A study, conducted by Researcher Soraya Mehdizadeh from York University in Canada, concluded that individuals with low self-esteem or are insecure and narcissistic have more of a tendency to check their Facebook pages more regularly than average.
See article here: Facebook users 'are insecure, narcissistic and have low self-esteem'
These students tend to check their Facebook page more often and to be more active in self-promotional activities – posting a picture, commenting and updating their status. This behavior is more common in female students using Facebook than male students.
Though this could possibility allude to low G.P.A. being caused by low self-esteem or vice versa, further study is required before any firm conclusion can be reached.
This study really made me think how pathetic and unneeded Facebook can be. Give me your thoughts.
Do you think that Facebook is a platform for narcissism?
What about the gender factor?
What about the gender factor?
As I mentioned, facebook is mirroring a "better-looking" image of oneself. It could be this generation's obsession with publicizing every thought and interest.. It would make sense that people who have low self-esteem and don't do well in presenting their image to others would choose facebook as their means of self-promotion.
ReplyDeleteHi.
ReplyDeleteI think that it sounds quite reasonable that insecure people and those with low self-esteem check their profiles more often. They probably do it because they want to reassure themselves that everything is “right” and that they like it. Similar behavior can be seen in girls in early phases of eating disorders – they browse the internet pages with pictures of women and compare themselves to check if everything is right. However, in this case, people check only their own looks. The excessive self-promotion can be due to the effort to be noticed and perceived well by others; this is a need that a person with high self-esteem would probably not feel that strongly.
I am not sure about the gender factor. If it was not caused by some statistical error, I would say that it has to do something with the social role of women rather than with their “nature”. I think that women are more than men under societal pressure to look in a certain way and for this reason are more prone to low self-esteem. This is also one of the explanations why eating disorders affect primarily females.
Do not worry about the uselessness of Facebook; these people would probably use other means to “admire” themselves if there was no Facebook.
By the way, the title “Facebook users 'are insecure, narcissistic and have low self-esteem'” is typical example of misuse of research (my blog is about the science and media). In media you can find many cases like this, sensationalizing research mainly by making such an “attractive” title.
Best,
Iva
I think that it is understandable why people with low self-esteem are frequent users of facebook, or any other social networks. they just want to get themselves and their voices out there, for someone to notice and 'comment' on them. They are insecure about themselves and just want to be the center of attention, that's why they always comment on other people's posts. The excessive need of self-promotion is the result of low self-esteem, and the need to be more noticeable by the surrounding society.
ReplyDeleteHey
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you with some points like "better-looking" of oneself because as far as I'm concerned facebook in some ways helps people to know each other better, to know one's interests, thoughts and etc. Of course it is addictive because you want to stay "online" all the time to be "in touch" with your friends. But I totally agree that in has an influence on your G.P.A.
But you know, if you really want to succeed you won't care about any social networks. the one thing you will use Internet for is to learn something about your studying or to read news, for example