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Personality and Social Media

Recently, social media has become extremely prevalent, especially among adolescents and young adults. Various theories and studies demonstrate how social media may interact with individual’s personality, revealing how social media may have both a positive and negative influence on their users’ personalities.

Theoretical Implications

Erikson’s Identity Formation

Social networking sites allow teens to extend their true personalities to the online world. The fact that they are communicating from behind a computer screen allows teens to even add on to or exaggerate certain things about themselves, giving them a chance to create their own identity. By creating an online identity, this will in turn affect the way their actual identities develop and how they choose to portray themselves in real life interactions with others. Erik Erikson’s identity formation involves going through crises in which an adolescent must overcome to go to the next stage of development. These crises can often be displayed on social media and will greatly affect how well teens overcome these crises and move to the next level of identity formation. Failure to overcome these crises will have a significant negative impact on a teen’s identity (Cowie).

Extraversion

The personality dimension associated with a tendency to engage with and seek stimulation from other individuals, extraversion has been positively linked to social media use, particularly Facebook (1, 2, 3). In the past, the anonymity promised by the Internet actually attracted more introverted individuals, so extraversion was previously negatively associated with Internet use. With the rise of social networking sites like Facebook, however, the anonymity factor has been eliminated and more capacity for connection strategies have been incorporated, thus drawing in the attention of more extroverted individuals (1, 3). This may also be the result of newer Facebook features, such as chat, which allow extroverted individuals more direct methods of social interaction. Extraversion has also been linked to the frequency of self-disclosure online as well as an increased number of Facebook friends (1). Furthermore, a difference has been noted between extraversion’s influences on specific social media site use. For instance, more extraverted individuals participate in Facebook than Twitter, as Facebook offers more social interactions and Twitter offers more informative value (3). The influence of individuals’ levels of extraversion on their social media use, however, does not suggest that people high in extraversion simply utilize social media as a replacement for real-life socialization (2).

Neuroticism

Neuroticism, the personality dimension often related to emotional instability, has also been empirically linked to individual personality as neurotic and negatively affective people are often more likely to engage in social media usage (3). Neuroticism has often been associated with loneliness, as neurotic individuals who are also socially oriented tend to pursue social interactions on Facebook and other social media sites. On the contrary, Neuroticism has not been connected to Twitter usage, suggesting that social media users prefer Facebook for battling loneliness (2).

Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness

These final three personality traits have also been connected with social media usage in a less direct and clearly supported manner. Openness and agreeableness have been positively related to social media usage (2, 3). Age also plays a factor, as social media usage among younger generations is more commonly associated with extraversion, but openness is a better predictor of social media usage among older generations (3). Openness and extraversion, however, both still remain positively correlated with social media usage in general for all age groups. Conscientiousness levels, on the other hand, differ among social media users: Facebook is negatively correlated with conscientiousness whereas Twitter is positively associated with it. This may suggest that social media users who are conscientious prefer Twitter over Facebook for its informational purposes. Moreover, the lack of conscientiousness associated with Facebook may elucidate this social media site’s relation to procrastination and low self-discipline (2).

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, interpersonal communication falls into both the level of Esteem needs, but also into the level of Love and Belonging needs. Because research findings have associated Facebook usage with overall psychological well-being, Facebook may benefit users who have low self-esteem. More importantly, however, Facebook is directly connected with Maslow’s Love and Belonging needs, which are essentially being fulfilled by Facebook’s focus on interpersonal connection and communication. Allowing users to communicate and interact in a unique way and at a very fast pace, Facebook allows escalated levels of communication that help users fulfill their Love and Belonging needs and aid their journey to Self-Actualization (5).

Attachment Theory

Individual attachment tendencies have also been correlated with Facebook usage. Social media users that have lower attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance are typically less anxious about reject and more comfortable with interpersonal closeness, putting them more at ease with the initiation of relationships, both online and offline. This factor in social media usage is further complicated by levels of perceived interpersonal competency (1).

Need For Cognition (NFC)

The personality variable describing individuals’ need for cognition (NFC), the extent to which they engage in effortful cognitive activities, also has an empirically supported relationship with social media usage. Generally speaking, people with high NFC typically use social media sites less frequently than those with low NFC, suggesting that individuals engaging in effortful thinking may not choose social media for their cognitive needs. Thus may be influenced by a variety of factors, including high NFC individual’s potential tendency to seek cognitive stimulation through other, more challenging tasks than social media. These individuals are also less likely to add friends to their accounts than individuals with low NFC. Moreover, the visual stimulation of social media sites may be more appealing and comfortable for people with low NFC (4). Interestingly, Facebook has been negatively associated with NFC, while Twitter has been positively associated with NFC. Age plays a role in this relationship as well, as younger generations with lower NFC typically use Facebook for social reasons and older, higher NFC people use Twitter for its informational value and cognitive stimulation (2).

Social Effects

Media Violence

Social media has a huge impact on people’s beliefs, attitudes and conduct. Teens especially are influenced by what social media portrays and are more likely to engage in violence and other high-risk behaviors because of what they see on a day to day basis. Anger and aggression that are caused from negative interactions on social media can lead teens to be more violent, especially towards each other. This violence can be seen via the social media outlets or even in person.

Positive/Negative Socialization

“Just as we cannot ask whether a knife is inherently good or bad, we cannot ask whether the Internet is good or bad; we can simply document how it is used” (Greenfield, Yan, 393). A positive aspect of social media on adolescent’s personality is that teens are able to co-construct their own environments, which makes teens feel like they have more control on their interactions and lifestyle. Things like identity, sexuality and a sense of worth can all be discovered while using these virtual outlets. Social media can give tee ns self-confidence and make them very social people simply by the fact that adolescent’s choose how they want to portray themselves on social media and choose how they want to interact with other teens doing the same thing (Greenfield, Yan, 392). A negative aspect of social media on adolescent’s personality is the feedback from other teens viewing these social media outlets. This virtual universe includes insight into the deep thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of teens (Greenfield, Yan 393). Negative feedback from other teens on social media can also cause teens to feel self-conscious and unworthy.

Interpersonal Competency

Since Facebook and other social media sites offer the opportunity for individuals to initiate interpersonal relationships without engaging socially with others face-to-face, people with lower levels of perceived interpersonal competency may be more attracted to social media use as a more accessible and comfortable way to interact with others. Research has found that higher Facebook usage is correlated with lower levels of perceived interpersonal competency, which is highly prevalent in individuals who are less likely to initiate relationships offline. Social networking sites therefore give people the access to attachment systems, thus allowing them to potentially increase their perceived levels of interpersonal competency. Moreover, individuals who are shy find closer relationships online than offline, experiencing increased feelings of intimacy and meaningful relationships. This may also be influenced by the lack of non-verbal cues on social media sites, which allow more disclosure among users. A difference may be drawn, however, between low perceived levels of interpersonal competency and loneliness, as people who are lonely are more likely to be focusing on passive, non-interactive Facebook features. These individuals spend more time on Facebook daily but do not necessarily engage in the social, interpersonally connective aspects of Facebook (1).

Disorders

Addiction

There are biological, psychological and social factors that influence one’s addiction to social media. The ability to view a constant stream of social activity and change your own personal identity via social media attracts teens and consumes them for hours. Addiction to social media can have detrimental effects on academics, relationships and identity formation (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3194102/).

Egocentrism/Narcissism

Today, teens are less likely to be focused on politics and other things around them, and more likely to be focused on themselves and what they want. Researchers have found that teens today are obsessed with luxury, have bad manners, and show contempt for authority and because of this new self-obsession and self-absorption that is brought about by social media (NY Times). With the rise of social media networks that promote egocentricity, adolescents today are now a creation of the “Narcissism Epidemic” (NY Times). We can now predict teens that are more likely to be narcissistic just by viewing their social media pages. Adolescents who use Photoshop, showcase themselves through status updates, and post promotional pictures where they are striking a pose, are more likely to be egocentric than other teens (Tucker, website).

Distractions

Research has found that the effects of social media are very powerful for adolescents. Their “developing brains can become more easily habituated than adult brains to constantly switch tasks—and less able to sustain attention” (Richtel). The use of social media distracts teens from important things like homework, sports and socialization. “The technology has created on campuses a new set of social types—not the thespian and the jock but the texter and gamer, Facebook addict and YouTube potato” (Richtel). Research has also found that the use of social media reflects the personalities of teens where a social butterfly may be a heavy texter and a gamer may be a drifter and procrastinator (Richtel). These distracted teens are influenced by social media and change their priorities, which in turn affects their relationships and academics as well. Adolescents are becoming habituated to distraction and are less likely to be able to focus (Richtel).