nature of online Facebook communications
Facebook continues to be the unbeaten champion of social media since its establishment. Other social networking sites (SNS) like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter, attempted to compete with it, but Facebook still stands strong. Numerous studies have investigated the quantity of Facebook usage in terms of the magnitude of its users, the time they spend on Facebook, and the total number of Facebook connections they have. In contrast, Khalis and Mikami (2018) used observational techniques to investigate the nature of online Facebook communications and how they may be associated with face-to-face peer relations and psychotic signs.
The researchers collected data from a sample of 240 students that were registered in a public university in Canada. Where 92 were males and 148 females. The sample size consisted of 92 males and 148 females who were first-year university students between 2012 and 2014. The students were on a two weeks orientation program that was to help them to shift at the university. The sample was ideal for the study because the information obtained from the participants could not be manipulated since it was their first time at the university, and chances were they did not know anyone. Thus, the researchers anticipated high face-to-face and online social communication because there was a probability that the students would endeavor to build and maintain new peer friendships.
The researchers requested the participants to fill in an online assessment on their change and face-to-face social relations at the university. They also asked to be allowed to monitor their Facebook timeline by agreeing to a friend request from the research and qualified research associate would look at their activities. Sociometric techniques and self-report questionnaires were used to indicate the students’ face-to-face social approval and mutual relationships.
From the data collected, the study established that participants who were more known by peers in a face-to-face perspective exhibited less narcissistic self-presentation (the need to be liked, and a hyperbolic feeling of self-worth ) on Facebook. Conversely, a large amount of reciprocated relations in face-to-face, was linked to increased Facebook participation and more narcissistic self-presentation. Students who registered to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms had more Facebook engagement and more negative Facebook relations.
From the study, one can argue that participants’ Facebook activities can be interpreted in terms of the quantity of relationship, the positive or negative value of those relations, and also the level of narcissistic self-presentation of an individual. One can even argue that social web-based ties on Facebook are complex, with each aspect distinctively linked to face-to-face peer interactions and psychotic signs. Some factors may signify social events that exclusively arise in online platforms.
It was expected that increased Facebook usage would positively be associated with narcissism. This psychological construct results in higher yearnings for self-promotion and incitation of social media users. People with Narcissism disorder are likely to have low self-esteem; thus, the urge to publicize their lives on social media for attention. Thus, it is common that such people will have more followers on social media since they only reveal the better aspects of their lives, which people are likely to admire and envy. However, it was surprising to find out that students that had symptoms of ADHD had greater Facebook involvement. This is because people who have ADHD may have low self-esteem issues and the inability to relate with others. However, this explains their negative interactions on Facebook.
To conclude, Facebook is one of the most influential social media platforms in the world. Facebook connects people with their friends and helps them establish a new friendship, but it also influences psychological conditions such as narcissism and low self-esteem.