Attentional capture helps explain why moral and emotional content go viral. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 1-11.

Close Scheinbaum, A. (Ed.). (2017). The dark side of social media: A consumer psychology perspective. Routledge.

Li, J. (Jason), Chen, X.-P., Kotha, S., & Fisher, G. (2017). Catching fire and spreading it: A glimpse into displayed entrepreneurial passion in crowdfunding campaigns. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(7), 1075-1090.