Honors Students' Abstracts
The Relationship between the Intensity of Facebook Usage and Self-Concept
Kristen Trudo
Constructs of self-concept were investigated as they related to how invested an individual was in Facebook. One study on these topics indicated that Facebook does not fulfill emotional needs for those trying to adjust to the college atmosphere (Kalpidou, Costin, & Morris, 2011). Further research showed that adolescents’ self-esteem was negatively affected by the response they received from their peers on social networking sites (Valkenburg, Peter, and Schouten, 2006). In the current study, those with lower self-esteem were predicted to have a greater investment in Facebook. Those who thought more about Facebook were predicted to have lower self-esteem and be more self-conscious. Participants were 61 undergraduate students who were active Facebook users. Participants answered questions regarding the intensity of Facebook usage as well as 3 self-concept questionnaires regarding self-esteem, self-monitoring, and self-consciousness. More time spent on Facebook, demonstrated by logging onto the site multiple times throughout the day, indicated greater intensity of Facebook usage. The results showed that Facebook usage was related to self-concept constructs: there was a positive correlation with self-consciousness,
r(59) = .24,
p = .032, and a negative correlation with self-esteem,
r(59) = -.25,
p = .027. These findings suggest that, for individuals with low-self esteem, Facebook and other social networking sites may prove to be a detriment.