Facebook Profiles Research Articles

Is love related to selfies? Romantic selfie posting behavior and love levels among women and men

Although interest in the selfie phenomenon has recently increased, no studies have yet examined the meaning behind posting romantic selfies. In a study involving a total of 584 men and women, we examined whether the amount of romantic selfies on Facebook profiles may reliably reflect love level in a heterosexual relationship, as evaluated using Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale. We found that men's overall Love Scale scores positively predicted quantity of posted romantic selfies. Additionally, in men, the scores of two out of three subscales—Passion and Commitment—each independently predicted the numbers of romantic selfies. In contrast, women's romantic selfie-posting behavior correlated with only one subscale. Our findings provide the first evidence that the link between love level and romantic selfie-posting behavior is stronger among men than that among women. Therefore, our results may highlight key romantic behavioral differences in online social networking in both sexes.

Beware of Selfies: The Impact of Photo Type on Impression Formation Based on Social Networking Profiles.

Users of social networking sites such as Facebook frequently post self-portraits on their profiles. While research has begun to analyze the motivations for posting such pictures, less is known about how selfies are evaluated by recipients. Although producers of selfies typically aim to create a positive impression, selfies may also be regarded as narcissistic and therefore fail to achieve the intended goal. The aim of this study is to examine the potentially ambivalent reception of selfies compared to photos taken by others based on the Brunswik lens model Brunswik (1956). In a between-subjects online experiment (N = 297), Facebook profile mockups were shown which differed with regard to picture type (selfie vs. photo taken by others), gender of the profile owner (female vs. male), and number of individuals within a picture (single person vs. group). Results revealed that selfies were indeed evaluated more negatively than photos taken by others. Persons in selfies were rated as less trustworthy, less socially attractive, less open to new experiences, more narcissistic and more extroverted than the same persons in photos taken by others. In addition, gender differences were observed in the perception of pictures. Male profile owners were rated as more narcissistic and less trustworthy than female profile owners, but there was no significant interaction effect of type of picture and gender. Moreover, a mediation analysis of presumed motives for posting selfies revealed that negative evaluations of selfie posting individuals were mainly driven by the perceived motivation of impression management. Findings suggest that selfies are likely to be evaluated less positively than producers of selfies might suppose.

Assessing the applicability of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for Global 500 corporations’ Facebook profiles and content

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions are reflected on the official corporate Facebook pages from 259 organizations on Fortune magazine’s Global 500 list. This is the first attempt to create a conceptualization of Hofstede’s dimensions for organizational social media use.Design/methodology/approachTo determine how Facebook is used by the Global 500 corporations, a content analysis was carried out based on the 2013 listing of the highest revenue corporations throughout the world. As a research method, content analysis allows researchers to examine the actual practices of communication by focusing on the information provided through textual and visual messages.FindingsThe results paint a mixed picture indicating that the global nature of these corporations is echoed in a somewhat similar overall presence on Facebook; but when the individual elements (About Us, updates, and media) are examined, statistical differences emerge in relation to the reflection of the cultural dimensions.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work to match Facebook behaviors with Hofstede’s dimensions. This work needs to be replicated with other organizations to determine its staying power. In addition, future research might tap into agency and any consciousness on the part of social media managers in a specific direction. Depending on those findings, they might make important statements on the emergence of a global social media culture.

Facebook profile picture appearance affects recruiters’ first hiring decisions

We investigate whether the publicly available information on Facebook about job applicants affects employers’ hiring decisions. To this end, we conduct a field experiment in which fictitious job applications are sent to real job openings in Belgium. The only characteristic in which these candidates differ is the unique Facebook profile that can be found online with their name. Candidates with the most beneficial Facebook picture obtain approximately 38% more job interview invitations compared to candidates with the least beneficial picture. In addition, we find suggestive evidence for a higher effect of Facebook profile picture appearance on hiring chances when candidates are highly educated and when recruiters are female.

A picture tells a thousand words: What Facebook and Twitter images convey about our personality

Researchers have questioned whether there is a relationship between personality and patterns of online self-presentation. This paper examined, more specifically, whether personality predicts profile choices as well as image choice behaviour on two different SNSs: Twitter and Facebook. We found that personality does, to some extent, predict choices regarding profile images; however, not always in the direction we predicted and results differed across sites. We found that participants who scored higher on conscientiousness and lower on extraversion were more likely to change their Facebook profile image. Participants who scored lower on extraversion were more likely to choose a Twitter profile image that included a photograph of themselves compared to participants who scored higher on extraversion. For participants whose Facebook profile image was a photograph of themselves, a greater proportion of participants selected a recent photograph from the past six months. However, this was not the case for Twitter. We conclude that personality can predict some image choices and behaviours that might be useful for future work on authentication and identification, although other predictor variables are potentially also important when considering the types of individual characteristics which might predict online behaviour on SNSs.

The personal use of Facebook by public health professionals in Canada: Implications for public health practice

ABSTRACTObjective: We explored attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of Canadian public health professionals (PHPs) and their personal use of Facebook to assess views of online professionalism and blurring between their professional and personal lives.Methods: Ten public health organizations assisted in distributing an online questionnaire to their members. The questionnaire explored Facebook use, personality factors, and beliefs about online etiquette.Results: Among 621 respondents, 77% had a personal Facebook profile. Participants were unlikely to disclose personal information on Facebook. Generally, participants felt posting workday information online was inappropriate; however, 15 and 26% thought it acceptable to vent about the general public, and post comments about people or beliefs that oppose accepted public health views, respectively. Approximately one in four participants (26%) believed that the personal use of Facebook has an impact on one's role as a public health practitioner. One in eight participants (12%) was likely to search for members of the public with whom they had previous professional contact. The need for popularity and awareness of consequences were key predictors of participants' disclosure on Facebook.Conclusions: Overlap between the private and public lives of Canadian PHPs exists on Facebook, and highlights the potential for damage to public health credibility. Future research should evaluate any real-world impact of comments and venting (via personal Facebook profiles) on public health credibility, especially as public health continues to embrace social media for health interventions where online contact between individual employees of public health organizations and members of the general public is increased.

Does Your Facebook Profile Help You or Harm You? Examining the Effect of Information Seeking Strategies on Relational Outcomes in Social Networking Sites

Does Your Facebook Profile Help You or Harm You? Examining the Effect of Information Seeking Strategies on Relational Outcomes in Social Networking Sites

The video on local social networks: the case of TeleElx

Este trabajo analiza la producción, la distribución y los resultados obtenidos mediante los vídeos nativos para redes sociales empleados en la televisión local TeleElx. En un contexto marcado por el reinado de los contenidos audiovisuales y virales, conviene entender cómo los medios de proximidad explotan esta tendencia. El objetivo, por lo tanto, es profundizar en la inversión que el vídeo supone para un proyecto local y calibrar sus beneficios en términos de audiencia social. Para ello, se ha llevado a cabo un proceso de observación participante en la televisión local y se han analizado sus métricas en la red social Facebook. Los resultados obtenidos constatan que estos vídeos requieren determinadas habilidades y rutinas, pero no cuantiosos recursos materiales ni humanos, y que la respuesta de los usuarios es creciente y positiva.

Sharing secrets, revealing thoughts and feelings. Perceptions about disclosure practices and anonymity in a FB University students

The aim of this study was to identify students' perceptions about personal information disclosure and anonymity in a specific Facebook University Community. The explicit goal of this Community is the sharing of secrets and the revelation of students' deepest thoughts and feelings on high sensitive issues as their erotic or sexual life, leading to information disclosures in various ways. An online survey was conducted and spread through Community's Facebook profile in order to record students' perceptions about the Community and to identify disclosure practices as well as perceived benefits and costs deriving from their participation. Anonymity as expected is valued positively while privacy violations seem to bother less since this is a public Community resulting in a stated comfort about secondary disclosure taking place through reference to persons' physical or other characteristics. This study enhances existing literature on Facebook, by enlightening more facets of personal information disclosure on Facebook students' communities.

Where Dating Meets Data: Investigating Social and Institutional Privacy Concerns on Tinder

The widespread diffusion of location-based real-time dating or mobile dating apps, such as Tinder and Grindr, is changing dating practices. The affordances of these dating apps differ from those of “old school” dating sites, for example, by privileging picture-based selection, minimizing room for textual self-description, and drawing upon existing Facebook profile data. They might also affect users’ privacy perceptions as these services are location based and often include personal conversations and data. Based on a survey collected via Mechanical Turk, we assess how Tinder users perceive privacy concerns. We find that the users are more concerned about institutional privacy than social privacy. Moreover, different motivations for using Tinder—hooking up, relationship, friendship, travel, self-validation, and entertainment—affect social privacy concerns more strongly than institutional concerns. Finally, loneliness significantly increases users’ social and institutional privacy concerns, while narcissism decreases them.

Where Dating Meets Data: Investigating Social and Institutional Privacy Concerns on Tinder

The widespread diffusion of location-based real-time dating or mobile dating apps, such as Tinder and Grindr, is changing dating practices. The affordances of these dating apps differ from those of “old school” dating sites, for example, by privileging picture-based selection, minimizing room for textual self-description, and drawing upon existing Facebook profile data. They might also affect users’ privacy perceptions as these services are location based and often include personal conversations and data. Based on a survey collected via Mechanical Turk, we assess how Tinder users perceive privacy concerns. We find that the users are more concerned about institutional privacy than social privacy. Moreover, different motivations for using Tinder — hooking up, relationship, friendship, travel, self-validation, and entertainment — affect social privacy concerns more strongly than institutional concerns. Finally, loneliness significantly increases users’ social and institutional privacy concerns, while narcissism decreases them.

Self-presentation in Facebook profile photos based on Sasang typology

Self-presentation in Facebook profile photos based on Sasang typology

An Investigation of a New Social Networks Contact Suggestion Based on Face Recognition Algorithm

Automated comparison of faces in the photographs is a well established discipline. The main aim of this paper is to describe an approach whereby face recognition can be used in suggestion of a new contacts. The new contact suggestion is a common technique used across all main social networks. Our approach uses a freely available face comparison called together with our automated processig of the user´s Facebook profile. The research´s main point of interest is the comparison of friend´s facial images in a social network itself, how to process such a great amount of photos and what additional sources of data should be used. In this approach we used our automated processing algorithm Betaface in the social network Facebook and for the additional data, the Flickr social network was used. The results and their quality are discussed at the end.

Sexiness on Social Media

Using an experimental methodology, the present study assessed college men’s perceptions of a female peer who presented herself on Facebook in either a sexualized or nonsexualized manner. One hundred and seventeen college men viewed a Facebook profile with either a sexualized profile photo or a nonsexualized profile photo of a young woman and then evaluated the profile owner. They also reported on their dating attitudes. Results indicated that the sexualized profile owner was considered less physically attractive, less socially appealing, and less competent to complete tasks. Interest in dating and casual sex with the profile owner as well as general dating attitudes were largely not impacted by the type of profile photo. Findings suggest that using a sexualized profile photo on Facebook comes with some relational costs for young women. Strategies for educating young people about new media use and sexualization are discussed.

Slut-shaming on Facebook: Do Social Class or Clothing Affect Perceived Acceptability?

The term “slut” is commonly used as a disparaging remark against women in the United States. The goal of this study was to examine how the use of that term affects perceptions of both the “slut” and the “shamer” as well as how clothing choice and social class of the targets, as well as feminist identity of the participant, affect these judgments. We presented 186 self-identified feminist and non-feminist female college students with a Facebook interaction in which one woman calls another woman a “slut.” The interaction included a photograph of the target, in which she was dressed either “provocatively” or “conservatively.” Her visible Facebook profile information suggested she was part of either a lower or higher socioeconomic class. Participants generally had negative perceptions about the “shamer,” but results showed that both social class and clothing had an effect on how women perceived both the “slut” and the “shamer.” Participants’ feminist identity also played a role in shaping perceptions: self-identified feminists were more willing to spend time with the “slut” and found the “shamer” less justified in her actions than did non-feminist participants.

Internet Usage in Primary and Secondary School Children: A Multi-Center, School-Based, Cross-Sectional Study in Greece

Background: Little is known regarding the Internet activities of children, although Internet habits and pathological usage have been previously described in adolescents. Objectives: This study aimed in describing Internet use in both primary and secondary school children in order to early detect habits with high risks of developing pathological Internet use. Patients and Methods: 2,473 children from 26 primary (aged from 6 to 12) and 16 secondary schools (12 - 15 years old) from seven different regions in Greece participated. Participants answered questions regarding their Internet activities and demographics. Results: 367 (40.9 %) children from primary and 707 (44.9 %) from secondary schools played online games daily, while 115 (12.8 %) and 965 (61.2 %) respectively had a Facebook profile. The boys played games and used Facebook more than girls [primary: OR = 1.2, 95% CI (1.0, 1.9), secondary school: OR = 2.3, 95% CI (1.9, 2.9), and [OR = 2.1, 95% CI (1.3, 3.2), OR = 1.3, 95% (1.1, 1.6), accordingly]. Students with home Internet access were more likely to use online games and go on Facebook. Conclusions: The male gender and home Internet access are both associated with the higher usage of online games and Facebook, while profiles in Facebook are illegally created at the first years of primary school. Since both Internet activities have been repetitively associated with pathological Internet usage, educators and social services should work on increasing awareness in young children and their parents.

Display and control in online social spaces: Towards a typology of users

Earlier research using qualitative techniques suggests that the default conception of online social networks is as public spaces with little or no expectation of control over content or distribution of profile information. Some research, however, suggests that users within these spaces have different perspectives on information control and distribution. This study uses Q methodology to investigate subjective perspectives with respect to privacy of, and control over, Facebook profiles. The results suggests three different types of social media users: those who view profiles as spaces for controlled social display, exerting control over content or audience; those who treat their profiles as spaces for open social display, exercising little control over either content or audience; and those who view profiles as places to post personal information to a controlled audience. We argue that these different perspectives lead to different privacy needs and expectations.

Establishing and Demonstrating US Hospital Brands Through Facebook

Medical treatment, patient satisfaction, and hospital brand equity are positively related to three communication contexts: interpersonal, internal, and corporate. To integrate those contexts and expand that line of research, visceral analysis suggests that social networks are transforming the impact of institutional communications conducted by hospitals. Specifically, questions continue to need answered to fill gaps in, clarify and reinforce previous research. To that end, this article analyzes the strategic impact of social media networks in spreading the brand architecture of hospitals. To this end, the Facebook profiles of 400 hospitals in the United States were analyzed. Each profile was examined to determine whether it utilized 10 indicators related to brand architecture. The results indicate that regarding the leading hospitals in the United States 94% of the surveyed hospitals have an active profile on Facebook but one that only utilized 3 to 5 of the recommended indicators. The professional management of this social network, the more widespread use of corporate video and a strategic orientation toward results have become cornerstones for the effective dissemination of hospital brands through Facebook.

Editing the project of the self: sustained Facebook use and growing up online

ABSTRACTNow in operation for 12 years, Facebook comes to serve as a digital record of life for young people. With significant parts of their lives played out on the site, users are able to turn to these profiles to reflect on how their use of Facebook has come to constitute a life narrative. In this paper, we report on findings from qualitative research into sustained use of Facebook by young people in their twenties in Australia and the UK. We focus on the ‘editing’ or re-ordering of narratives that our participants engage in while they scroll back through their years of disclosures – and the disclosures of others – that make up their Facebook Timelines. We present our analysis through three arenas (employment, family life and romantic relationships) subject to what we argue is a reflexive re-ordering of life narratives. We argue that Facebook profiles represent visual manifestations of Giddens [1991. Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press] reflexive project of the self, that serve not only to communicate a sense of self to others, but that also act as texts of personal reflection and of growing up, subject to ongoing revision.

An assessment of professionalism on students' Facebook profiles.

IntroductionWith the advent of social media, healthcare professionals not only need to be conscious of professionalism in their face‐to‐face interactions but also in the electronic environment. The aim of this study was to assess the level of online professionalism on Facebook profiles available for public viewing of students from a dental school.Materials and methodsA search was performed via a new Facebook account of all students in the University Dental School (dental hygiene, dental nursing, dental science and dental technology). Profiles were categorised as ‘private’ or ‘public’. Demographic details and photographs/comments of unprofessional behaviour were recorded for each individual Facebook profile. Each profile was subsequently scored with regard to professionalism based on a previously published score.ResultsThere are a total of 287 students in the dental school. Of these, 62% (n = 177) had a Facebook account. Three per cent (n = 6) had a public account (fully accessible) whilst 97% (n = 171) had a private account (limited access); 36% (n = 63) of students mentioned the dental school/hospital on their profile; 34% (n = 60) had questionable content on their profile whilst 3% (n = 6) had definite violations of professionalism on their profile; and 25% (n = 44) had unprofessional photographs on their profile. Of those with unprofessional content, 52% (n = 23) of these had a documented affiliation with the dental school also visible on their profile.ConclusionThere was a concerning level of unprofessional content visible on students’ Facebook profiles. Students need to be fully aware of their professional responsibility in the setting of social media.