The Impact of Facebook on Self-Esteem

Abstract

The aim of the present research is to evaluate the impact that Facebook poses on the self-esteem of undergraduate college students. To study this relationship, it was hypothesized that undergraduate college students who use Facebook with a higher intensity tend to have a lower level of self-esteem as compared to those who use it with a lesser intensity. For the process of data collection, 10 undergraduate college students were asked to respond on the questions made available on a website. The scales used for measuring the variables of the study included; the Facebook Intensity Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The results of the co relational analysis indicated that no statistically significant correlation is present between the variables of Facebook intensity and self-esteem. The results additionally indicate that there exists a negative relationship between self-esteem and the number of Facebook friends. Moreover, a positive relationship between the factors of self-esteem and the time spent on Facebook was also indicated as a result of the statistical analysis carried out on the gathered data.

The Impact of Facebook on Self-Esteem

Introduction

In psychology and cognitive sciences, the term self-esteem refers to the affective or evaluative appraisal of an individual regarding his own self. The aspect of self-esteem plays a primary role in the determination of human behavior and his overall well-being (Baker & McNulty, 2013; Johnson & Patching, 2013). Owing to the significance of this construct, researchers today are becoming increasingly interested in understanding its consequences and determining how people with higher or lower levels of self-esteem differ in their behavior. The present research includes the evaluation of these differences particularly in relation to the use of Facebook.

Over the years, the use of Facebook has become very popular among people of all ages, especially among the student population. The current experiment therefore, investigates how the individual level of self-esteem can be affected by use of Facebook, among undergraduate college students. It was therefore, hypothesized that undergraduate college students who use more Facebook tend to have a higher level of self-esteem as compared to those who use it with a lesser intensity.

Facebook is a social network service that connects people with family, friends and other acquaintances. The network has more than one billion users throughout the world. The presence of Facebook and other social networks have changed the way society communicates. It has been observed that the student population, in particular, uses Facebook to remain updated and informed about their friend's activities by reading their status updates and other posts on pages which are made available for the world to see (Humphreys, 2012). Spending extended periods of time on social networking websites has now become a part of everyone's daily routine. However, studies have shown that people with a lower level of self-esteem tend to engage in more Facebook activities, as compared to those with its higher level (Crosier, Webster & Dillon, 2012).

The general aim of the present study was to support the assumption that the use of Facebook ...