GRI-rapport
No 2012:3:
Sweden's largest Facebook study
Leif Denti ()
, Isak Barbopoulus, Ida Nilsson, Linda Holmberg, Magdalena Thulin, Malin Wendeblad, Lisa Andén and Emelie Davidsson
Abstract: The emergence of the Internet has made it easier for
people to socially interact than ever before. Today, the most popular
channel is Facebook with over 845 million users world wide. In Sweden, the
number of users amount to approximately half of the population. We had two
aims with this study. First, we investigate which areas of Facebook usage
that Swedish Facebook users consider more important vis-a-vis less
important. We were also interested in how users convey their persona
through t... merheir status updates, including what they status update
about, and the underlying reasons for updating one’s status. Second, we
investigate what psychological effects Facebook may induce. More
specifically, we look at the psychological constructs self-esteem and
well-being in relation to Facebook usage. We surveyed 1011 Swedish Facebook
users with our questionnaires, measuring respondents’ Facebook usage
patterns, well-being and self-esteem. Our analyses revealed that on average
Swedish women spend 81 minutes per day on Facebook, whereas Swedish men are
logged on to the site about 64 minutes per day. Generally, Facebook is used
for social network maintenance, such as maintaining contact with people one
doesn’t meet so often. However, Facebook is seldom used for meeting new
people. Another finding is that Facebook users generally tend to update
their status about positive events, major events and when they are feeling
well, rather than negative events and when they are feeling bad. Women seem
to be more engaged and active on Facebook than men, agreeing that a vast
number of uses is significantly more important. Furthermore, women tend to
write more about their thoughts and feelings, whereas twice as many men
state that they provoke others on Facebook. Pertaining to Facebook’s
psychological effects, the amount of time spent on Facebook had no
relationship with self-esteem when controlling for gender, age, education
and income. $is result runs counter to previous findings. However, women
who spend more time on Facebook report feeling less happy and feel less
content with their lives. For men, this relationship was not evident. The
study teaches that Facebook is used as a tool for affiliating with friends
and family, as well as a personal showcase, where users show their positive
sides. Herein lies also a danger. When Facebook users compare their own
lives with others’ seemingly more successful careers and happy
relationships, they may feel that their own lives are less successful in
comparison.
Keywords: facebook; facebook usage; (follow links to similar papers)
38 pages, March 6, 2012
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